Von der „Genealogie“ und „Sippenkunde“ zur „Bevölkerungswissenschaft“?

Disziplinbildung und Institutionalisierung am Rande der deutschen Geschichtswissenschaften, ca. 1900–1960

Abstract

This article is based on the observation that a boom in genealogical research began in the field of historical research and in archives around 1900. Genealogy is seen here as a changing scientific practice. It was on the rise as an academic discipline at that time. This perspective is a heuristic starting point to locating genealogy between the poles of genealogy research (Abstammungsforschung), heredity science (Vererbungswissenschaft) and historical-sociological genealogy. Exemplary studies on the two historians Johannes Hohlfeld (1888–1950) and Friedrich von Klocke (1891–1960) explore their respective understanding of genealogy. The investigations also analyse their scientific and political positions in the transition from the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich and the early Federal Republic of Germany. In conclusion, the article outlines the question of whether and how German historians tried to transcend the genealogical view after 1945 in favour of a more historical-sociological oriented analytical approach.