MAYER, GUSTAV

MAYER, GUSTAV (1871–1948), German historian. Born in Prenzlau (Brandenburg), Mayer studied economics in Berlin and Freiburg and later worked as a journalist. Because of his criticism at the end of World War i his academic career came to a standstill and only in 1920 did he become professor of history, democracy, and socialism at the University of Berlin. He wrote extensively on socialism and the history of the German labor movement. Gustav's unbiased writings contributed to the appreciation of the historical significance of *Lassalle, *Marx, and his friend Friedrich Engels, about whom Mayer wrote an important biography. Among his books were: Johann Baptist von Schweitzer und die Sozialdemokratie (1909); Die Anfaenge des politischen Radikalismus im vormaerzlichen Preussen (1912); Der deutsche Marxismus und der Krieg (1916); Aus der Welt des Sozialismus (1927); Bismarck und Lasalle, ihr Briefwechsel und ihre Gespraeche (1928); Friedrich Engels, eine Biographie (2 vols., 1933; Eng., 1936). When the Nazis came to power Mayer emigrated to Holland where in 1949 his Erinnerungen – Vom Journalisten zum Historiker der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung was published. He refused to go back to Germany after World War ii because he felt that German-Jewish symbiosis had failed.

bibliography:

G. Niedhart, "Gustav Mayers englische Jahre – Zum Exil eines deutschen Juden und Historikers," in: Exilforschung, 6 (1988), 98–107; G. Niedhart, "Identitaetskonflikte eines deutschen Judens an der Wende vom 19. zum 20. Jahrhunderts – Gustav Mayer zwischen juedischer Herkunft und ungewisser deutscher Zukunft," in: Tel Aviver Jahrbuch fuer Deutsche Geschichte, 20 (1991), 315–26; J. Prellwitz, Juedisches Erbe, sozialliberales Ethos, deutsche Nation – Gustav Mayer im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik (1998).

[Bjoern Siegel (2^nd ed.)]