Joseph Friedrich Abert

Joseph Friedrich Abert (June 11, 1879 - October 25, 1959 in Würzburg) was a German historian and archivist.

Life

Abert was born in 1879 in Würzburg. His uncle was the Archbishop of Bamberg, Friedrich Philipp von Abert. In 1898 he passed his final exams, and studied history in Würzburg and Munich. In 1904 he received a Ph.D. in history. His thesis was published in 1905 as Die Wahlkapitulationen der Würzburger Bischöfe bis zum Ende des XVII Jahrhunderts, 1225-1698. His career as a leading archivist began as an intern at the General State Archives in Munich in 1904. From 1908 to 1910 he was employed by the Gräflich-Schönbornschen.

Abert served as a lieutenant in World War I. As a member of the Freikorps "Franz Xaver Ritter von Epp" he was involved in the suppression of the Bavarian Soviet Republic. From 1919 to 1926 he was head of the city archives of the city of Würzburg. In 1926 he was appointed Head of the State Archives. In 1928 he was appointed an honorary professor.

During the Nazi era, he was arrested for violating Paragraph 175, the legal ban on homosexuality and imprisoned. He also lost his membership in the SA and Nazi Party. Later, he lived for a while in Rome, where he worked at the German Historical Institute of the Repertorium Germanicum. In 1945 he returned to Würzburg, where he died on October 25, 1959. He was friends with the renowned film designer Albrecht Becker.

Works

• Die Wahlkapitulationen der Würzburger Bischöfe bis zum Ende des XVII Jahrhunderts, 1225-1698 (Würzburg University Press, 1905)
• Vom Mäzenatentu der Schönborn (Würzburg: Freunde Mainfränkischer Kunst und Geschichte, 1950)
• Aus Würzburgs Biedermeierzeit (Würzburg: Freunde Mainfränkischer Kunst und Geschichte, 1950)
• See also: World Cat: "Most widely held works by Josef Friedrich Abert", accessed January 6, 2010