Stefanie Haupt

›Völkische Ortungen und Germanische Himmelskunde.‹ The Emergence of Astronomical Interpretations in the Field of Prehistory in the First Half of the 20th Century (PhD project, German)

In the interwar period, the German scientific community engaged in controversial debates on the possibility of a >Germanic< astronomy in prehistoric times. Members of the so-called Völkisch Movement advertised stone monuments as prehistoric observatories. In those, they saw proof for an elaborate >Germanic sky lore< that could even surpass sophisticated astronomical traditions of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. These hypotheses were not only driven by the urge to shape and glorify an alleged German national history reaching far back to ancient times but also to claim the superiority of a >Nordic race<. Although this particular field of research never became an academic discipline, it gained significant institutional support in Nazi-Germany.''
My PhD project focuses on these early attempts to interpret archaeological sites by astronomical means and investigates the historical contexts and ideological premises of such interpretations. I will analyse the debates in scientific journals and monographs and examine protagonists and their networks. The aim is to understand how and why the concept of a >Germanic astronomy< became a popular notion of prehistory. My research provides new insights into the intersecting fields of the Völkisch Movement and the scientific communities in the first half of the 20th century. The project contributes to the ongoing research on the history of sciences.

Research Fields

• the Völkisch movement
• Nationalsocialism
• memory culture
• History of Science

publications record at ORCID