Austrian Historians 1900-1945 Vol. 3

The 3rd vol. of Österreichische Historiker 19001945 (Austrian Historians 19001945) contains scientifically illustrated portraits of 13 historians written by 14 international authors. In its conceptual design this vol. follows the previous very successful vol. 1 published in 2008 and vol. 2 published in 2012 (i.e. First [...] the high quality of each single article holding approximately 40 pages has to be pointed out. Each one is exquisitely investigated, documented and cleverly arranged and therefore far in excess of standardized bibliographic handbooks. F.-R. Hausmann in: IFB 20, 2012 commenting on vol. 2). In vol. 3 representatives of history adjoining disciplines such as classical archeology, Volkskunde and economic and social history can be found as well. Key aspect was to put a critical view on further important Austrian historians like Otto Brunner, Adolf Helbok, Oswald Redlich, Lucie Varga and Hermann Wopfner. The portraits include the request of the historians scientific performance and meaning as well as possible rearrangements, their occupational careers and non-academic i.e. political activities that days. Many of the former manuscripts are simply out-dated and of mere scientific interest. However, there also exist essential contributions due to their positivistic wealth of source such as Redlichs volume of Regesta Imperii of king Rudolf of Habsburg and the corresponding biography of Rudolf. Finally, there exist appropriate manuscripts which suit methodically, conceptionally and concerning their intellectual narrative very well to the present requirements of todays research work i.e. Brunners monograph Land und Herrschaft (Land and Lordship) of 1939. Furthermore there have to be emphasized curricula vitae which arouse interest because of their non-scientific aspects: Ludo Moritz Hartmann and his acitivity in the field of peoples education or Lucie Varga and her destiny as a Jewish-German historian. In a final step it has to be named Taras Borodajkewiycz who certainly would have been completely forgotten as a historian without mentioning his very personal case in 1960. The project Österreichische Historiker 1900 1945 ends in publishing this 3rd volume. The 47 in three vol. presented biographies seen as an entire oeuvre may by considered as the representative story of the Austrian historical research from 1900 to 1945. It exhibits a multiple variety of paths of life and careers and enriches manifoldly a lively discussion about the impact of scientists throughout the first half of the 20th century.