„Quelque chose d’assez mystérieux“: Die gescheiterte Universitätsgründung in Trier 1945–1948. Motive, Planungen, Reaktionen

In 2020 and 2023, the University of Trier will reflect on several founding anniversaries: first, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the twin university of Trier-Kaiserslautern in 1970; then, the 450th anniversary of the original founding of the old university in 1473. The administrative independence of the Trier campus in 1975 would even provide occasion for another anniversary in 2025.

It is not unknown that, in the nearly 175 years during which Trier was without a university following the closure of the old institution in 1798, there were various attempts to re-establish a higher education institution in the city. Among these was an initiative, primarily supported by local dignitaries, to establish a university in Trier immediately after the Second World War — and on quite ambitious terms. However, after about three years of serious efforts, these aspirations could no longer be pursued. Trier ultimately ended up as what Stefan Zauner has described as a “thwarted competitor” to the university that was founded in Mainz in May 1946. The failure, however, had several causes — and it was by no means predetermined.

Occasional mention of these early postwar university plans can be found in some of the older specialized literature on Trier’s urban history, as well as in broader studies on Allied higher education policy after the war. However, there has been no in-depth study on the topic. Above all, the relevant records in the archives in Koblenz, Paris, and Trier have not yet been systematically reviewed.

This project aims, on the one hand, to shed light on the ideological, academic, and personnel-related concepts that were developed. On the other hand, it will closely examine the key actors and institutions involved — particularly the French occupation authorities. Given the richness and nature of the sources, both the biographical and conceptual analysis of the founding plans promises to be fruitful. The study aims not only to contribute to Trier’s urban history but also to place these local events within the broader context of the pre- and early history of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Federal Republic of Germany.