In Hohenheim, there was no resistance to speak of when the National-Socialists seized power and the universities were subjected to enforced standardization (Gleichschaltung).
During the war, the professors actively participated in re-settlement and settlement of occupied territories or in the theft of scientific material. During the post-war period, some of these activities were repressed for decades.
This can be seen in some of the presidents’ biographies, as well. Some people knew how to benefit from the situation. Others experienced disadvantages. The repression was particularly evident in the 1960s with the appointment of a former SS functionary as president.
Not until 2015-2018 did the “project on a historical review of the National-Socialist period and its consequences” shed light onto this dark chapter of the University’s history. Since then, virtual and real memorial points are to highlight these insights in daily university life.
In the following, relevant biographical notes were included in the portraits of the six presidents who served between 1933 and 1945 as well as six selected predecessors and successors.
