Sociology in Germany: From the Beginnings to 1945

Abstract

In this chapter, the beginnings of sociology in Germany up until 1945 are presented. Similar to France, in Germany the genesis of sociology is closely linked to the emergence of bourgeois society, industrialization, and the perception of a social and cultural crisis. At the turn of the century, the now well-known “founding fathers,” such as Ferdinand Tönnies, Georg Simmel, and Max Weber, published their classical works. Journals and professional organizations were founded. In the interwar period, sociology became established as an academic discipline at universities. National Socialism brought sociology as an institutionalized and well-established discipline to an end. The Nazis had no interest in sociology as an independent science. But even though sociology cannot be identified as a discipline in the years 1933 to 1945, there were people who worked sociologically. It was in particular their empirical and methodological knowledge that was useful for the Nazis.