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Hans Rothfels — An Intellectual Biography in the Age of Extremes

Lehrstuhl für Neuere und Neueste Geschichte Historisches Seminar, of the Universität Freiburg, Germany

Hans Rothfels was one of the most influential historians in the early Federal Republic of Germany. Recently, a controversy has been sparked off among German historians about his political attitude towards National Socialism. The article argues that the focus of this debate is too narrow and that an examination of Rothfels’ intellectual biography can give an insight into more general historical problems and contexts: long-term intellectual continuities and transformations of German historiography, the determinants of scholarlyscientific production, and the intellectual functions of historiographical operations and interpretations. Covering the whole career of Rothfels from the 1920s through to the 1960s, the article first analyses the way in which Rothfels’ histororiography was shaped by the social and institutional conditions of his academic work. In a second step, it shows that, at its core, his historiography was a way of reflecting about contemporary events and developments. In the different stages of his academic life, Rothfels developed distinct interpretations of German history that were an attempt to give meaning to situations he had observed or lived through himself. Finally, the text examines how important biographical experiences and perceptions influenced the scholarly production of the historian.

Key Words: German Historians in the 20th century • Hans Rothfels • history of historiography • intellectual history

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