Simon Moser

Born:	03-15-1901
Faculty:	Philosophical School
Category:	Expelled teacher

Simon MOSER (born on March 15^th, 1901 in Jenbach/The Tyrol, died on July 22^nd, 1988 in Mils/The Tyrol) was private lecturer ("Privatdozent") for ancient and medieval history of philosophy at the Philosophical School of the University of Vienna. He was persecuted in times of Nazism because of his political orientation lost his position and was forced to leave the university in 1938. Moser attended the Kaiser-Franz-Josef secondary school in Hall from 1910 until 1918 and then studied law at the University of Vienna and Scholasticism at the Jesuit Kollegium Maximum in Innsbruck. In 1922 he obtained his doctorate for Scholastic philosophy. Further studies of philosophy, national economy, classical philology and mathematics followed at the universities of Berlin, Marburg and Freiburg. In 1930 he obtained a second doctorate, this time with the paper "Grundbegriffe der Philosophie bei Wilhelm von Ockham" under Martin Heidegger.^[1] After his studies he worked from 1931 until 1934 together with Alfred Kastil in Innsbruck, resulting in the paper "Zur Lehre von der Definition bei Aristoteles, I. Teil: Organon und Metaphysik" in 1935. In that same year he habilitated for history of philosophy and systematic philosophy at the University of Innsbruck with this paper. During Austrofascism, Moser – who was a member of the Cartellverband (umbrella organization of Catholic fraternities, CV)^[2] – not only established himself scientifically, he also took up an important propagandistic function by becoming educational head of the newly founded university camps (1936 in Rotholz and 1937 at the Weissensee lake).^[3] In the Vaterlaendische Front (Fatherland's Front) he was main activity head and secretary to Guido Zernatto,^[4] who among other things was secretary general of the Vaterlaendische Front from 1936 until 1938.^[5] Moser also held a leading position in the Austrian Jungvolk (Youth Organization).^[6] In December he was accepted as a teacher at the University of Vienna, where he now acted as private lecturer for ancient and medieval history of philosophy as well as teaching at the University of Innsbruck.^[7] Earlier, Richard Meister and Robert Reininger had advocated a curtailing of his venia.^[8] Due to Moser's important position in Austrofascism, he also was responsible for holding the philosophical part of the "ideology lecture",^[9] which he did in the winter semester of 1937/38.^[10] After Austria's "Anschluss" to the German Reich, Moser's teaching activities came to a halt for the time being due to his involvement in the authoritarian corporative state. His teaching license was "suspended until further notice" as of April 22^nd, 1938.^[11] This suspension did not last long, since both students and the leader of the regional NSDAP group told the head of the Dozentenbund (University Teachers' League) at the University of Vienna, Arthur Marchet, that Moser had protected "National Socialist students against attacks from the Jewish and 'patriotic' (CV) side" in his functions in the corporative state, without elaborating further.^[12] In any case these endorsements were enough – contrary to similar cases – for a temporary rehabilitation. According to Tilitzki, the Nazi authorities withdrew his suspension as early as May 1939.^[13] When the second "wave of purges" came – the introduction of the title of "Dozent neuer Ordnung" ("lecturer under new regulation") – Moser requested the conferral of this title in June 1939.^[14] The Dean's office however did not apply for a lecturer's salary for him, since he was being "supported by his parents".^[15] The local NS-Dozentenbundhad no objections to him receiving the title, as long as Moser did not lecture on "ideological questions",^[16] and the Reich ministry of education bestowed it upon him on March 5^th, 1940.^[17] Moser's teaching assignment now again entailed the subjects of history of philosophy and systematic philosophy – like at the University of Innsbruck.^[18] This led Friedrich Plattner from the ministry for the interior and cultural matters to file a complaint at the rectorate "in light of the background of the case and the special subject matter".^[19] No limitation of the teaching assignment was decided upon, however. Due to Moser's activities between 1933/34 and 1938 doubts began to spread in the party. The curator of the scientific universities approached the rectorate in August 1940 with a political evaluation, in which the Gau Head Office Tyrol called Moser an "absolutely upright enemy of National Socialism".^[20] Viktor Christian, at least, the Dean of the philosophical faculty, was not impressed: Moser had shown "that he was absolutely ready to serve the new state loyally".^[21] After all, Moser had not only been honorably discharged by the Tyrolean border guard as being "suitable for the position of Gruppenfuehrer (Unterfuehrer) [squad leader]", but also had held "lectures with powerful ideological and Alpine content" and had been a photo reporter for the Tyrolean Gebirgsjaeger (mountain troopers).^[22] In that same year, on January 1^st, 1940, he also joined the NSDAP. He had submitted his membership application on June 5^th, 1939, the same day that he had put in the request to be named Dozent neuer Ordnung.^[23] As already before during Austrofascism, the hobby photographer Moser produced works of propaganda during the Nazi era: In 1937 the book "Oesterreichs Bergwelt und Bergvolk" had been published by the Tyrolia publishing house, including a foreword by minister of education Hans Pernter. Arthur Marchet called this publication a "propaganda book for system Austria".^[24] In 1942 he then published the illustrated book "Das Land in den Bergen – Vom Wehrbauer zum Gebirgsjaeger". This book included "pictures of Tyrolean towns in which swastika flags fly and many photos of Wehrmacht Gebirgsjaeger and their emblems".^[25] Probably in that same year his book "Heimat der Gebirgsjaeger" also was published.^[26] Moser had apparently seamlessly assimilated into the new system. A sign of this "successful" assimilation also was his appointment as "agricultural advisor for the deputy general command XVIII A. K. and subsequently the military record section in Schwaz" in 1942.^[27] To what extent Moser had otherwise been active in the Wehrmacht is not quite clear. By his own account he had to "enlist" in 1940 "and stayed a soldier until 1945 with some interruptions".^[28] As Moser had been able to arrange himself with two ideologically competing regimes, he also had no problems moving over to democracy in 1945. The ministry of education, for example, was satisfied with the SD report from 1938, in which Moser had been deemed an "absolutely upright enemy of National Socialism".^[29] After the end of the war he returned to the University of Innsbruck and also led the scientific work at the Austrian College.^[30] In this function he furthermore founded the International University Weeks in Alpbach in Tyrol – now known as the "European Forum Alpbach" – together with Otto Molden in 1945.^[31] In keeping with his opportunistic views, the former NSDAP member Moser held a lecture on anti-National Socialism at Austria's universities in front of Swiss students as early as 1946.^[32] Meanwhile he did have a small hiccup with his involvement in the Third Reich in regard to his function as member of the organizational committee of the University Weeks in Alpbach. Moser gave the Swiss doctor Alfred Gigon his illustrated book "Das Land in den Bergen – Vom Wehrbauer zum Gebirgsjaeger" published in 1942 as a parting gift in Tyrol. Gigon showed the book to the Austrian consul in Bern, Erich Bielka, who was confused as to the nature of this work of "National Socialist propaganda" and demanded "the immediate removal of lecturer Moser from the organizational committee".^[33] The authorities in Austria saw no reason to comply. After all, Moser – when asked – considered himself a "completely apolitical person", otherwise he would certainly have "taken more care in the choice of this gift". Furthermore the book also contained photos that were not taken by him, but "by the Reich German reporter Sickert".^[34] The ministry of education was satisfied and referred to the SD report.^[35] An evaluation by the ministry of the interior concurred, since Moser could be "called a downright exponent of the Catholic cultural idea". A republication of the book "with the appropriate changes [underlined in the original, author's note]" was planned as well.^[36] Apparently Moser was free of any suspicion due to his activity during Austrofascism. This was proven once again in 1947, when the philosophical faculty of the University of Innsbruck requested a two-hour teaching assignment for ancient history of philosophy.^[37] The venia actually should have been revoked due to the de-Nazification laws, if it extended to ideological subjects such as philosophy. To prevent this, the commission responsible at the ministry of education had to put in a request for reinstatement of the teaching license via an application by the person concerned. The ministry however saw Moser's "political reliability" to be intact and thus gave him the teaching assignment without proof of his venia.^[38] Earlier, Moser had commented on his relationship to the NSDAP: His parents, who had lost a wholesale wine business in the Nazi regime, had registered him with the party when he was not promoted in the Wehrmacht due to his political views. Tellingly, he undermined his pro-Austrian views and his participation "in the Austrian cultural-political life" with his chairmanship of the Austrofascist university camps in 1936 and 1937.^[39] He achieved his de-registration in April 1947.^[40] In September 1948 Moser was made associate professor,^[41] and in June 1952 he received a call to the newly founded chair for philosophy at the Technical University of Karlsruhe.^[42] There he became associate professor in 1955 and full professor in 1962, continuing to teach until 1968. He also continued to preside over the International University Weeks and the European Forum Alpbach during his time in Karlsruhe.^[43] His early focus on the Aristotelian-Scholastic tradition of philosophy later changed to the relationship of philosophy and positivistic sciences as well as philosophical questions that arose from the development of natural and technical sciences. In this regard his book "Metaphysik einst und jetzt" (1958) should be mentioned.

Lit.: Federal Archives Berlin/R/4901/23037, Mikrofilm Nr. I 425; Library for Contemporary History at the University of Vienna/NSDAP-member list ("Ortsgruppenkartei"); Austrian State Archive/AdR, PA Moser; Archive of the University of Vienna/PH PA 2673, PHIL GZ 659 ex 1937/38; MUEHLBERGER 1993, 44.; Walther Killy (Hg.), Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopaedie, Band 1, Muenchen 1995, Band 7, Berlin u. a. 1998, Band 10, Berlin u. a. 1999; Ilse Korotin, Deutsche Philosophen aus der Sicht des Sicherheitsdienstes des Reichsfuehrers SS. Schwerpunkt: Oesterreich, in: Marion Heinz u. Goran Gretic (Hg.), Philosophie und Zeitgeist im Nationalsozialismus. Wuerzburg 2006, 45–66; Christian Tilitzki, Die deutsche Universitaetsphilosophie in der Weimarer Republik und im Dritten Reich. Band 2. Berlin 2002.

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Andreas Huber (translated by Thomas Rennert)