Politisches Chamäleon: Richard Thurnwald und seine kolonialethnologischen Ansätze in der NS-Zeit

Abstract

This study examines Thurnwald’s colonial ethnological activities in the years 1935 to 1945, also taking into account the U.S. context. The first part deals with Thurnwald’s academic position at the Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Berlin and his attempts to found an Institute for Ethnic Studies (Institut für Völkerforschung). The second part examines with Thurnwald’s conception of a practical colonial policy, which he had already developed in rudiments in the United States. Finally, the third section illustrates how Thurnwald’s volatile behavior affected his interactions with selected colleagues. The sources are drawn from eleven archives in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States. Epistemologically and methodologically, a source analysis is pursued that combines the approaches of historical anthropology with those of contemporary history for specialized historiography of ethnology.