Eugen Fehrle

Eugen Fehrle (7 August 1880 – 8 May 1957) was a German philologist who specialized in classical and Germanic philology.

Biography Eugen Ferle was born in Stetten, Germany on 7 August 1880. the son of teacher Johann Fehrle and Martina Wick. He had three siblings. Fehrle gained his abitur in Konstanz and subsequently served in the German Army.

From 1900 to 1907, Fehrle studied classical philology, religious studies and German philology at the University of Heidelberg. He gained his Ph.D. at Heidelberg in 1907 with a thesis on religion in classical antiquity. Fehrle subsequently worked as a teacher, and from 1909 to 1918 he was a lecturer in Greek and Latin at the University of Heidelberg. Fehrle married Erna Küster in 1910, with whom he had two daughters and a son.

Fehrle completed his habilitation in classical philology at Heidelberg in 1913, and subsequently became a privatdozent there. During World War I he served as an officer in the German Army. After the war, Fehrle served as a research assistant and associate professor at Heidelberg. In 1926 he was made co-editor of the journal Volk und Rasse. By this time he was also lecturing on folklore at the University of Heidelberg.

During the early years of the Weimar Republic, Fehrle was a member of the liberal German People's Party, but after a visit to Italy, Fehrle developed an interest in fascism and eventually joined the Nazi Party. In 1934, Fehrle was appointed Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Heidelberg, and was also made a Member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. From 1936 to 1945, Fehrle was Chair of Folklore at the University of Heidelberg, and since 1942 he also lectured in religious studies at the university. During this time he served as Director of the German Seminar (1938), Dean of the Philosophical Faculty (1942-1943), and Vice Rector (1944) at Heidelberg. Much of his research was concerned with German folklore and its relationship with Germanic mythology.

After the end of World War II, Fehrle was fired from the University of Heidelberg, expelled from the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and arrested. He was convicted as a fellow traveller in January 1950, and subsequently retired. Fehrle died in Heidelberg on 8 May 1957 and was buried at .