‘Hasty observations’?
- This article examines geographical field research in Albania and Montenegro under Austro-Hungarian occupation, which lasted from 1916 to 1918. It focusses on one of the most important German-speaking geographers of the early 20 th century, Eugen Oberhummer (1859–1944), a pupil of Friedrich Ratzel, the founder of German geo-politics. In 1917 and 1918, Oberhummer went on two expeditions to Montenegro and Albania during the First World War. He already had travelled in four continents and vaguely knew the Western Balkans from an expedition in 1907. It will be argued that the actual situation in Albania and Montenegro did not alter, but did rather reinforce Oberhummer’s attitudes and opinions on the ‘other’ he encountered. Thus, the two war expeditions – Oberhummer primarily met high-ranking Austro-Hungarian officials and only few locals – confirmed his expectations basing on his ‘Ratzelian’ theoretical conceptions. It will further be argued that – in contrast to the much younger and less experienced ‘scholars-at-arms’ of the expedition ofThis article examines geographical field research in Albania and Montenegro under Austro-Hungarian occupation, which lasted from 1916 to 1918. It focusses on one of the most important German-speaking geographers of the early 20 th century, Eugen Oberhummer (1859–1944), a pupil of Friedrich Ratzel, the founder of German geo-politics. In 1917 and 1918, Oberhummer went on two expeditions to Montenegro and Albania during the First World War. He already had travelled in four continents and vaguely knew the Western Balkans from an expedition in 1907. It will be argued that the actual situation in Albania and Montenegro did not alter, but did rather reinforce Oberhummer’s attitudes and opinions on the ‘other’ he encountered. Thus, the two war expeditions – Oberhummer primarily met high-ranking Austro-Hungarian officials and only few locals – confirmed his expectations basing on his ‘Ratzelian’ theoretical conceptions. It will further be argued that – in contrast to the much younger and less experienced ‘scholars-at-arms’ of the expedition of 1916 – war and violence were of secondary relevance for the well-travelled and renowned professor of geography in his late 50s. Neither in Oberhummer’s articles nor in his diaries the war and the occupation of Albania and Montenegro made up an important part. In Oberhummer’s ‘Ratzelian’ view, humans could not change or over-come the basic features of geography, as humans were clearly subordinated to the elemental forces of geography. People, over generations, adapted to geography, not the other way round. The on-going First World War was an opportunity for Oberhummer to travel to Albania and Montenegro, but the guerrilla warfare in large parts of Montenegro, the violence against the civilian population, and the fighting at the Albanian front were of secondary relevance and interest for him. Nevertheless, what Oberhummer observed offers great insights into the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Montenegro and Albania from the perspective of a renowned and – given the general circumstances – pleasantly relaxed Ratzelian geographer at the height of his academic career.…
Author details: | Heiko BrendelORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-435000 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-43500 |
ISSN: | 1866-8380 |
Title of parent work (German): | Postprints der Universität Potsdam Philosophische Reihe |
Subtitle (English): | Geographical field research and intercultural encounters in the Austro- Hungarian occupied Western Balkans, 1916–1918 |
Publication series (Volume number): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Philosophische Reihe (166) |
Publication type: | Postprint |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2019/10/28 |
Publication year: | 2018 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Release date: | 2019/10/28 |
Tag: | Eugen Oberhummer; Friedrich Ratzel Albania; Austro-Hungarian occupation 1916–1918; Montenegro; geographical field research |
Issue: | 166 |
Number of pages: | 26 |
First page: | 184 |
Last Page: | 208 |
Source: | First World War Studies 9 (2018) 2, S. 184–208 DOI: 10.1080/19475020.2019.1651214 |
Organizational units: | Philosophische Fakultät |
DDC classification: | 9 Geschichte und Geografie / 90 Geschichte / 900 Geschichte und Geografie |
9 Geschichte und Geografie / 94 Geschichte Europas / 940 Geschichte Europas | |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access |
Grantor: | Taylor & Francis Open Access Agreement |
License (German): | CC-BY-NC-ND - Namensnennung, nicht kommerziell, keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International |