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Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr Von Bissing Im Blickpunkt Ägyptologischer Und Zeithistorischer Forschungen: Die Jahre 1914 Bis 1926*

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Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr Von Bissing Im Blickpunkt Ägyptologischer Und Zeithistorischer Forschungen: Die Jahre 1914 Bis 1926* Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing im Blickpunkt ägyptologischer und zeithistorischer Forschungen: die Jahre 1914 bis 1926* Peter Raulwing Saratoga, CA [email protected] Thomas L. Gertzen Berlin, Germany [email protected] Abstract The extensive bibliography of Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing (1873–1956) lists 621 numbered items, documenting over six decades of Egyptological productivity. Widely unknown to Egyptologists and ancient historians, however, are a handful of publications by F.W. von Bissing, printed between 1914 and 1917, in which he defends the German occupation of Belgium to a French-speaking audience using the pseudonym “Anacharsis le jeune.” This name refers to the antagonist in the novel Les Voyages du jeune Anacharsis en Grèce (1787) by the French * Dieser Beitrag zu Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing und seine Jahre in Belgien sowie in Utrecht—ein Thema, an dem beide Autoren seit einiger Zeit unabhängig voneinander gear- beitet haben—ist durch die freundliche Vermittlung von Professor Dr. Thomas Schneider ent- standen, dem wir für die Aufnahme in das JEgH unseren Dank aussprechen möchten. Des weiteren sind wir Professor Dr. Dr. Bernd Ulrich Schipper (Berlin), Dr. Willem van Haarlem (Amsterdam) und Dr. Gil Stein (The Oriental Institute, Chicago) für ihre Genehmigung zur Einsichtnahme in die Akten zu F.W. Freiherr von Bissing im Nachlaß von Adolf Erman im Archiv der Handschriftenabteilung der Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Bremen und im Allard Pierson Museum (Th. Gertzen) ebenso zu Dank verpflichtet wie für die Erlaubnis, die Korrespondenzen hier auswerten zu dürfen. Überdies gilt unser Dank dem Münchner Stadtmu- seum (hier insbesondere Frau Dr. Elisabeth Stürmer) für die Genehmigung zum Abdruck des Photos von F. W. Freiherr von Bissing (Abb. 1). Frau Dr. Susanne Voß, die im Rahmen ihrer in Vorbereitung befindlichen Publikation über die Institutsgeschichte der Abteilung Kairo des DAI (http://www.dainst.org/cluster5#dai_kairo [Stand: 16. April 2011]) auch zahlreiche Kon- flikte zwischen Ludwig Borchardt und F.v.B. ausführlich untersucht, sind wir nicht nur für eine Reihe von freundlichen Hinweisen, sondern auch für eine ausführliche Diskussion der unpubli- zierten Quellen dieser Zeit sehr zu Dank verpflichtet. Wir danken Herrn Prof. Stephan Seidl- mayer (DAI, Abteilung Kairo) für die Publikationserlaubnis der Notiz von Ludwig Borchardt und Frau Dr. Susanne Voß für den Hinweis auf dieses Dokument. Überdies bedanken wir uns friedrich wilhelm freiherr von bissing 35 antiquarian Jean-Jacques Barthélemy (1716–1795), which reached the status of, what might be called, a Bildungsroman in the late 18th and 19th century in Europe. Furthermore, F.W. von Bissing is the author of numerous political writings published between 1915 and 1922 for a German-speaking audience under his own name, mostly dealing with the relationship between the German Empire and Belgium during World War I.; later with the political situation in post- war Germany.—This study tries to shed light on F.W. von Bissing’s pamphlets, writings, letters and political background and non-academic activities in the last years of the Kaiserreich and the early Weimar Republic until his retirement from the chair at the university in Utrecht in 1926. Keywords In German: Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing; Moritz von Bissing; Constant Willem Lunsingh Scheurleer; Belgien; Deutsches Kaiserreich; Erster Weltkrieg; Wissenschaftsgeschichte Ägyptologie In English: Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing; Moritz von Bissing; Constant Willem Lunsingh Scheurleer; Belgium; German Empire; World War I; History of Egyptology * * * * Inhalt 1. Einführung 2. Zielsetzung 3. Über die Notwendigkeit kritischer wissenschaftsgeschichtlicher Studien in der Ägyptologie 4. Biographische Skizze F.W. Freiherr von Bissings 5. Nachrufe auf F.W. Freiherr von Bissing und Einträge in Nachschlagewerken 6. Biographische Notizen, Originalquellen und zeitgenössische Kommentare 7. F.W. Freiherr von Bissings Pseudonym „Anacharsis le jeune“ 8. F.W. Freiherr von Bissings politisches Engagement in Belgien 9. Die Nachkriegszeit und F. W. Freiherr von Bissings Professur in Utrecht 10. F.W. Freiherr von Bissing als Nationalsozialist seit 1923 und sein Verhältnis zu „Thron und Altar“ 11. Fazit und Ausblick auf künftige F.W. Freiherr von Bissing-Forschungen 12. Weiterführende Literatur zur Einordnung des zeitgeschichtlichen Umfeldes * * * * bei dem Bayerischen Hauptstaatsarchiv (München), der Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg Carl von Ossietzky (Nachlaß Hans Friedrich Blunck), der Hoover Institution und Cecil H. Green Library (Stanford University) sowie der New York Public Library für die groß- zügige Bereitstellung von Aktenmaterial bzw. Literatur. Last, but not least haben Frau Dr. Susanne Voß, Dr. Jens Thiel, Dr. Moritz Kiderlen und Christoph Roolf, M.A. die vorliegende Untersuchung mit weiterführenden Hinweisen und Ratschlägen begleitet; für diesen Freund- schaftsdienst sprechen wir ihnen an dieser Stelle unseren aufrichtigen Dank aus. Viele Verbesse- rungen gehen auf ihr Konto, alle verbleibenden Schwächen und Fehler auf das unsrige. Dieser für das JEgH—gegenüber einer im November fertiggestellten kürzeren Fassung—überarbeitete Beitrag wurde im Januar 2011 zum Druck eingereicht und letzte Verbesserungen nach der Leip- ziger SÄK 2011 vorgenommen..
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