German Rhodes Scholarships
In a codicil to his will in 1901, Cecil Rhodes created Scholarships for Germany alongside the Scholarships he created for the United States and various parts of what was then the British Empire, now the Commonwealth. 'The object', he wrote, 'is that an understanding between the three great powers will render war impossible and educational relations make the greatest tie'.
The first German Rhodes Scholars arrived in Oxford in 1903, and since then more than 180 Germans have been awarded this prestigious scholarship. The scholarships were suspended from 1914 to 1929, and from 1939 to 1969. On 24 September and 26 November 2010 the 40th anniversary of the reinstatement of the Rhodes Scholarhips from Germany in 1970 was commemorated.
German Scholars have pursued a variety of careers in public service, academia, business, law and medicine, amongst others. Many have achieved notable distinction, including:
Albrecht von Bernstorff (1890 - 1945) (Germany & Trinity 1909), a German diplomat, based in the German Embassy in London in the 1920s and early 1930s, and a well-known opponent of the Nazi regime, who was executed for his role in the resistance to Hitler in April 1945. For a tribute to Albrecht von Bernstorff and Adam von Trott, by the Warden of Rhodes House, Oxford, click here.
Adam von Trott zu Solz (1909-1944) (Germany & Balliol 1931), a lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative opposition to the Nazi regime, and played a central role in the 20 July 1944 conspiracy against Hitler alongside Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. If the plot had succeeded, he was to be appointed Secretary of State in the Foreign Office and lead negotiations with the western allies. Trott was executed on 11 September 1944 for his part in the assassination attempt on Hitler. For a tribute to Adam von Trott and Albrecht von Bernstorff, by the Warden of Rhodes House, Oxford, click here.
In 2011 the Protestant Academy in Berlin organised a conference to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Adam von Trott. Please click on the following links to view several papers presented during the conference: ‘Adam von Trott’s Noble Quest and Futile Mission: Transnational Aspirations for a New European Order and the Fight against Hitler in the 1930s’ by P.O. Cohrs, ‘Adam von Trott Abroad’ by Andrew Chandler and ‘Thinking Globally, Acting Locally—Adam von Trott as Grenzgänger’ by Nancy Lukens. A German book entitled ‘Certainty in Resistance for the 100th birthday of Adam von Trott’, and a biography of Adam von Trott by Benigna von Krusenstjern entitled 'It's living that makes sense of dying' are also available through the publishers LIT Verlag in Berlin.
Ernst Friedrich ('Fritz') Schumacher (1911-1977) (Germany & New College 1930), an internationally influential economic thinker, whose ideas became popularized in much of the English-speaking world, notably with his 1973 book Small is beautiful: economics as if people mattered, which The Times Literary Supplement lists as one of the 100 most influential books published since World War II. Events to mark the centenary of E. F. Schumacher's birth are being held in 2011, including during the Oxford University Alumni Weekend (16-18 September). To mark the centenary, Schumacher was featured as Scholar of the Week on this website, with a news story also marking the centenary.
Professor Sir Fritz Wilhelm Eduard Carl Caspari (1914-2010) (Germany & St John's 1933), a distinguished scholar of intellectual history, who upon Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer's, invitation in 1954 joined the Foreign Service of the Federal Republic of Germany, including service in London (1958-63), at the United Nations (1963-68), and then Ambassador to Portugal (1974-79). From 1969-74 he was deputy head of the Presidential Office. Elected an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford, in 1972, Professor Caspari was knighted by the Queen in 1972 (KCVO), was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Order of Merit in 1974, and was honoured with Portuguese and other decorations. In February 2010, Professor Caspari met with two current Rhodes Scholars at his London home. The text of their interview with him is available here. A video on aspects of the life of Sir Fritz Caspari can be viewed here, and tributes to him on his death in December 2010 are here.
Dietrich Felix von Bothmer (1918-2009) (Germany & Wadham 1938), who spent six decades as curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where he developed into the world's leading specialist in the field of ancient Greek vases and where in 1990 he became a distinguished research curator.
