Theo Sommer
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Theo Sommer (10 June 1930 – 22 August 2022) was a German newspaper editor and intellectual. He began working for ''
Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...
'' in 1958, rising to an editor-in-chief and publisher. His editorials for ''Die Zeit'' shaped the paper's
social-liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
attitude. He advocated the policy of
détente Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...
with the Eastern bloc states (''Entspannungspolitik''). From 1992, Sommer was publisher of ''Die Zeit'', together with
Marion Dönhoff Marion Hedda Ilse Gräfin von Dönhoff (2 December 1909 – 11 March 2002) was a German journalist and publisher who participated in the resistance against Nazism, along with Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, and Claus S ...
and
Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Cha ...
. He was considered one of Germany's authorities on international relations and strategic issues.


Life and career

Born in
Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
,
Republic of Baden The Republic of Baden (german: Republik Baden) was a German state that existed during the time of the Weimar Republic, formed after the abolition of the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1918. It is now part of the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg ...
, on 10 June 1930, Sommer grew up in
Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district a ...
and was educated at the
National Political Institutes of Education National Political Institutes of Education (german: Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten; officially abbreviated NPEA, commonly abbreviated Napola for ''Nationalpolitische Lehranstalt'' meaning National Political Teaching Institute) were ...
in Sonthofen. He was drafted into the
Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...
in 1945. After World War II, he found out about the lies and atrocities of the Nazi regime, primarily by following the
Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...
and reading
Eugen Kogon Eugen Kogon (2 February 1903 – 24 December 1987) was a historian and Nazi concentration camp survivor. A well-known Christian opponent of the Nazi Party, he was arrested more than once and spent six years at Buchenwald concentration camp. Kogon ...
's book '. Sommer obtained his
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
from Schwäbisch Gmünd in 1949 and then lived in Sweden for nine months. He studied English, history and political science at the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...
, Manchester College in Indiana and the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. He earned a PhD in Tübingen with his thesis "Germany and Japan between the Powers, 1935–1940", supervised by
Hans Rothfels Hans Rothfels (12 April 1891 – 22 June 1976) was a German nationalist conservative historian. He supported an idea of authoritarian German state, dominance of Germany over Europe and was hostile to Germany's eastern neighbours. After his appli ...
. He began his career as a journalist with the , a local paper in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Sommer joined the weekly ''
Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...
'' as a political correspondent in 1958, and was responsible for foreign politics and security politics. He became deputy editor-in chief in 1968, and editor-in-chief in 1973. He took a break from the paper in 1969 and 1970 to work for the
Federal Ministry of Defence The Federal Ministry of Defence (german: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, ), abbreviated BMVg, is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at ...
, for the "White Paper" (''Weißbuch'') of the
Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
, joining the planning staff of then-minister
Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Cha ...
. His editorials for ''Die Zeit'' in the 1970s shaped the paper's social-liberal attitude, and supported the policy of
détente Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...
with the Eastern bloc states (''Entspannungspolitik''). For decades, Sommer encouraged tolerance and Western support for East Germany. From 1992, Sommer was publisher of ''Die Zeit'', together with
Marion Dönhoff Marion Hedda Ilse Gräfin von Dönhoff (2 December 1909 – 11 March 2002) was a German journalist and publisher who participated in the resistance against Nazism, along with Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, and Claus S ...
and Helmut Schmidt. He retired from the position in 2000, but kept writing for the paper as an editor-at-large. Sommer was a member of the
Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...
, of the
International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...
, and of the German advisory committee of the
German Marshall Fund The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a nonpartisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union. Founded in 1972 through a gift from the We ...
. He was a member of the advisory board of the
Bertelsmann Stiftung The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. As the Bertelsmann Stiftung itself h ...
from 1990 to 1996. Since 2004, Sommer was an editor-at-large for Times Media, which publishes the newspapers ' and '. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the
Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defin ...
. In 2014, he was found guilty of tax evasion, and sentenced to 19 months of prison on probation. In 2016, American historian Alexander J. Motyl criticised Sommer for "closing his eyes to the mass murders of the Soviet regime", "disregard" for the
Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
and Poland, and a "classically colonial" attitude toward Ukraine. Sommer died in Hamburg on 22 August 2022, at the age of 92. He did not recover from a fall at his home, which had left him in pain. Sommer was regarded as one of Germany's experts on international relations and strategic issues. According to ''Die Zeit'', "he decisively shaped" the paper "with his temperament, his energy, his shrewd judgment and his cheerfulness ... and enthusiasm for debate" ("''mit seinem Temperament, seiner Tatkraft, seinem klugen Urteil und seiner Fröhlichkeit als weltoffenes, liberales, debattenfreudiges Blatt maßgeblich geprägt hat''").


Honours and awards

* 1966:
Theodor Wolff Prize The Theodor Wolff Prize is a German journalism prize. It has been awarded annually since 1962 in five categories, equal prizes of €6,000, by the . In addition, at irregular intervals, journalists are awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize for their life ...
* 1998:
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
* 2002:
Bundeswehr Cross of Honour The Decorations of Honour of the Bundeswehr (german: Ehrenzeichen der Bundeswehr) are a series of military decorations of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. These honours and awards were introduced in 1980 on the ...
in Gold * 2012: Honorary Senator of the
Helmut Schmidt University The Helmut Schmidt University (german: link=no, Helmut-Schmidt-Universität), located in Hamburg, Germany, is a German military educational establishment that was founded in 1973 at the initiative of the then-Federal Minister of Defence, Helmut Sc ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sommer, Theo 1930 births 2022 deaths People from Konstanz People from the Republic of Baden German newspaper editors Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr University of Chicago alumni University of Tübingen alumni German male non-fiction writers Die Zeit editors