Victor Klemperer

Scholar

Victor Klemperer was a German scholar and professor of literature who is renowned for his work on the Nazi era and its effects on German language and culture. He is remembered for his detailed diaries, which provide an invaluable record of life in Germany during the Hitler era, including his own experiences as a Jewish professor at the University of Dresden. Klemperer was born in 1881 and grew up in a Jewish family in Berlin. He studied philology and philosophy at the University of Berlin and Humboldt University and received his doctorate in 1906. From 1907-14 he was a professor of literature at the University of Marburg and from 1915 - 1925 he taught at the University of Greifswald. He was expelled from Greifswald in 1925 due to his Jewish heritage, and moved to the University of Dresden, where he remained until the end of the Nazi regime in 1945. During this time, he wrote his famous diaries, which have since been published and translated into numerous languages. Klemperer is an important figure in the history of German literature, as he worked to preserve the German language amidst the Nazi's attempts to 'Aryanize' it. His diaries provide readers with an in-depth account of life in Nazi Germany and represent an insightful source of historical analysis. He also wrote several books on linguistic and cultural aspects of Nazi Germany. Klemperer was honored for his work with the Moses Mendelssohn Award in 1956. He passed away in 1960, leaving behind a legacy of great scholarship on the Nazi era. His work has served not only as important source material, but also as a reminder of the importance of understanding history and preserving culture.