3.2 Savigny’s Chair in Berlin

From both a personal and professional point of view, Landsberger’s absence in Berlin was significant. Another essential condition made by Koschaker was the creation of a seminar for Near Eastern Legal history (Seminar für Rechtsgeschichte des Alten Orients) at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität}² The importance Koschaker attached to this condition is apparent in a letter he wrote on 19^th April 1940 (his birthday), to the Ministry for Science, Education and Popular Education, in which Hinz’s name appears:^[236]

Bei meiner Berufung von Leipzig nach Berlin im Jahre 1935/1936 wurde mir die Errichtung eines „Seminars für Rechtsgeschichte des Alten Orients“ mit einem Assistenten zugesichert. Die Aussicht, meine Studien in den Rechten des alten Orients in Berlin mit größerer Wirksamkeit durchführen zu können als in Leipzig, wo sie aus hier nicht zu erörtenden Gründen gestört worden waren, bildete ein nicht unwesentliches Motiv für mich, meinen Platz in Leipzig mit Berlin zu vertauschen. Die Unterrichtsverwaltung schien Interesse für meine Pläne zu haben. Sie hat, ohne daß ich darum gebeten hätte, veranlaßt, daß ein Teil der Bibliothek meines Leipziger Seminars für orientalische Rechtsgeschichte als Leihgabe in die vorderasiatische Bibliothek der Staatlichen Museen übertragen wurde, an die das zu errichtende Seminar angeschlossen wurde. Ich hatte ferner wiederholt Gelegenheit, mit dem damaligen Sachbearbeiter Herrn Dr. Hinz weitausgreifende Pläne zu erörtern, Berlin zu einem Zentrum der Studien vom alten Orient zu machen, Pläne, die ich in einer Reihe von Denkschriften näher ausführte. [...].^[237]

This letter, written in a resolute and self-confident tone, shows not only how decisive the foundation of the Seminar was for Koschaker, but also that he had plans to make the University of Berlin one of the main German and European centres for the study of the Ancient Near East. Since the reaction of the Ministry to this request was positive, and the university administration also decided to take part of the library from the Seminar für orientalische Rechtsgeschichte in Leipzig and move it to Berlin, the new institute eventually opened on 1st April 1936.

Since Landsberger could not be at his side in Berlin, the other name that Koschaker had in mind for the study of Assyriology was Adam Falkenstein, who was at the time a young scholar of Sumerian at the University of Munich.^[239] The proposal to appoint this scholar, who finally obtained a position as professor in Assyriologie at the Faculty of Philosophy in Berlin on 1st April 1937, was not without difficulty and once more reveals the influence Koschaker had at the Ministry and within his academic circle at that time. In order to bring Falkenstein to Berlin, Koschaker had to overcome both the opposition of his colleagues at the University of Munich and that of the Führer der Dozentenschaft und des NS.-Dozentenbundes der Universität Berlin. San Nicolò, at the time professor in Munich and with whom Falkenstein had collaborated, wrote two letters of protest over Falkenstein’s appointment in Berlin, the second letter being signed not only by him, but by other colleagues at the university as well.^[240]

The harsh disapproval of Professor Landt, the Dozentenführer at the University of Berlin,^[241] was in part due to political considerations, since it was well known that the young scholar was at this time unfavourably disposed towards the Nazi regime.^[242] Landt wrote that he was strongly opposed to Falkenstein coming to Berlin, since “sich nirgends politisch betätigt hat und einer politischen Betätigung wohl ablehnend gegenüber steht [...]” and if this appointment was unavoidable, because Koschaker needed Falkenstein’s support in Berlin, then the federation of professors and lecturers at the University would not have shared that responsibility (“würde der Dozentenbund die Verantwortung nicht übernehmen”).^[243] Nonetheless, Koschaker was able to impose his will, in this case, even if he had to face strong opposition from a supporter of the regime, and only his huge prestige helped him to uphold his cause at the Ministry.

Once Koschaker’s conditions were accepted, he finally moved to Berlin on 1^st April 1936, where he assumed the Chair in Roman law and comparative legal history (Römisches Recht und vergleichende Rechtsgeschichte) that had been Rabel’s until 1935. As he wrote in his autobiography, he particularly appreciated two things there: the marvellous library and the opportunity to become a member of the Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften.² The latter was at the time the most prestigious scientific institution in Germany, “ein Gremium von Zelebritäten”. having succeeded in eclipsing, at least in part, the negative influence of the regime for a long time. According to Koschaker, although it eventually became impossible to escape this negative influence, it did not affect the life of the Academy as strongly as in other institutions.^{[244] [245]}

We learn from archive documents conserved at the Prussian Academy of Science, that the name of Koschaker for the “ordinary” membership (“zum ordentlichen Mitglied”) was suggested by Heymann, Stutz, Wilcken and Meissner during the session of the philosophisch-historische Klasse of 19^th November 1936, and in a following session, on 3^rd December of the same year, the proposal was voted on and Koschaker obtained 17 white balls and no black ones (meaning that the proposal had been accepted).^[246] After the vote of the plenum of the Academy on 14^th January 1937 (43 white balls against only 2 blacks),^[247] final confirmation came - as requested by the procedure - from the Ministry for Science, Education and Popular Education (Reichs-und Preussische Minister für Wissenschaft, Erziehung und Volksbildung) with a letter dated 18^th February 1937.^[248] Being a member of the Preußische Akademie was a source of pride for Koschaker - already member of the Saxon Academy of Science (Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften) since 1919 - a confirmation of his academic prowess and a further opportunity to give lectures before a prestigious audience.

(korrespondierendes Mitglied) of the philologisch-historische Klasse; in fact, in 1939 Koschaker was the first endorser - along with Heymann, Stroux and Wilcken - of the request to confer that role on Riccobono. The plenary assembly voted favourably on the proposal on 25th May 1939 and Riccobono became a member of the Prussian Academy of Science.^[250] However, Moriz Wlassak did not have the opportunity to join the Academy, since he died before the proposal of his name as a member by correspondence had been voted upon.^[251]

3.3