Life at the University in Berlin

A peculiar feature of Koschaker’s way of writing is immediately apparent from the confidence with which he addressed the Ministry. It was no doubt his prestige and position at the university that allowed him to write so authoritatively about what concerned him. One might get the idea, reading the letter, that Koschaker considered himself an important professor, but he probably felt this importance had not been completely acknowledged either at the University or at the Ministry, and this fact irked him. The text gained momentum with a crescendo that culminated in his foreseeing the possibility of an early departure from his post. Moreover, in the letter some of the problems emerge that had deeply bothered Koschaker during his period in Berlin. First of all, he stressed that the role of a professor at Berlin required a wider variety of tasks than in a smaller provincial university. He complained, among other things, that he had to be “his own secretary” three days a week, almost every week, merely to reply to his academic correspondence.

In his complaint, a decisive aspect in Koschaker’s eyes - somewhat surprisingly - were the distances it was necessary to travel in a huge city like Berlin. Travelling by public transport in the most favourable part of a working day meant not only loss of time but also prevented him from concentrating on his work. In fact, the reason for Koschaker sending the letter to the Ministry was actually connected with his work. When he agreed to move to Berlin, he underlined that he wanted to carry out some precise research projects, but the circumstances, over the years, seemed to impede his achieving realising them.

It is of interest to read that he did not accept the chair at the most prestigious university in Germany at that time merely for his own pleasure, but because he wished to prevent his subject matter, Roman law, from becoming a “field full of ruins”. This sounds as if Koschaker had interpreted his new academic experience in Berlin as a historical mission to defend Roman law.^[294] Since he had no chance to accomplishing this ambition, being burdened with diverse duties and tasks, which moreover had nothing to do with his research, it no longer made sense to remain in Berlin (“Wenn ich aber meine Ziele deshalb nicht erreichen kann, weil ich bei meiner Arbeit beständig durch wissenschaftsfremde Dinge behindert werde, so würde allerdings mein Verbleiben in dieser Stadt auf die Dauer sinnlos werden”). This resolute expression epitomised his actual feelings. The vanity of the great scholar also emerges a few lines later, when he described how necessary it was, if one wanted to have and preserve an academic name, to earn that prestige day after day by publishing and attending conferences. He expressed genuine disappointment that he had not had enough time to concentrate on the dozens of draft essays he had been working on. As he wrote, he was a man who liked to stay in the scientific trenches and not in the rearguard.

The appointment of a personal assistant was not the panacea to all the problems that he had described, wrote Koschaker, but it would at least alleviate them. Furthermore, he already had in mind the name of a young Assyriologist. If it was not possible to satisfy his request, he would be grateful if the Ministry would consider moving him elsewhere, so that he could find more tranquillity and concentration to work (“mehr Ruhe und Sammlung zur Arbeit”). This reference to a quieter place where he would have had the necessary concentration to work alludes to Hoppe’s suggestion, in the letter of October 1939 to the Minister, in which the Rektor suggested the possibility of moving Koschaker to a smaller university than Berlin. Hoppe’s idea was probably a reaction to Koschaker’s complaint and not something he had proposed on his own initiative.^[295]

Koschaker’s letter then clearly shows how disappointed he was about the situation that he had found at Berlin University and the city itself, the bureaucracy (he does not say this explicitly here, but it can be implied when read in tandem with the letter he sent to the Prorektor in 1937),^[296] the many tasks he had and the lack of any kind of support. Counted together, these circumstances meant that he was not able to perform his scholarly work, affecting both his publications and the mission he had taken upon himself to defend Roman law from the crisis it was facing at that time in Germany. It was apparently much more important in Koschaker’s eyes that this defence began from the chair that had been Savigny’s in Berlin, where the situation was particularly critical.^[297] Koschaker clearly stated that he had not been given the means to achieve his goal, but from the text of this letter, as well as from the letter of 25^th October 1937,^{[298] [299] there is no hint as to any particular political dislike of him by the representatives of the regime.}

He reiterated his complaint only three months later, on 30^th September 1939, in another letter again addressed to the Minister of Education of the Reich (Reichserziehungsminister).¹⁶ The text is divided into three points, to pinpoint the different reasons for Koschaker’s greviances in Berlin. In the premise to the three points, he wrote that he wanted to send the Studienabschnitt in advance to the Ministry, to free himself, even though only in part, of his duties; he explained, then, in more detail, the motives for sending the Studienabschnitt in advance, but he also used the opportunity to describe what further bothered him.

Under point number one, he stressed the fact that the working duties were too burdensome for him, unless he could get a Semesterbeurlaubung, a sabbatical from teaching and other activities at the university for a semester, as had been stipulated in the agreement concerning his position in Berlin and that had early been allowed him in 193 8.^[300] The aim of such a break was not for vacation, but to use it for “Forschungs- und Studienzwecke” (research and study purposes). He had been promised these research breaks, but since the war broke out this possibility seemed to have all but vanished. Nonetheless, Koschaker insisted on asking the Ministry for this concession. He added that at his age - he was 60 years old at the time and had health issues;^[301] his physical strength could have been negatively affected by excessive fatigue. Koschaker also complained once again about the huge size and chaotic life of Berlin, the “Millionenstadt”, where large distances between different places caused him - who was born in a small town - stress.

Koschaker’s text reads thus:

Ich bin im laufenden Studienabschnitt mit 7 Wochenstunden und Übungen für Berliner Verhältnisse ziemlich angestrengt. [...] Bei meiner Berufung nach Berlin wurden mir Semesterbeurlaubungen unter Fortdauer der Kolleggeldgarantie zu Forschungs- und Studienzwecken zugesichert. Ich habe von dieser Zusicherung erste^[302] einmal im Sommer 1938 Gebrauch gemacht und es war meine Absicht, eine solche Beurlaubung für das normale Sommersemester 1940 zu beantragen. Der Ausbruch des Krieges hat die Ausführung dieser Absicht verhindert. Sollte ich nun aber im 2. Studienabschnitt das Programm eines normalen Wintersemesters nahezu pausenlos wiederholen müssen, so fürchte ich allerdings, das[s]^[303] dies bei meinem Alter und nicht mehr ganz gefestiger Gesundheit über meine Kräfte gehen würde, zumal ich als geborener Kleinstädter, der sich weder an die Entfernungen noch an das hastende Leben der Millionenstadt gewöhnen kann, die Arbeitsbedingungen in Berlin als sehr anstrengend empfinde. [.].

Koschaker continued to explain, under his second point, that there were colleagues who could replace him during his Semesterbeurlaubung, since many German universities were closed at the time. He suggested the name of the Dozent Dr. Hellebrand - his personal assistant for more or less a year after Koschaker had been called to Berlin^[304] - as his substitute. It is even more interesting, however, to read what he described under his third point (on the second page of the letter):

3) stelle ich den obigen Antrag nicht deshalb, weil ich beabsichtige mich im 2. Studienabschnitte dem Nichtstun hinzugeben. Wenn ich unter 1) darauf hinweisen mußte, daß ich die Berliner Arbeitsverhältnisse anstrengend empfinde, so liegt der Grund nicht ausschließlich in meiner Lehrtätigkeit, sondern darin, daß neben dieser beständig eine sehr intensive Forschungstätigkeit einhergeht. Ich hab bei Kriegsausbruch mir erlaubt, neben meiner Berufsausübung meine Sprachkenntnisse im Englischen, Französischen und Italienischen zu praktischen Zwecken zur Verfügung zu stellen.

In this passage, Koschaker listed some of his working tasks and illustrated how the work at the university was connected with his research and the good relationships he had established with academics in other countries. He also mentioned that his knowledge of English, French and Italian had been available for practical purposes since the beginning of the war. It would be particularly interesting to discover some other details regarding this passage to see if the kind of willingness he had offered had led to a concrete collaboration with the Reichsministerium or some other colleagues at the University. However, since there is no other information about this question, it is not possible to draw any further conclusion on this point.

In the part of the text that follows, Koschaker explained that he still had very good academic connections with scholars in other countries, both in enemy and neutral States. He pointed out, of course, that relationships with enemy States would have to be interrupted. Thanks to his very good connections with other countries, however, German scientific research (wissenschaftliche Forschung) could be properly represented through the publication of essays and works, which had in any case nothing to do with military or political topics:

Ich besitze sehr ausgedehnte und zum großen Teil auch ausgezeichnete Beziehungen wissenschaftlicher Art zum Auslande, nicht bloß zum jetzt feindlichen Ausland, Beziehungen, die heute natürlich ruhen müssen, sondern auch zum neutralen Ausland. Eine Arbeit [...] wird demnächst in Italien erscheinen. [...] Es scheint mir nicht ohne jede Be[d]eutung,82 wenn die deutsche wissenschaftliche Forschung in der Kriegszeit im neutralen und mittelbar so auch im feindlichen Auslande sich zur Geltung bringt. Gegenstände von militärischer oder politischer Bedeutung sind bei meinem Forschungsgebiete ausgeschlossen.^{[305] [306]}

Koschaker wrote that in order to represent German scholarship properly abroad, it was necessary that his works should constantly remain of high quality. Therefore, he needed a period free from his working tasks and, above all, from teaching duties at the university. His essential aim that he had always had since he moved to Berlin was to carry out his research projects and in this way, he wrote, he could be much more useful to the University of Berlin than simply teaching:

Zu diesem Zwecke gibt es aber kein anderes Mittel als die Güte der Leistung, und diese herauszubringen, dazu gehört Zeit und eine gewisse Ruhe, die ich bei einem durch Monate fast pausenlos durchgeführten Lehrbetrieb nicht finden kann. [...] Meine Bitte geht daher in erster Linie dahin, mir durch Befreiung von meiner^[307] Lehrverpflichtungen im 2. Studienabschnitt diese Ruhe zur wissenschaftlichen Arbeit geben zu wollen, und ich glaube in dieser Forschungstätigkeit, die mir für Berlin seit jeher im Vordergrunde stand, in der heutigen Zeit nützlicher wirken zu können als durch For[t]setzung meiner Lehrtätigkeit, die ich wahrscheinlich körperlich nicht aushalten würde und in der ich jedenfalls leichter ersetzbar bin als in der Forschung.

After little over one month, on 8^th November 1939 Koschaker wrote another letter to the Ministry.^[308] The reply was written on the reverse side 6 days later, on 14^th November 1939 by Rektor Hoppe of the University of Berlin.^[309]

First, Koschaker wished to clarify that he was unaware, when he wrote his previous letter in September,^[310] that all requests for Beurlaubungen (leave of absence) at the University had been interrupted since the outbreak of the war, except those requiring sick leave. Koschaker, therefore, withdrew his previous request and presented a new one, a Beurlaubung in the second trimester of 1940, attaching a medical certificate and some further explanations:

[...] Als ich vor einigen Wochen einen Antrag um Beurlaubung für das zweite Wintersemester 1940 überreichte, war es mir unbekannt, daß alle normalen Beurlaubungen während des Krieges gesperrt sind und nur aus Krankheitsgründen in Erwägung gezogen werden können. Ich gestatte mir daher meinen ersten Antrag zurückzuziehen und ihn durch folgenden neuen Antrag zu ersetzen: der Herr Reichsminister^[311] wolle mich im 2. Trimester 1940 bis zum 1. Februar 1940 beurlauben. Zur Unterstützung dieses Antrags lege ich ein amtsärztliches Zeugnis bei und gestatte mir, zusätzlich folgendes auszuführen.

Ich war den ganzen Sommer durch wissenschaftliche Arbeiten außerordentlich angestrengt, Arbeiten, die mich auch den^[312] Ferien nicht völlig losließen [...]. Ich habe daher schon im Zustande der Überarbeitung das 1. Wintersemester begonnen, in dem ich mit 8 Wochenstunden zudem recht stark belastet bin. [...] Zumindest brauche ich eine längere Ausspannung, als sie mir die mit 14 Tagen bemessenen Weihnachtsferien geben können. Ich muß aber auch bedacht sein, mich von den Vorlesungen zu entlasten, indem ich das romanistische Hauptkolleg im 2. Trimester ausfallen lasse. Das ist um^[313] so eher möglich, als es gleichzeitig von dem Dozenten Dr. Hellebrand angekündigt worden ist. Die Erfahrung hat mich gelehrt, daß in Berlin mit seinen großen Entfernungen eine größere Vorlesungstätigkeit bei^[314] gleichzeitiger^[315] angestrengter Forschungstätigkeit mir^[316] nur möglich ist, indem ich mich überarbeite. Es wäre mir aber contra naturam, wenn ich die Forschungstätigkeit aufgeben müßte. [...] Außerdem bitte ich zu bedenken, daß ich bei meinem Alter nun mehr eine sehr beschränkte Zahl von Arbeitsjahren habe und es mir nicht leisten kann, auch nur eines davon preiszugeben.

The letter enumerates many reasons for his request for a Beurlaubung, as had already been specified in the previous letter of September 1939. Once again, Koschaker complained about the amount of work connected to his teaching duties and the fact that he could not devote enough time to his research, being so burdened with classes. He therefore needed more time after the Christmas vacations to rest and concentrate on his research activities (Forschungstätigkeiten). Since he had allowed his colleague academic leave during the second trimester, he argued that he himself deserved a longer break. Once again, the problem of the huge distances in Berlin is mentioned, a clear indicator that he had not grown accustomed to life of a big city. At the end, Koschaker added a further reason for his request, namely the few years remaining for him to work.

As mentioned earlier, the reverse side of Koschaker’s letter contains Rektor Hoppe’s reply, accepting Koschaker’s explanations and recognising that a break from teaching was needed, at least temporarily:

[.] so kann ich auf Grund des beiliegenden amtsärztlichen Gutachtens verstehen, daß eine ordnungsgemäße Aufrechterhaltung der Lehrtätigkeiten des Prof. Koschaker zur Zeit nicht gegeben ist.

What is noteworthy about Koschaker’s letter is its polite yet resolute tone. The explanations offered in this letter, as well as those previously analysed, reveal Koschaker’s displeasure and disillusion with regard to the situation in Berlin. No doubt Koschaker had had high expectations when he moved to the capital, believing that he could devote most of his time, in accordance with his preferences, to his research projects, whereas his position in such a large university entailed various other bothersome tasks. A sense of frustration emerged from his words, probably due to his perception that his role as a highly esteemed and eminent professor had not been respected enough. Koschaker’s disenchantment was clear from the letters he wrote to the Minister - moreover, the situation was exacerbated by the fact that at that time his students were deserting his classes on Roman law.^[317] Yet these reasons were not the only ones that deeply disappointed Koschaker during the five years he spent in Berlin, as will be explained in the following section.