ACADEMIC EVENT OR POLITICAL INTEREST? THE GERMAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF SOCIOLOGY (BUCHAREST, 1939)

Abstract

Between August 29 and September 2, 1939 the XIVth International Congress of Sociology, organized by Dimitrie Gusti, should have taken place in Bucharest. However, because of the international context – the outbreak of World War II –, the conference never took place, its proceedings were published. Our study aims to contribute to a better understanding of Nazi Germany’s sociology and its relationship with the Romanian sociological milieu by researching the profiles of the Third Reich’s academics and their contributions to this congress. On one hand, we focuse on the work and careers of the German sociologists who were invited and accepted (or were allowed) to participate to the congress, on their position within the German sociology, but also within the Nazi institutional system. On the other hand, we do a content analysis of the articles sent to Bucharest by these German sociologists. Thus, we try to establish the extent to which their articles contain academic information and considerations, results of solid research, or they rather tend to address more political or ideological subjects