Richard Nikolaus Coudenhove-Kalergi

Born:	11-16-1894
Faculty:	Philosophical School
Category:	Deprivation of academic degree

Richard Nikolaus (Count) COUDENHOVE-KALERGI (born on November 16^th, 1894 as son of an Austrian diplomate in Tokyo, Japan , died on July 27^th, 1972 in Schruns, Vorarlberg), had studied in Vienna and in Munich/Germany and graduated at the Philosophical School at the University of Vienna in Philosophy on June 28^th, 1917 with the academic degree 'Dr. phil.' (dissertation: 'Objektivität als Grundprinzip der Moral'). In times of Nazism he was deprived of his academic degree on July 22^nd, 1943 with the racist argument, that he as a Jew was not considered dignified an academic degree of a German university ('eines akademischen Grades einer deutschen Hochschule unwuerdig'). It took 12 years since the deprivation - and a very long time since the end of Nazism - until the regranting of the doctorate took finally place on May 15^th, 1955.

After the first world war he founded the Paneuropa-Movement (1926 first Pan-Europe-Congress in Vienna). He was EC-representative, journalist, writer and essayist (e.g. book and journal "Pan-Europa"). In 1938 he had to emigrate to Czechoslowvkia, Hungary, Jugoslavia, Switzerland to France, 1940 to the USA. He became a professor for european history at the University of New York. In 1950 he was the first one honoured with the 'International Karls-Price for  "Europaeische Verständigung" of the City of Aachen/Germany; 'Großkreuz des Bundesverdienstordens' of Germany, "Ehrenbürger" of the University of Frankfurt/Germany, Knight of the League of Honour of France. He died in 1972 in Austria.

Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna/graduation register ("Promotionsprotokoll") PHIL 1917 Nr. 581, rectorate GZ 118 ex 1941/42 ONr. 137; GZ 561 ex 1944/45 ONr. 15; POSCH/STADLER 2005, 71, 214-215; Richard COUDENHOVE-KALERGI, Ein Leben für Europa, 1968; AGSÖ; Siegfried KNITTEL, Als Europa nach Japan kam, in: Der Standard, 6./7.7.2015, 8; WIKIPEDIA.

Herbert Posch