Josef Kroll

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Josef Kroll (8 November 1889 – 8 March 1980) was a German classical philologist and university rector.[1][2]

Biography

Josef Kroll was born into a

Berlin, Münster and Göttingen. It was from the University of Münster that he received his doctorate in 1913/14 for a dissertation submitted the previous year entitled "The teachings of Hermes Trismegistus". He stressed the extent to which the theosophical doctrines of the "thrice-greatest Hermes" were based not simply on ancient oriental teachings, as had been assumed hitherto on account of research published by Richard Reitzenstein, but also leaned heavily on Greek philosophy.[2] Kroll's work involved texts drawn from a number of different ancient religions. He subsequently expanded the dissertation to produce a more extensive publication which was picked out for commendation by the Vienna Academy because of the explanations it provided for inherently inscrutable traditions.[1] During 1913/14 he undertook a study trip to Italy.[3]

He then moved briefly to the

Jesuit schools in Europe.[1]

In 1922 Josef Kroll accepted an invitation to move to the University of Cologne, where he would remain till his retirement in 1956. His research concentrated above all on the early years of Christianity in the context of the heathen world surrounding it. His 1921 work "Die christliche Hymnodik bis zu Clemens von Alexandreia" finds the rare traces of lost early Christian hymns viewed through the sometimes contrasting prisms of surviving from Judaism and Greco-Roman paganism: it identifies connections between hymn texts and the liturgy. Kroll's major work, "Gott und Hölle" (1932, God and Hell) deals with the mythical motif of a God's descent into Hell, followed by a battle and victory over the Lord of the Dead. The starting point is the Christian presentation of Christ's descent into Hell on Good Friday, followed by the freeing of the righteous from the pre-Christian period, which is accomplished achieved through his victory over the Prince of Hell. For the underlying narrative Kroll drew from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus and a number of later liturgical texts. He draws out the connections with the pre-existing traditional tales of visits to the underworld.[2]

From his arrival at Cologne, Josef Kroll saw it as his mission to extend the Institute for Classical Philology, embracing closely related subjects to create an "Institute for Ancient Studies". During the 1920s he made sure that

régime change at a national level quickly impacted the universities sector as the new Hitler government lost no time in transforming Germany into a one-party dictatorship: measures included steps to ensure that party members and/or supporters were installed in positions of power and influence. Kroll resigned his chairmanship of the university administration committee, and for the next twelve years he rejected all requests that he should involve himself in university committees and administration.[1]

At the end of October 1944 Kroll nevertheless became deputy to University Rector

war.[2] On 3 July 1948 he was again re-elected as university rector, albeit by only a narrow majority. Through his period of office he rejected any party-political involvement by the university, preferring a relentless focus on practicalities. He treasured a commitment to Humboldtist universality which meant a rejection of the sort of excessive specialisation which, after his time, would be apparent in the separation of the Faculty for Mathematics and Natural Sciences from the broader Philosophical Faculty. In those critical post-war years he also articulated the real-world conflict between humanistic idealised calls for new beginnings in sciences and in teaching, and the pragmatic necessity sometimes to work with former National Socialist Party members. During his second postwar term as rector he oversaw the renaming of the "Kölner Hochschule" (loosely, "Cologne University") which now became the "Universität zu Köln" (loosely, "University at Cologne"), which involved the implementation of an initiative which he had himself introduced in the early 1930s.[1]

Josef Kroll's contribution during the postwar years was not restricted to rebuilding the university. He engaged with numerous arts related projects. He campaigned successfully for the re-establishment of the

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG / loosely, "German Research Foundation") and the Studienstiftung ("German Academic Scholarship Foundation ").[1]

Josef Kroll died, aged 90, at Duisburg-Rheinhausen. The books from his private library, which concerned classical philology, were left in his will to the Coligne university and city libraries.[1]

Awards and honours (selection)

When he retired in 1956 Kroll was elected an honorary citizen of the University of Colonne ("Ehrenbürger der Universität zu Köln"). In 1959 he was honoured with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.[1]

Publications (selection)

  • Die Lehren des Hermes Trismegistos. Aschendorff, Münster 1914 (Contributions to Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters, XII, 2–4).
  • Die christliche Hymnodik bis zu Klemens von Alexandreia. In: Verzeichnis der Vorlesungen an der Akademie zu Braunsberg 1921/1922. 2., überprüfte Auflage. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1968.
  • Die Himmelfahrt der Seele in der Antike. Rede, gehalten bei der feierlichen Übernahme des Rektorats der Universität am 8. Nov. 1930. Müller, Köln 1930.
  • Gott und Hölle. Der Mythos vom Descensuskampfe. Teubner, Leipzig, Berlin 1932.
  • Theognis-Interpretationen. Dieterich, Leipzig 1936.
  • Elysium. Westdeutscher Verlag, Köln, Opladen 1953.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Josef Kroll, Rektor 1930 - 1931 und 1945 - 1949". Universität zu Köln. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Reinhold Merkelbach (1982). "Kroll, Josef: Klassischer Philologe, * 8.11.1889 Arnsberg (Westfalen), † 8.3.1980 Rheinhausen bei Duisburg. (katholisch)". Neue Deutsche Biographie. Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (HiKo), München. p. 72. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. ISBN 978-3-16-151708-2. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Josef_Kroll&oldid=1173513939"