University of Manchester, Department of German Archives

Extant records of the Department of German. The records currently comprise only an incomplete set of records of the Departmental Board, 1981-1996.

German has been taught at the University since the opening of Owens College in 1851. Initially, a teacher of German, rather than a full professorial post, was employed. The first holder of this post was Tobias Theodores (1808-1886), a German émigré, who was best-known as a Hebrew scholar, and an expert on the Talmud.

Theodores lectured in German until 1879, thereafter giving up these duties to concentrate on Oriental languages (he was professor of Hebrew/oriental languages, 1860-1884). He was succeeded as lecturer by Hermann Hager (1846-1895). Hager, a noted Goethe scholar, extended teaching to German literature. In 1895, Owens College received funds from the industrialist Henry Simon to establish a chair of German. It seems likely that Hager would have been appointed to this chair, but he died before an appointment could be made. Instead Arwid Johannson became professor. Johannson (1862-1935) was an expert in German philology and it was this subject which dominated the syllabus for the next few decades. After Johannson retired, L A Willoughby and Barker Fairley held the Henry Simon chair for brief periods, and were succeeded by Eliza Butler and Ronald Peacock.

German tended to be the second largest modern languages subject (after French). German as a subject was taught at honours level, but also attracted a significant number of students studying the B.A. ordinary degree. In the post-war years joint degrees were introduced (in addition to the B.A. modern languages), and study-abroad periods became the norm. Over time, German literature became ever more significant in the syllabus and in the post-war period departmental staff won reputation for work on German literature and drama.

In the 1990s the Department became part of a larger School of Modern Languages. Currently, German language and literature as a subject discipline is part of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures.

Chairs of German Language/Literature, 1895-1980

• Arwid Johannson 1895-1930 (German and Germanic philology)
• L.A . Willoughby 1930-1931
• Barker Fairley 1932-1936
• Eliza Butler 1936-1944
• Ronald Peacock 1945-1962
• Rudolf Keller 1963-1982
• Idris Parry (modern German literature) 1963-1977

The collection is open to any accredited reader, unless otherwise stated. Some items are currently closed to public inspection, and others may require review before access is granted to researchers.

The collection includes material which is subject to the Data Protection Act 2018. Under the Act 2018 (DPA), The University of Manchester Library (UML) holds the right to process personal data for archiving and research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, UML has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately. Users of the archive are expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, and will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they will abide by the requirements of the Act in any further processing of the material by themselves.

Open parts of this collection, and the catalogue descriptions, may contain personal data about living individuals. Some items in this collection may be closed to public inspection in line with the requirements of the DPA. Restrictions/closures of specific items will be indicated in the catalogue.

Transferred by Professor Martin Durrell, a member of the Department, in 2008.

Photocopies and photographic copies of material in the archive can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

A number of items within the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH.

Accruals possible. Post-2004 records will be treated as a separate collection.

The Faculty of Arts archive will contain information relating to admissions, curriculum and examination matters for this department (FAR). Annual reports (1903-1996) can be found in the Reports of Council (UOP/2) ; general prospectus information in the prospectuses collection (primarily the Faculty of Arts handbooks). The uncatalogued School of Modern Languages archive, of which the department was part, covers developments for the 1990s.

The Vice-Chancellor's Archive (VCA) contains several files on this department and its staff:

• VCA/7/53 - Department of German 1936-1950
• VCA/7/433 - Department of German 1952-1968 [restrictions apply]
• VCA/7/52 - Chair of German (Fairley, Butler, Peacock)
• VCA/7/483 - Chair of German (Keller) [restrictions apply]
• VCA/7/484 - Chair of German (Parry) [restrictions apply]

A brief history of the Department up to the 1980s has been compiled: Eda Sagarra and Peter Skrine, German Studies at the University of Manchester:a history of the German Department (1987).