Deutsches Leben der Gegenwart

A German-born economist and Catholic social thinker, he wrote about labor, social order, and the moral questions raised by modern industrial life. After leaving Nazi Germany, he continued his academic work in the United States and remained an influential voice in Catholic social thought.

Max Scheler

1874–1928

A major German philosopher of the early 20th century, he is best known for work on phenomenology, ethics, and the study of values. His writing influenced thinkers far beyond philosophy, especially through its vivid attention to emotion, sympathy, and the structure of human experience.

Arnold Sommerfeld

1868–1951

Best known for helping shape early quantum theory, this influential German physicist also became one of the great teachers of modern physics. His lectures and books guided a generation of scientists at the moment when ideas about atoms were changing fast.

Philipp Witkop

1880–1942

A German literary scholar and writer remembered both for his studies of Goethe and for editing the widely read wartime collection Kriegsbriefe gefallener Studenten. His work sits at the crossroads of literature, memory, and Germany's early 20th-century intellectual life.