Theodor Schieder

Theodor Schieder
Schieder in 1958, official portrait
Personal details
Born	11 April 1908 Oettingen, Bavaria, Germany
Died	8 October 1984 Cologne, Germany
Nationality	German
Alma mater	Munich University
Occupation	Historian

Theodor Schieder (11 April 1908 – 8 October 1984) was an influential mid-20th century German historian. Born in Oettingen, Western Bavaria, he relocated to Königsberg in East Prussia in 1934 at the age of 26. ^[p. 56] He joined the Nazi Party in 1937. During the Nazi era Schieder became part of a group of German conservative historians antagonistic towards the Weimar republic. He pursued a racially oriented social history (Volksgeschichte), and warned about the supposed dangers of Germans mixing with other nations. During this time Schieder used ethnographic methods to justify German supremacy and expansion. He was the author of the "Memorandum of 7 October 1939", calling for Germanization of the recaptured Polish territories after the Invasion of Poland. His suggestions were later incorporated in the German Generalplan Ost. After the war he settled in West Germany and worked at the University of Cologne.

After Invasion of Poland by Germany Schieder created a memorandum called "Settlement and ethnic questions in the reclaimed areas of Poland" which summarized work of a group dedicated Ostforschung. Deporations of Jews and Poles were justified in the memorandum with the right of the victor, he also warned about "dangers of racial mixing" and "ethnic infiltration". He demanded removal of Jews from Polish cities and liquidation of Polish intelligentsia; only 150.000 Kashubs were suitable for Reich citizenship after a probation period. The memorandum made in autumn 1939 provided information on national issues in contested areas of Polish-German borderlands and demonstrated that a group of historians in Eastern Germany were ready to help Nazis in their goals of ethnic cleansing

Schieder also enthusiastically supported the German invasion of Poland and wrote academic papers on Germany's role as a "force of order" and a "bearer of a unique cultural mission" in Eastern Europe. During the war he, along with Werner Conze, gave advice on Lebensraum policies of the Nazi regime in occupied territories in the East, which included theories on dejudaization of towns in Poland and Lithuania.