| Born: | 07-24-1881 |
| Faculty: | Philosophical School |
| Category: | Expelled teacher |
Karl (von) RORETZ, born on July 24th, 1881 in Schloss Breiteneich near Horn, Lower Austria/Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a private lecturer with the title, but nor the position of an associate professor (PD tit. ao. Prof.) for the history of modern philosophy at the Philosophical School at the University of Vienna in 1938.
He was persecuted under National Socialism and “voluntarily” resigned his venia legendi in 1939 and was expelled from the University of Vienna.
Karl von Roretz, son of the district governor Ernst von Roretz (1849-1909) and Auguste Roretz, née Groeger, completed secondary school in Vienna's 12th and Vienna's 19th district, where he also passed his school-leaving examination (Matura) on July 7th, 1899, before studying law at the University of Vienna from the fall term of 1899/00 to the spring term of 1903 (3rd state examination and "Absolutorium"" in 1904) without graduation. However, he also attended numerous courses at the Medical and the Philosophical School. He then joined the Imperial Court Library in Vienna (later the National Library) as a "Hospitant" (trainee) in early 1905.
From the spring term of 1904 to the spring term of 1906, he studied philosophy at the Philosophical School. In March 1906, he submitted his dissertation “Das Einfühlungsproblem in der modernen Ästhetik - eine historisch-kritische Studie" (The Problem of Empathy in Modern Aesthetics), which was immediately approved by his supervisors Laurenz Müllner (1848-1911) and Adolf Stöhr (1855-1921) and was awarded his doctorate on May 22nd, 1906. He continued to work at the Austrian National Library, where he was appointed curator 1st class in March 1921. At the same time, he also habilitated at the University of Vienna in the history of modern philosophy with his thesis “Kant's Philosophy of the Organic” and was appointed a private lecturer in March 1922.
In January 1930 he was awarded the title - but not the position - of associate professor (Pd. tit. ao. Prof.) and continued to work as a curator at the National Library, but in July 1932 he voluntarily took permanent retirement as Chief State Librarian.
After the Anschluss, he was able to continue working at the University of Vienna for the time being and in May 1939 applied for appointment as an “außerplanmäßiger Professor" (associate professor), which was approved by the Nazi Lecturers' Association leader Arthur Marchet in September 1939. However, when the dean's office demanded proof of his pure Aryan ancestry, he refused to submit it (although it would allegedly have been possible for him to provide it) and stated that “der ihm gegenwärtig an der Philosophischen Fakultät zustehende Wirkungskreis nicht ein solcher ist, wie er ihm nach seinen bisherigen wissenschaftlichen und didaktischen Leistungen beanspruchen zu dürfen meint" (he feels not appreciated and recognized the way he deserves at the Philosophical school), which he found “unacceptable”, which is why he withdrew his application on November 8th, 1939 and thus lost his venia docendi.
Immediately after the liberation and the end of National Socialism, in a letter to the Dean's Office dated May 16th, 1945, he requested the “revival” of his venia docendi, which he felt compelled to resign in 1939 “on the one hand due to the personnel changes that offended him (which took place for purely political reasons at the time), and on the other because of the pressure exerted by the government at the time, which inhibited free research”. A few days later, in a statement on May 21th, 1945, he stated that he had only “temporarily resigned his venia docendi due to political pressure (1.XII.39!)”.
His venia was restored in June 1945 and from the spring term of 1948 he was also given a four-hour remunerated teaching assignment, which he held until 1951, when his venia finally expired after reaching the age limit of 70 and he stopped lecturing.
He advocated an anti-metaphysical positivism based on Mach and, in addition to the critique of knowledge, dealt with problems of cultural psychology and cultural philosophy. Works by Roretz include
He died on July 17th, 1967, in Vienna and is buried in a grave of honor at the Central Cemetery (crematorium section).
Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna/final examination file and registry ("Rigorosenprotokoll und -akt") RA PH 2001, graduation registry ("Promotionsprotokoll") M.34.3 (1905-1913), No. 79, Senate S 304.1060 ("Personalbogen"), personnel file PH PA 3071; Franz AUSTEDA (ed.), Karl Roretz, Ziele und Wege philosophischen Denkens, Vienna 1976; MUEHLBERGER 1993, 46; BLUMESBERGER 2002, 1135; Hans-Joachim DAHMS and Friedrich STADLER, Die Philosophie an der Universität Wien von 1848 bis zur Gegenwart, in: Katharina Kniefacz et al. (eds.), Universität – Forschung – Lehre. Themen und Perspektiven im langen 20. Jahrhundert, Göttingen 2015, 77–132; matricula-online.eu, www.ancestry.de, arolsen-archives.org
Herbert Posch
