A Case-Study for the Development of Prehistoric Archaeology in Socialist Germany - The Leipzig Chair under Friedrich Behn (1948-1963)

Abstract

In 1948 Friedrich Behn began to rebuild the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology of the University of Leipzig. At this time he was 65. Behn was appointed only after a long recruiting procedure. This throws a light of the situation of the humanities in the Soviet Occupation Zone after World War II and the preconditions for a »new beginning«. The academic career of Gerhard Mildenberger who became assistant professor under Behn in 1949 depicts the opportunities and the limits for young archeologists at an East German university in the 1950’s. In his »farewell letter« from March 1959, he refers to a number of non-academic issues that influenced the academic live. Though under criticism by the Communist Party, Behn was able to restrain the parties influence on the newly built Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte. The political dimension is also present when excavations were led under Behn’s direction. So the excavation at the Leipzig »Matthäikirchhof« as well as Behn himself were under surveillance of the East German secret police. Finally, Behn’s retirement and the regulations for his successor illustrate the growing influence and the ongoing centralization of academic policy in the East German state.