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- Title
Der „Fall Theodor Eschenburg“.
- Authors
Wengst, Udo
- Abstract
Theodor Eschenburg, one of the founders of the discipline of political science in post-war Germany and for many years one of the chief editors of the Vierteljahrshefle für Zeitgeschichte, was a highly respected academic from the 1950s up to his death in 1999. In 2011, an article by Rainer Eisfeld started a debate about Eschenburg, which has not been concluded to this day. The article reproaches Eschenburg for his behaviour during the Third Reich, and especially for his participation in a case of Aryanisation in 1938. Similarly it considers his attitude to democracy before 1933 worthy of criticism, raising questions as to what extent the great political scientist was susceptible to dictatorship after 1945. Critique was however also focussed on Eschenburg's handling of his Third Reich past. Especially due to this last point, the Deutsche Vereinigung für Politikwissenschaft (German Association for Political Science) to date discusses the question, whether its Eschenburg Prize should be renamed. The present article is designed as a contribution to the ongoing debate, the course of which is summarised in the introduction. Subsequently it deals with Eschenburg's handling of his "Nazi past" and finally discusses Eschenburg's position towards democracy and dictatorship, with special attention to his relationship with and appraisal of Carl Schmitt. Eschenburg's behaviour during the Third Reich is only treated insofar as it is necessary to the understanding of the debate about his examination of the Nazi period. One result that can be noted is that Eschenburg's handling of the Nazi past was not substantially different from that of his intellectual contemporaries. Regarding his understanding of democracy, there is sufficient evidence that at least as of the mid-1920s he was a proponent of this form of government. Similarly after 1945, Eschenburg was a pronounced advocate of parliamentary democracy, despite mistakable statements and his esteem for Carl Schmitt's Constitutional Theory.
- Subjects
GERMANY; ESCHENBURG, Theodor; EISFELD, Rainer; POLITICAL science; NATIONAL socialism; SCHMITT, Carl, 1888-1985; DEMOCRACY; ARYANIZATION; POLITICAL scientists; POLITICAL science associations; POLITICAL attitudes; GERMAN history
- Publication
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, 2013, Vol 61, Issue 3, p411
- ISSN
0042-5702
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1524/vfzg.2013.0019