Ulrich Sieg: Zeit der Professoren. Die Marburger Universität von der preußischen Annexion 1866 bis zu den Reformen der 1970er Jahre

The world’s first Protestant university has always attracted attention. Marking the 500th anniversary of its founding, Ulrich Sieg focuses specifically on the period between 1866 and the 1970s. Following the annexation of Electoral Hesse by Prussia, the university—which received vigorous support—flourished. In 1901, Emil von Behring was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Medicine; Marburg Neo-Kantianism and the introduction of the German Civil Code (BGB) also brought renown to the institution. After the catastrophe of the First World War, the university embodied a blend of defiant attachment to the past and a vibrant, restless modernity. This was reflected in the impact Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann had on their captivated students—a group that included Hannah Arendt, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Karl Löwith. The university suffered a precipitous decline during the Third Reich—a period people were reluctant to recall after 1945. Yet this very history accelerated Marburg’s transformation into the "Red University," with political scientist Wolfgang Abendroth emerging as its emblematic figure.
The author portrays the University of Marburg as a place of contradictions. While motivated scholars were offered remarkable opportunities for intellectual development, the environment of a university town far removed from major metropolitan centers also fostered rigid patterns of exclusion. Ulrich Sieg thus presents a fascinating account of modern university history that illuminates the distinctive characteristics of an academic culture.