Gerhard Anschütz (10 January 1867 in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

– 14 April 1948 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

) was a noted German teacher of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

and the leading commentator of the

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era. The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose ...

. His principal work (with Richard Thoma) is the two-volume legal encyclopedia ''Handbuch des deutschen Staatsrechts''; his constitutional commentary saw 14 editions during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

Anschütz, a proponent of

legal positivism In jurisprudence (also known as legal philosophy), legal positivism is the theory that the existence of the law and its content depend on social facts, such as acts of legislation, judicial decisions, and customs, rather than on morality. This con ...

, taught constitutional law in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

(after 1899),

(1900),

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(1908) and again Heidelberg (1916). A Democrat by conviction even during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he resigned his teaching position in 1933 after the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s seized power. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served as a consultant to the US military government and in this position was one of the fathers of the constitution of the Bundesland

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Selected literature

* Georg Meyer, ''Lehrbuch des Deutschen Staatsrechts'', bearbeitet von Gerhard Anschütz, 6. Auflage, Leipzig, 1905 * Gerhard Anschütz: ''Rezension von Hugo Preuß: Das deutsche Volk und die Politik'', in: Preußische Jahrbücher, S. 164, 1916 * Gerhard Anschütz und Richard Thoma (Hrsg.): ''Handbuch des deutschen Staatsrechts'', 2 Bände, Tübingen 1932. * Gerhard Anschütz: ''Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches vom 11. August 1919''. Ein Kommentar für Wissenschaft und Praxis, 14. Aufl., Berlin 1933 * Gerhard Anschütz, ''Aus meinen Leben''. Erinnerungen von Gerhard Anschütz, herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Walter Pauly, Frankfurt/Main (1993)

References

* 1867 births 1948 deaths Jurists from Saxony-Anhalt Writers from Halle (Saale) People from the Province of Saxony Academic staff of the University of Tübingen Academic staff of Heidelberg University Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin 20th-century German jurists {{Germany-academic-bio-stub

Selected literature

Further reading

References