Hermann Oncken

Born Nov. 16, 1869, in Oldenburg; died Dec. 28, 1945, in Göttingen. Conservative German historian. Professor at the universities of Chicago (1905–06), Heidelberg (1907), Munich (1923), and Berlin (1928–35).

A stalwart advocate of the theory claiming the preeminence of foreign policy over domestic policy, Oncken adhered to L. von Ranke’s historical method. He supported the establishment of a close trade and political alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary and viewed the expansionist policy of German imperialism as a defensive one, conditioned by Germany’s geographical position in the center of Europe. At the same time, Oncken criticized racial theory and advocated an “objective” evaluation of history. As a result, in 1935 the fascists deprived him of his chair in Berlin.