Herbert Schwarzwälder (14 October 1919 – 11 September 2011) was a German historian. With his decades of work and his extensive publications, he has had a major influence on the research and communication of the History of the city of Bremen [de].
Life
Schwarzwälder was born in Bremen. His younger brother was the Heimatforscher Harry Schwarzwälder [de] (1929–2019). He attended the grammar school and graduated in 1938 with his Abitur. He was then called up for Reichsarbeitsdienst, then for military service with an air force and the anti-aircraft artillery. During the Second World War, he was first deployed in the Homeland Security, later in a technical department in the Soviet Union and in the West. Schwarzwälder had to spend several years as prisoner of war in camps in France, the US and England. In 1947, he was able to return to Bremen.[1] In Ein Streifzug durch Bremens Geschichte, Online-Geschichtsprojekt auf www.-user.uni-bremen.de; retrieved 25 November 2020.
Since 1953, Schwarzwälder's research focused on the history of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. He gave many lectures and published numerous publications on the contemporary and cultural history of Bremen and Northwest Germany as well as the Hanseatic League. In 1975 and 1985 his four-volume work on the History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen appeared, which has since become the standard work[2][3] about the history of Bremen. After his retirement in 1988, he continued his research and publication work.[1] In 2001, he published under the title Das Große Bremen-Lexikon the first coherent reference work on interesting and enigmatic things about and in the city-state of Bremen, which was described as "a treasure trove on the past and present of Bremen and Bremerhavens"[4] and now also is considered a standard work.[3]
Schwarzwälder died in Bremen at the age of 91.
Publications
Entstehung und Anfänge der Stadt Bremen. Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1955.
Reise in Bremens Vergangenheit. Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1965.
Die Machtergreifung der NSDAP in Bremen 1933. Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1966.
Bremen und Nordwestdeutschland am Kriegsende 1945 (part I). Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1972, ISBN3-7961-1546-2.
Bremen und Nordwestdeutschland am Kriegsende 1945 (part II). Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1973, ISBN3-7961-1620-5.
Bremen im Wandel der Zeiten – Die Neustadt und ihre Vororte. Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1973, ISBN3-7961-1654-X.
Bremen und Nordwestdeutschland am Kriegsende 1945 (part III). Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1974, ISBN3-7961-1650-7.
Das Ende an der Unterweser 1945. Bremerhaven (Wesermünde) und Umgebung am Kriegsende. Stadtarchiv Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven 1974.
Bremerhaven und seine Vorgängergemeinden / Ansichten, Pläne, Landkarten 1575 bis 1890. Stadtarchiv Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven 1977.