Rejection of further guest lectures of <persName ref="http://d-nb.info/gnd/118509284">Walter Arthur Berendsohn</persName> by the <orgName ref="http://d-nb.info/gnd/5028264-5">Faculty of Arts</orgName> at the <orgName ref="http://d-nb.info/gnd/35534-3">University of <placeName ref="http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7005289">Hamburg</placeName></orgName>, <date when="1950-05-20">May 20, 1950</date> Erwin Fink

Giving guest lectures at their old place of work was a common step for those persecuted by the National Socialists in their remigration process. The focus was on mutual (re-)rapprochement and proof of academic competence. After Walter A. Arthur Berendsohn had already given guest lectures in Hamburg in 1948, the faculty did not want to accept any further guest lectures from him. On the one hand, they would lack scientific value, on the other hand, he was said to have made negative comments about the political attitude of German universities.

Institute for the History of the German Jewsredaktion@juedische-geschichte-online.net
Beim Schlump 83, 20144 Hamburg

State Archive Hamburg 361-6 I 0121 Walter Berendsohn. With kind permission

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Der Fall Walter A. Berendsohn. Fortsetzung der Ausgrenzung an der Universität Hamburgjgo:article-299KönigHamburgMay 20, 1950Staatsarchiv HamburgStaatsarchiv Hamburg 361-6 I 0121 Walter Berendsohn EnglishSource:Textdeu
The Dean of the Faculty of Arts Hamburg 13, May 20, 1950. of the University of Hamburg Edmund Siemers-Allee – University Telephone 44 84 53 handwritten note: Received Senator Landahl received on 22/5. Stamp: Hochschulabt Hochschulabteilung 20 MAY 1950 Enclosures To the School Authority, Higher Education Department

At its meeting on May 17, 1950, the Faculty of Arts came to the decision to refrain from inviting Professor Berendsohn again.

For this decision, the two following reasons were essential:

1. After listening to the judgment of competent faculty members, who listened to the lectures given here by Professor Berendsohn in 1948 and who are familiar with his scholarly production, the Faculty has come to the conclusion that a renewed invitation to give guest lectures cannot be considered as particularly desirable. This judgment of the Faculty agrees with the evaluation of Berendsohn’s work provided by competent colleagues abroad.

2. Although the Faculty is quite aware of the fact that Professor Berendsohn deserves special treatment in this matter as well because he represents a case of restitution, the Faculty, to its great regret, does not see itself in a position to allow this fact to influence its decision, since it has evidence in its hands that Professor Berendsohn, in a private letter dating from April 1949, had suspected the political attitude of the German universities and thus the Hamburg Faculty of political bias against his person.

The Faculty’s negative decision was passed unanimously.

signed König Notarized: