Aurich
Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', ) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both in popula ...
,
Province of Hanover
The Province of Hanover () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946.
During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, alo ...
classical philologist
Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...
. Deichgräber was a member of the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
.Anikó Szabó, ''Vertreibung, Rückkehr, Wiedergutmachung: Göttinger Hochschullehrer im Schatten des Nationalsozialismus : mit einer biographischen Dokumentation der entlassenen und verfolgten Hochschullehrer, Universität Göttingen'', Wallstein Verlag, 2000, p. 116
Biography
Karl Deichgräber studied at the Gymnasium Ulricianum in
Aurich
Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', ) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both in popula ...
until 1922. From that date, he studied
classical philology
Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...
, as well as other subjects, at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
, and then at
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
and
University of Münster
The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...
, where the philologist
Hermann Schöne
Hermann or Herrmann may refer to:
* Hermann (name), list of people with this name
* Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language
* Éditions Hermann, French publisher
* Hermann, Mis ...
encouraged Deichgräber to concentrate on the
history of medicine
The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies.
The history of med ...
. In 1928, Deichgräber earned his doctorate at Münster with a thesis on medical schools during the time of Ancient Greece. Upon returning to Berlin, he
habilitated
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellen ...
in 1931, with research of books I and III of the ''Epidemics'' by
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician and philosopher of the Classical Greece, classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally referr ...
. In 1935 he was summoned to the
University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...
as a professor specializing in
Hellenistic Greece
Hellenistic Greece is the historical period of Ancient Greece following Classical Greece and between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek Achaean League heartlands by the Roman Republic. This cul ...
. Three years later he succeeded Max Pohlenz at the University of Göttingen. From 1939 to 1945 he also served there as Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. He rejected requests from
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
,
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
and
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. In 1938, he joined the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
.
On 25 January 1946, Deichgräber was removed from office, which he felt throughout his life as deeply unfair. In 1951, he was partially reinstated as "professor of retraining" (''Professor zur Wiederverwendung''), but only in 1957 did he receive his old position as professor of classical philology, after succeeding
emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
In some c ...
professor
Kurt Latte
Kurt Latte (9 March 1891, Königsberg – 8 June 1964, Tutzing) was a German philologist and classical scholar known for his work on ancient Roman religion.
Career
The son of a doctor, Latte studied at the Universities of Königsberg, Bonn and Be ...
, who had been expelled by the
Nazis
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 ...
, but had returned to Göttingen.Wegeler, "...wir sagen ab der internationalen Gelehrtenrepublik, p. 270 f. From then on, Deichgräber taught at Göttingen until he retired in April 1968. He was succeeded by Klaus Nickau.
Selected works
*''Die griechische Empirikerschule: Sammlung der Fragmente und Darstellung der Lehre''. Berlin, 1930 (Doctoral thesis, Münster, 1928; reprinted, Berlin, 1965).
*''Die Epidemien und das Corpus Hippocraticum: Voruntersuchungen zu einer Geschichte der koischen Ärzteschule''. Berlin, 1933 (reprinted, Berlin, 1971).
*''Hippokrates über Entstehung und Aufbau des menschlichen Körpers (Peri sarkon)''. In Gemeinschaft mit den Mitgliedern des philologischen Proseminars Berlin. Mit einem sprachwissenschaftlichen Beitrag von
Eduard Schwyzer
Eduard Schwyzer (15 February 1874, Zürich – 3 May 1943, Berlin) was a Swiss Classical philologist and Indo-European linguist, specializing in Ancient Greek and Greek dialects.Fridolf Kudlien and Franz Pfaff: ''Galens Kommentare zu den Epidemien des Hippokrates''. Berlin, 1960.
*''Rhythmische Elemente im Logos des Heraklit''. Mainz, 1963 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1962, Nº 9).
*''Die Musen, Nereiden und Okeaninen in Hesiods Theogonie''. Mit einem Nachtrag zu ''Natura varie ludens''. Mainz, 1965 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1965, Nº 4).
*''Medicus gratiosus: Untersuchungen zu einem griechischen Arztbild'', mit dem Anhang ''Testamentum Hippocratis und Rhazes' De indulgentia medici''. Mainz, 1970 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1970, Nº 3).
*''Charis und Chariten, Grazie und Grazien''. Munich, 1971.
*''Aretaeus von Kappadozien als medizinischer Schriftsteller''. Berlin, 1971.
*''Der letzte Gesang der Ilias''. Mainz, 1972 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1972, Nº 5).
*''Hippokrates' De humoribus in der Geschichte der griechischen Medizin''. Mainz, 1972 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1972, Nº 14).
*''Pseudhippokrates' Über die Nahrung: Text, Kommentar und Würdigung einer stoisch-heraklitisierenden Schrift aus der Zeit um Christi Geburt''. Mainz, 1973 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1973, Nº 3).
*''Die Persertetralogie des Aischylos'': mit einem Anhang, ''Aischylos' Glaukos Pontios u. Leon'', Mainz, 1974 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1974, Nº 4).
*''Die Patienten des Hippokrates: historisch-prosopographische Beiträge zu den Epidemien des Corpus Hippocraticum''. Mainz, 1982 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1982, Nº 9).
*''Das Ganze-Eine des Parmenides: fünf Interpretationen zu seinem Lehrgedicht''. Mainz, 1983 (Abh. der Akad. d. Wiss. & Lit. Geistes- und Sozialwiss. Kl., Jahrg. 1983, Nº 7).