Wilhelm Viktor Öhl

Born:	12-28-1881
Faculty:	Philosophical School
Category:	Deprivation of academic degree

Wilhelm Viktor OEHL (born on December 28th, 1881 in Vienna), son of Leopold Oehl (captain at the Austrian-Hungarian army) and his wife Charlotte, nee Schönbichler, attended the high school ('Gymnasium') of the Benedictine Monastery in Melk/Lower Austria and subsequently studied philosophy, German studies and general linguistics at the University of Vienna. On February 1st, 1906 he graduated at the Philosophical School in German language and literature Studies with the academic degree 'Dr. phil.' (dissertation: 'Die Gestalt der suendigen Maria Magdalena in der Legende und dem Drama des Deutschen Mittelalters'). Oehl worked as coeditor of the "Gral" from 1906 on. Besides he contributed himself to studies of law and oriental languages. In 1911 he became official of the university library in Vienna.
In 1912 he married writer Ilse Franke and became extraordinary professor of German Philology at the University of Freiburg/Switzerland. In 1917 he was appointed full professor ('ordentlicher Professor'), in 1932 and 1933 he was also rector of the university.

In times of Nazism he was deprived of his academic degree on March 13th, 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 unwürdig').
Wilhelm Viktor Oehl stayed in his position als full professor until his death on May 11th, 1950, in Freiburg.

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 posthumously on May 13th, 1955.


Lit.: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, Bern.