In The Search of Lost Albertina: the University of Königsbergin Contemporary Historiography

Abstract

The article explores contemporary historiography of the history of Königsberg University (Albertina), which had existed in East Prussia since 1544 until 1944. Over the course of four centuries there was an official narrative on the history of the university as a stronghold of German culture in the east of the country.
 After World War II the university history was mainly investigated by German historians, but after the end of the Cold War the interest in this topic increased not only in Germany, but also in other countries. The researchers are primarily focused on
 two periods – the early modern one (mid-16th – 17th centuries) and the end of the 19th – the first half of the 20th century. A considerable number of topics on the history of Königsberg University, which earlier were taboo or ignored for other reasons, have become a subject of academic interest in recent decades. Discussions arose about the degree of responsibility of university intellectuals for the Nazis’ crimes. New biographies of historians such as Hans Rothfels or Werner Conze force a reader to form a more realistic image of Albertina in the 1930s. The material ofthe university history makes it possible to reconsider the
 contradictory relations between the German state and Jewish communities as well as to expand understanding of the circumstances of the Jews’ persecution at the beginning of the National Socialistera. The analysis of contemporary historiography shows that, with all its achievements, it retains some stereotypes dating back to the traditional narrative, primarily a lack of attention to the role of women in the university history and the importance of the university as an institution strengtheninga gender order. The paper introduces a number of examples of women scholars that are not fully represented in the history of the university (Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, Sophie Brutzer, Elise Jenny Baumgartel). Moreover, the article gives a brief description of Russian historiography. Taking into account the development trends of contemporary historiography, the author considers the prospects of the research devoted to Königsberg University history.