Washington College welcomed Dr. Steven Ozment Monday, April 9 to speak as part of the Conrad M. Wingate Lecture in History. Dr. Ozment, whose lecture was titled "Martin Luther and the German Nation," holds the title of McClean Professor of Ancient and Modern History at Harvard University.
In addition to this, Ozment is also the author of several acclaimed books and is considered the top historian in his field, which happens to be the historiography of Renaissance and Reformation Europe. His extensive amount of research into the past has, by his own admission, at times completely engulfed him into the sixteenth century. He is a specialist on everyday life in the past, and uses his vast research and findings in that field to get a better understanding of the high politics of the day.
Heat from the abnormally warm afternoon and sounds of mirthful Washington College students leaked in through the open doors of the CAC. Within, faculty, students, and retirees listened to Ozment's controversial lecture. His theories on the motivations of German civilization and the roots of these motives are what makes his work controversial.
It was the goal of this lecture to try to explain how Reformation Germany fit into history - how it was "connected to later and earlier periods," as the Harvard professor put it. The majority of German historical study that exists today is devoted to Germany's modern era, specifically the time period before, after, and during the Third Reich. Ozment argues that this is unfair.
"In any book of German history, there are six hundred or so pages devoted to Nazi Germany and only the first twenty pages deals with the Reformation back to antiquity," he said.
Martin Luther was described as "the loudest voice of the age." Luther is the thirteenth most-biographied person in history, beating out Jesus. The man with the most biographies is another German, Adolph Hitler, who casts such a huge and dark shadow over the whole subject of German history that this lecture was incapable of escaping it.
Despite the history of anti-Semitism prevalent throughout all of Europe during Luther's lifetime, there was a remarkable amount of goodwill Luther showed toward German Jews early on. Being a specialist and fond admirer of the Bible's Old Testament gave him an empathy for the Jewish community and a desire of coexisting peacefully with them, in hopes of converting them, according to Ozment.
Luther's plan worked, but people started converting to Judaism. According to Ozment, this touched a nerve in not only Luther but in the whole of Germany.
Ozment stipulated that before the 1930s and the rise of fascism, Germany was an insecure and defensive civilization that the Greeks, Romans, and every other ancient civilization it came into contact with, wrote off as barbaric. This does not condone or justify the atrocities caused by the Germans; Ozment believes they simply help explain them.The history department was thrilled to have such a renowned speaker come to WC, and all were eager to ask Ozment questions when his lecture was finished.
Modern History Professor Clayton Black said that he "admires his approach; he said some very interesting things about Germany and German Society, but it is running against current trends in the field."Not everyone was satisfied by the way that he answered his questions.
"I thought he was passionate about his research and deadly earnest about his position. However, I don't think he's used to fielding the slings and arrows that are hurled at him because of his controversial stance," commented senior Jake Kline.300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782