Walter Baetke
Encyclopedia
Walter Hugo Hermann Baetke (28 March 1884, Sternberg in der Neumark
– 15 February 1978, Leipzig
) was a German
professor of Scandinavian studies
and religious studies
. He was Professor of the History of Religion at the University of Leipzig
.
in Stettin. From 1902 to 1907, Baetke studied Germanic studies
, English studies
, education
and philosophy
at the Universities of Halle
and Berlin, graduating from Halle in 1907 with a qualification to teach in higher education and earning a doctorate in English there in 1908 with a thesis on children in the works of Shakespeare's contemporaries and successors. He then worked as a school examiner and at another gymnasium in Stettin and from 1913 to 1935 was head of a school in Bergen auf Rügen
. After one year teaching the history of Germanic religion
at the University of Greifswald, he was appointed Professor of the History of Religion at the University of Leipzig in 1936. In 1946 he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Theology and was also appointed to an additional position as Professor of Nordic Philology
. He also headed the university's Institute for the History of Religion. From 1947 to 1949, he was Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. He retired in 1955 but from 1955 to 1959 held an emeritus position as "commissar" of the Institute for the History of Religion and the Old Norse division of the Institute for Germanic Studies.
His academic work focussed on ancient Germanic religion, on which he published extensively. Already before World War II, he was known as "a critic of romantic excess" in interpretations. In his 1934 Art und Glaube der Germanen, he rejected Herman Wirth's view of the genuineness and importance of the Oera Linda Book and also systematically opposed Bernhard Kummer's views in Midgards Untergang. In 1942 in Das Heilige im Germanischen, he opposed Rudolf Otto
's influential viewpoint that the source of religion lay in a "stirring in the heart" of awareness of the numinous, arguing that all religious experience has a social and historical context. In Yngvi und die Ynglinger (1964) he dismissed the widely accepted view espoused by, for example, Otto Höfler
that Germanic peoples had sacral kingship. The issue and his arguments are still debated today: in a re-examination in 2004, Olof Sundqvist substantially agreed, finding that "this paradigm [sacral kingship] implies a number of methodological difficulties"; Francis Oakley, however, argued in 2010 that although Baetke successfully rebutted the notion that Scandinavian kings were worshipped, he could not dismiss the evidence that they had some sacral status as mediators with the gods.
organisation. However, he never joined the Nazi Party or any of its subsidiaries, including the Reich Author's Organisation, and during the war his election to the examining board of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Leipzig and to the Saxon Academy of Sciences both went unratified by the regime. In 1946 he joined the SPD
and subsequently became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
, the official party of the Soviet Occupation Zone and later of East Germany. He was a member of the Confessing Church
and was a delegate to the conference of the World Council of Churches
in Amsterdam in 1948 from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony.
Baetke was married twice: in 1911 to Agnes Kirsten (1885–1945) and in 1948 to Erna Knegendorf (1903–2000). Both his wives were teachers.
In 1949/50 Baetke lectured at the Universities of Lund
and Uppsala
, the first German academic to be invited to do so in Sweden
since the war.
Torzym
Torzym is a town in Sulęcin County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland, with 2,466 inhabitants . It is the administrative seat of the urban-rural Gmina Torzym...
– 15 February 1978, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
professor of Scandinavian studies
Scandinavian studies
Scandinavian studies is an interdisciplinary academic field of area studies that covers topics related to Scandinavia and the Nordic countries, including their languages, literature, history, culture and society, in countries other than these. As described in the article on Scandinavia, that name...
and religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
. He was Professor of the History of Religion at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
.
Life and career
Baetke's father, Wilhelm Baetke, was a police official. Baetke attended a gymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Stettin. From 1902 to 1907, Baetke studied Germanic studies
Germanic studies
Germanic studies is the field of study of the Germanic languages and the history of the Germanic peoples.Subfields*English studies*German studies*Dutch studies*Scandinavian studies*Runology*comparative linguistics Founding figures...
, English studies
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the Universities of Halle
University of Halle-Wittenberg
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
and Berlin, graduating from Halle in 1907 with a qualification to teach in higher education and earning a doctorate in English there in 1908 with a thesis on children in the works of Shakespeare's contemporaries and successors. He then worked as a school examiner and at another gymnasium in Stettin and from 1913 to 1935 was head of a school in Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen in the middle of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the Amt of Bergen auf Rügen, which with a population of over 23,000 is...
. After one year teaching the history of Germanic religion
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
at the University of Greifswald, he was appointed Professor of the History of Religion at the University of Leipzig in 1936. In 1946 he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Theology and was also appointed to an additional position as Professor of Nordic Philology
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
. He also headed the university's Institute for the History of Religion. From 1947 to 1949, he was Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. He retired in 1955 but from 1955 to 1959 held an emeritus position as "commissar" of the Institute for the History of Religion and the Old Norse division of the Institute for Germanic Studies.
His academic work focussed on ancient Germanic religion, on which he published extensively. Already before World War II, he was known as "a critic of romantic excess" in interpretations. In his 1934 Art und Glaube der Germanen, he rejected Herman Wirth's view of the genuineness and importance of the Oera Linda Book and also systematically opposed Bernhard Kummer's views in Midgards Untergang. In 1942 in Das Heilige im Germanischen, he opposed Rudolf Otto
Rudolf Otto
Rudolf Otto was an eminent German Lutheran theologian and scholar of comparative religion.-Life:Born in Peine near Hanover, Otto attended the Gymnasium Andreanum in Hildesheim and studied at the universities of Erlangen and Göttingen, where he wrote his dissertation on Martin Luther's...
's influential viewpoint that the source of religion lay in a "stirring in the heart" of awareness of the numinous, arguing that all religious experience has a social and historical context. In Yngvi und die Ynglinger (1964) he dismissed the widely accepted view espoused by, for example, Otto Höfler
Otto Höfler
Otto Höfler was an Austrian scholar of German studies. He was a student of Rudolf Much, and adopted Much's "Germanic Continuity Theory," which argued for continuity of ancient Germanic culture into present-day German folklore...
that Germanic peoples had sacral kingship. The issue and his arguments are still debated today: in a re-examination in 2004, Olof Sundqvist substantially agreed, finding that "this paradigm [sacral kingship] implies a number of methodological difficulties"; Francis Oakley, however, argued in 2010 that although Baetke successfully rebutted the notion that Scandinavian kings were worshipped, he could not dismiss the evidence that they had some sacral status as mediators with the gods.
Personal and political
Baetke joined the conservative German National People’s Party in 1926 and was a member until 1932. From 1934 until the end of the war, he belonged to the National Socialist People's WelfareNational Socialist People's Welfare
The Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt , meaning "National Socialist People's Welfare" was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was established in 1933, shortly after the NSDAP took power in Germany...
organisation. However, he never joined the Nazi Party or any of its subsidiaries, including the Reich Author's Organisation, and during the war his election to the examining board of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Leipzig and to the Saxon Academy of Sciences both went unratified by the regime. In 1946 he joined the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and subsequently became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
, the official party of the Soviet Occupation Zone and later of East Germany. He was a member of the Confessing Church
Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
and was a delegate to the conference of the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
in Amsterdam in 1948 from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony.
Baetke was married twice: in 1911 to Agnes Kirsten (1885–1945) and in 1948 to Erna Knegendorf (1903–2000). Both his wives were teachers.
Honours
- 1943, ratified 1945: Member, Saxon Academy of Sciences
- 1946: Honorary doctorate in Theology, University of Leipzig
- 1959: Order of Patriotic Merit in silver, German Democratic Republic
- 1946: Named "Distinguished People's Scholar", German Democratic Republic
- 1974: Moritz Wilhelm Drobisch Medal, Saxon Academy of Sciences
In 1949/50 Baetke lectured at the Universities of Lund
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
and Uppsala
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
, the first German academic to be invited to do so in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
since the war.
Selected works
- Art und Glaube der Germanen. Hamburg: Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, 1934.
- Das Heilige im Germanischen. Tübingen: Mohr, 1942.
- Yngvi und die Ynglinger; eine quellenkritische Untersuchung über das nordische "Sakral-köningtum". Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig: Philologisch-historische Klasse: Sitzungsberichte. Berlin: Akademie, 1964.
- Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur. Berlin: Akademie, 1965. 8th ed. 2008. ISBN 978-3-05-004897-0
Festschrifts
- Festschrift Walter Baetke, dargebracht zu seinem 80. Geburtstag am 28. März 1964. Ed. Kurt RudolphKurt RudolphKurt Rudolph is a German researcher of Gnosticism and Mandaeism.Born in Dresden, Rudolph studied Protestant theology, religion, history and Semitic at the universities of Greifswald and Leipzig in the years 1948 to 1953. Subsequently, for six years he was research assistant while he worked in...
, Rolf Heller and Ernst Walter. Weimar: Böhlau, 1966. - Altnordistik, Vielfalt und Einheit: Erinnerungsband für Walter Baetke, 1884-1978. Ed. Ernst Walter and Hartmut Mittelstädt. Weimar: Böhlau, 1989. ISBN 3740001070
Sources
- Fritz Heinrich and Kurt RudolphKurt RudolphKurt Rudolph is a German researcher of Gnosticism and Mandaeism.Born in Dresden, Rudolph studied Protestant theology, religion, history and Semitic at the universities of Greifswald and Leipzig in the years 1948 to 1953. Subsequently, for six years he was research assistant while he worked in...
. "Walter Baetke (1884–1978)". Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft 9 (2001) 169-84.
External links
- Works by and about Walter Baetke in the German National LibraryGerman National LibraryThe German National Library is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany...