Science and Politics
In the Weimar Republic, there were key differences in higher education to that of the German Empire. Article 142 of the Weimar Constitution guaranteed freedom of research and teaching for the first time. Within the ministries of education, there was a partial change in personnel. From 1918-19 onward, these positions were filled not only by monarchists but also by party politicians from across the political spectrum. At the same time, the education system remained federal, and the universities essentially retained their existing legal structure. [1]
To better financially support research and universities in general, governmental funding bodies were established in the Weimar Republic, like the Humboldt-Verein, (Humboldt Society) der Stiftungsverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft (Foundation Association for German Science) and die Notgemeinschaft der deutschen Wissenschaft (the Emergency Association of German Science). These primarily funded application-oriented projects. The research, some of which aimed at independence from certain raw materials and basic products, built upon the autarky efforts of the First World War, which continued uninterrupted until World War II.
Professors and students in the Weimar Republic
The professoriate was a small group: in 1925 there were 4,862 professors at the universities of the German Reich and 1,829 professors at the technical universities. However, due to their prominent position in society, they exerted a considerable influence, especially on the student body as the newly emerging elite.
With the end of the Wilhelmine Empire, many professors feared for their social status and prestige should the Soviet Union prevail. This was the sole reason why many professors initially supported the new form of government in the early stages of the Weimar Republic. However, this changed as early as 1919. From then on, most professors viewed the Republic with distance and criticism, and even hostility and arrogance. In their "aufrechten nationalen Gesinnung" (upright national sentiment), the professors uncritically glorified the Wilhelmine past.
The students' relationship to the republican state was varied, ranging from ambivalent reserve to outright contempt. While there was democratic potential, the vast majority associated the new state with Germany's defeat in World War I, which was widely percieved as a humiliation for the country. The anti-democratic subculture of Wilhelmine student fraternities was not banned, and the number of members in fraternities and other student associations rose sharply. Until 1925, the Völkisch and nationalist Hochschulring (University Ring) had an enormous influence on the universities. In 1927, an open break occurred between the students and the republic, whereupon the organized student body lost its state recognition. National Socialist German Students' League (NSDStB) "conquered" the universities. This movement was characterized by anti-rationalism, the myth of the front-line soldier, ethnic nationalism, anti-Semitism, and contempt for the Weimar party system. In the winter semester of 1929/30, the NSDStB (National Socialist German Students' League) achieved absolute majorities for the first time at the universities of Erlangen and Greifswald. In July 1931, it won an absolute majority in the elections of the 14th German Student Congress . Consequently, many students showed themselves to be receptive to National Socialist ideology early on and in a publicly effective manner.
