Hans Gerhard Gräf (5 May 1864 – 20 December 1942) was a German Goethe specialist. Gräf was born on 5 May 1864 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. He was essential in preparation of the authoritative 1887-1919 Weimar complete edition of the works of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

(also known as the Sophie edition). Gräf was primarily responsible for editing Goethe's journals and excerpting anthologies of journal entries. In 1916 Gräf also edited Goethe's correspondence with Goethe's mistress and wife,

Christiane Vulpius Johanna Christiana Sophie Vulpius von Goethe (1 June 1765 – 6 June 1816) was the longtime lover and later wife of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Biography Vulpius spent her childhood in ''Luthergasse'', one of the oldest parts of Weimar. Her pat ...

. At the turn of the century, Gräf became a researcher at the

Herzog August Library The Herzog August Library ( — "HAB"), in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, known also as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'', is a library of international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and early modern Europe. The library is overseen ...

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

, where he assembled a collection of Goethe's printed remarks about his own poetry, a landmark work in the Goethe movement known affectionately as the ''Gräf'' (German: ''Goethes Gedruckte Äusserungen uber seine Dichtungen''). In later years, Gräf returned to Weimar, both his – and Goethe's – hometown. Gräf also made a known for himself by exploring Goethe's relationship to the town of Berka (now

Bad Berka Bad Berka () is a German spa town, situated in the south of Weimar region in the state of Thuringia. With its almost 8,000 inhabitants Bad Berka is the second biggest city in Weimarer Land district (after Apolda, 23,000). The river flowing throu ...

) and anthologizing Goethe's love poetry for the publisher Insel Verlag. A

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

was published in Gräf's honor in 1921, and in 1924, at the urging of the firm's chief editor Bartel, the Leipzig publisher of Haessel issued a Goethe anthology in his honor. Later, Gräf collaborated on yet another Goethe edition (the Dünndruck Edition) for the Insel firm. During the second World War, Gräf moved to

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

, not far from Weimar, where he died in 1942. Gräf also published two volumes of his own poetry – the second lasting two print runs.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Hans Gerhard 1942 deaths German literary scholars Goethe scholars German academics German poets 1864 births German male poets People from Weimar