Deutsche Hochschule für Politik

Deutsche Hochschule für Politik. Founded in Berlin in 1920, it emerged as a pioneering institution dedicated to the academic study of political science and international relations during the turbulent era of the Weimar Republic. Conceived by figures like Ernst Jäckh and supported by the Prussian Ministry of Science, Arts and Culture, it aimed to foster democratic civic education and analyze modern political phenomena. Despite its forced closure and Gleichschaltung by the Nazi Party in 1933, its innovative model profoundly influenced the postwar establishment of political science faculties across West Germany.

History

The institution was established in the aftermath of the First World War and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, with its founding charter signed in October 1920. Key initiators included the publicist Ernst Jäckh and the liberal politician Friedrich Naumann, who envisioned a "school for democracy" to stabilize the fledgling Weimar Republic. Financial and administrative support came from the Prussian state government and the city of Berlin, with significant early backing from the German Foreign Office under Gustav Stresemann, who saw value in training diplomats. In 1928, it achieved the status of a recognized public corporation, and by 1931, it began a formal affiliation with the University of Berlin, allowing its students to earn doctoral degrees. This period of growth was abruptly terminated following the Machtergreifung in 1933, when the Nazi regime, led by Adolf Hitler, dissolved the school's independent structure. It was forcibly integrated into the University of Berlin and transformed into an instrument of Nazi ideology under the new name *Hochschule für Politik*, later becoming part of the Reichsuniversität Berlin.

Academic profile

The Hochschule distinguished itself through a rigorously interdisciplinary curriculum that blended law, economics, history, and sociology to analyze contemporary politics. Its program was structured around seminars and lecture series on topics such as comparative government, parliamentarianism, political parties, and international law. A central feature was its focus on practical, applied knowledge, including training for civil servants, journalists, and trade unionists, often through its associated *Institut für Auswärtige Politik* (Institute for Foreign Policy). Renowned scholars like Theodor Heuss, who taught political biography, and Arnold Wolfers, an expert in international relations, shaped its academic direction. The institution also published the influential journal *Zeitschrift für Politik*, serving as a major forum for scholarly debate. This integrative, practice-oriented model stood in contrast to the more traditional, philosophically-oriented state sciences taught at conventional German universities of the time.

Notable faculty and alumni

The Hochschule attracted and produced a remarkable array of intellectuals, politicians, and public figures. Among its prominent faculty were the future first Federal President Theodor Heuss, the sociologist Alfred Weber, the historian Hajo Holborn, and the economist Moritz Julius Bonn. Key administrative and teaching roles were also held by Ernst Jäckh and Carl Heinrich Becker, the Prussian minister of culture. Its student body and guest lecturers included individuals who would play significant roles in postwar West Germany, such as Willy Brandt, who later became Chancellor of Germany, and Ernst Reuter, the legendary governing mayor of West Berlin. Other notable alumni include the political scientist Fritz Erler, a leading figure in the SPD, and Golo Mann, the prominent historian. The school's network thus created a vital reservoir of democratic thought that persisted through the Nazi era and into the reconstruction period.

Reestablishment and legacy

After the Second World War, the legacy of the original Hochschule became a cornerstone for rebuilding political science in West Germany. In 1948, with the support of the Allied Kommandatura and figures like Theodor Heuss and Otto Suhr, the *Deutsche Hochschule für Politik* was reestablished in West Berlin as an independent academy. It was later fully integrated into the Free University of Berlin, founded in 1948, forming the nucleus of its Otto Suhr Institute, which was named for its first director. This institute became one of the largest and most influential political science faculties in Europe. The original Hochschule's emphasis on empirical research, democratic theory, and civic education directly shaped the development of the discipline in the Federal Republic of Germany, influencing institutions like the University of Heidelberg and the University of Cologne. Its history stands as a testament to the fragile development of democratic institutions during the Weimar Republic and their resilient revival after the defeat of Nazism. Category:Universities and colleges in Berlin Category:Political science organizations Category:Educational institutions established in 1920