Heinrich von Treitschke

Born in Dresden on September 15, 1834, Heinrich von Treitschke became one of the best-known German historians and political writers of his time. He studied at Bonn and Leipzig and later taught at several universities before taking a prominent history chair in Berlin.

Treitschke wrote widely on German politics and history and also served as a National Liberal member of the Reichstag during the German Empire. He was an influential advocate of power politics and Prussian leadership in German unification, and his lectures and essays reached a large audience.

His reputation today is inseparable from the darker side of his public influence. He was a fierce nationalist, and he is also remembered for anti-Jewish writing that played a role in the Berlin antisemitism controversy of the late 19th century. He died in Berlin on April 28, 1896.