History of Germany in the fate of a Siberian scientist

The life and scientific activity of Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor L.N. Korneva is inextricably linked with two university centers in Western Siberia: the oldest university in Siberia, Tomsk University and Kemerovo University, where she has worked practically from the moment of its foundation. L.N. Korneva is rightfully considered one of the leading modern Russian Germanists, one of the founders and later chairman of the West Siberian Center for German Studies. The purpose of the article is to examine the scientific heritage of L.N. Korneva and to analyze her contribution as a German historian to the study of the problems of German National Socialism. The sources for this article were the works of L.N. Korneva. From the very beginning of L.N. Korneva’s scientific activity, the focus of her attention was the German historiography of National Socialism. Her worldview and scientific views were formed at the turn of the ages. Having defended her Candidate of Science thesis in the Soviet era, L.N. Korneva wrote her doctoral dissertation and main works already in modern Russia. This allowed her to impartially examine the German historiography of National Socialism at different stages of its development and state. The author deduced the characteristic features of the German historiography of National Socialism, identified its main stages, analyzed the main problem areas, gave a comparative analysis of the West German and East German historiography of National Socialism, and showed its state in a united Germany. The main conclusion of L.N. Korneva about the place and role of German historiography in the study of National Socialism was that she had great services to science and society in the study of this problem. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in modern Russian historical Germanic studies L.N. Korneva was a leading specialist in the field of German historiography of National Socialism. However, L.N. Korneva’s interest in the history of National Socialism was not limited only to historiographic subjects. She took an active part in writing, editing and publishing two textbooks dedicated to the history of Germany “History of Germany” (3 volumes) and “Social policy and welfare state in Germany”. The chapters in textbooks devoted directly to the history of the Third Reich and the consequences of its collapse, written by her, contain a large amount of factual material, a balanced analysis of the history of Germany under the rule of the Nazis, and at the same time a negative assessment of the brown plague of the 20th century. Thus, the textbooks demonstrated a new feature of L.N. Korneva’s scientific heritage. They revealed her capabilities as an empirical historian. L.N. Korneva’s works were highly appreciated by her colleagues.

Keywords

Authors

References