A Lasting Presence!

Honoring Professor Klaus Schwabe's 90th Birthday

Professor Klaus Schwabe shaped generations of historians, American studies specialists, and political scientists.
Photo: Harald Krömer, Medienhaus Aachen

Actually, Klaus Schwabe has never really been away. Since his retirement, he has written an award-winning book, published numerous scholarly articles, and commented on international politics in local and national newspapers. His expertise is in demand, as evidenced by his numerous guest lectures at universities in Germany and abroad.

Klaus Schwabe was born in Berlin on March 23, 1932. He is a "Kriegskind", a child who grew up during World War Two. His life has been deeply influenced by the end of the war, which he experienced in Neuruppin, in the State of Brandenburg, as a refugee from the Berlin bombing. Just a few years after the war, his family left the Soviet occupation zone and moved to West Berlin. He studied history at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, at Freie Universität Berlin, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and at the University of Freiburg. In 1972, he was appointed a professor of medieval and modern history, including Anglo-American history, at Goethe University Frankfurt. Eight years later, he accepted his appointment as Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at RWTH, where he made the history of European integration another focus of his academic research. In the 1990s, the European Commission awarded him the Jean Monnet Chair for his work in this area.

Schwabe is a well-known historian whose work is esteemed far beyond the science community. Many Aachen residents know him as a speaker in the events program for the Charlemagne Prize award ceremony, through his specialist articles in the journal of the Aachen History Society, and from reports about him in the local press.

Commemorative Publication

Klaus Schwabe, who taught at RWTH from 1980 to 1997, influenced generations of historians, American studies specialists, and political scientists. More than 30 of them, from all parts of Germany, from Benelux, France, UK, and the United States interpret his life's work by exploring the trifecta of "America, Germany, and Europe" in a commemorative publication in his honor. This refers to the belief system based on the values of constitutional legality, democracy, human and civil rights, as well as the role of the American hegemonic power, and the significance of European integration for Germany under changing international conditions.

The contributions are rightly oriented to his specializations:

  • to US President Woodrow Wilson and his idea of a world order based on law, the League of Nations,
  • on the global political role of the United States in the 20th century, the "American Century."
  • on the Treaty of Versailles and its consequences,
  • on the Cold War, the importance of NATO and European integration for European security, the economic development of Europe, and the role of Germany in these models of order.

In keeping with Schwabe’s approach, the authors do not simply stick with a historical perspective. They ask where Europe is headed, seek to understand Brexit and its consequences, endeavor to determine Germany's role in an integrated Europe, examine the potential of a special German-American relationship, and assess changing U.S. foreign policy. No fewer than four U.S. presidents are the subject of analysis: Wilson, Obama, Trump, and Biden.

"Learning From History" is his credo.

In keeping with Schwabe’s approach, the authors do not simply stick with a historical perspective. They ask where Europe is headed, seek to understand Brexit and its consequences, endeavor to determine Germany's role in an integrated Europe, examine the potential of a special German-American relationship, and assess changing U.S. foreign policy. No fewer than four U.S. presidents are the subject of analysis: Wilson, Obama, Trump, and Biden.

Klaus Schwabe's approach has also been validated here: His research has explained the world of international relations to all of us; giving us a basic understanding of the issues and putting this knowledge into context. "Learning From History" is his credo: So we can damn well do better! To avoid history repeating itself, he is firmly convinced that we need freedom, i.e. the freedom to deal with the past from a scientific perspective without pressure and constraints. Schwabe calls these conditions for being able to work as a historian at all "freedom as a requirement”, which, in his opinion, inevitably leads to "freedom as an effect" of scholarly engagement with history. Being able to conduct their work freely and independently is the prerequisite for historians to expose, deconstruct, and finally free themselves from legends, myths, and prejudices of people and states. In this way, the historian’s work can have a reconciling effect between people and nations and bring about peace.

The authors of the commemorative publication appreciate the methodical approach of the archival historian. They are guided by the evidence of the sources, do not force historical facts into social science theory, instead placing findings into a historical context before interpreting them.

Four generations are at work here, the generation of Klaus Schwabe, that of his successors, who are also already retired, the generation of current chair holders, and finally those who are at the beginning of their academic careers. The commemorative publication was presented to a larger audience on Schwabe’s academic anniversary celebration on May 27, 2022, in the presence of the current Chair of Modern History, Professor Elke Seefried, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Professor Torsten H. Voigt. The publication, which sees itself as contributing to the international discourse, hits the nerve of the times; it appears at the right time and makes you curious – curious about the jubilarian and his œuvre!

– Christian Bremen

America, Germany, and Europe from 1917 to the present. Commemorative publication to mark Klaus Schwabe's 90th birthday. Ed. by Christian Bremen. 2 Volumes, Aachen 2022.
Verlag Mainz