Hans Mayer

Hans Mayer (1907–2001) was a German literary scholar, cultural critic, and writer. He studied law, history, and philosophy in Cologne, Bonn, and Berlin. Persecuted as a Jew, he emigrated in 1933 and lived in France and Switzerland until 1945. From 1948 to 1963 he taught the history of national literatures at Leipzig University; from 1965 to 1973 he was professor of German language and literature at the Technical University of Hanover. His major works include studies of Georg Büchner, Goethe, and Brecht, as well as »Zur deutschen Literatur der Zeit«. Mayer received honorary doctorates and was made an honorary citizen of Cologne and Leipzig.