Completed doctorates and honorary doctorates from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Navid Kermani receives honorary doctorate
The writer and native of Siegen has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Siegen for his outstanding academic and non-academic work and his keynote speech on the "generic masculine" sparked a lively discussion.

The orientalist, Islamic scholar, writer, speaker and intellectual Dr. Navid Kermani has received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Siegen. The award ceremony took place as part of the University of Siegen's 50th anniversary celebrations and, as so often these days, the Friedrich-Schadeberg-Hörsaal on the Lower Castle Campus was filled with many interesting and interested guests, including Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Culture and Science. A not inconsiderable proportion of the audience knew the guest of honor personally, as Navid Kermani, who lives in Cologne, was born and grew up in Siegen. The city with which the 54-year-old has family ties, where he gives many readings, where he went to school ("A school career that was not always straightforward."), which is a literary venue ("Great Love") and where he has now "become a part of the University of Siegen" by receiving an honorary doctorate, as Rector Prof. Dr. Holger Burckhart emphasized.
The Rector was visibly pleased that the event, which had to be postponed several times due to the pandemic, could now take place in this cordial setting. No distance between the podium and the audience. This was partly due to the fact that Prof. Dr. Jörg Döring drew a line between the academic and the personal in his laudatory speech when describing Kermani's academic and non-academic achievements and introduced the guests to an Islamic scholar as well as a philologist, travel reporter, speaker and public intellectual. "Navid Kermani's speeches are reprinted and listened to. His public eloquence has revived interest in rhetoric," praised Döring. The guest of honor - accustomed to making grand appearances - was nevertheless personally touched at this location and on this occasion. "This is a special day for me," emphasized Kermani, also referring to his family and the people of Siegen, whom Döring had mentioned in his laudatory speech.

The certificate was presented by Prof. Dr. Veronika Albrecht-Birkner, Vice Dean for Studies and Teaching at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. With the honorary doctorate, the Faculty is honoring an Islamic scholar, philologist and writer. "An intellectual who can think constitution and Hölderlin, crises and Kafka together," said Albrecht-Birkner. The audience rose to its feet for a long round of applause and there was a sense of genuine joy in the hall, even beyond academic recognition.

The guests were now eagerly awaiting the speech that Kermani would give on this occasion. The topic of his lecture, "The generic masculine", had already provoked reactions ranging from "enthusiasm to horror", as Rector Burckhart revealed.
Kermani developed the topic in his own literary and theological way, drawing comparisons with other languages and societies. Is the generic - or translated: neutral - masculine exclusive or pragmatically important? "No language in the world mentions all genders every time it talks about a mixed group of people, that would be too cumbersome for everyday language and too unwieldy for poetry," said Kermani. Language is an expression of reality, including social reality and possibly inequality. "But it is not an instrument for changing reality." Kermani assumes that the generic masculine will disappear from the German language. But, says the 54-year-old: "I hope that the gender-neutral use of masculine nouns and pronouns will not be misunderstood as a provocation, at least in my lifetime."

The audience did not feel provoked during the discussion on the topic, but certainly encouraged to express opposing views. Minister Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, linguist and Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Petra M. Vogel, theology professor Dr. Thomas Naumann (both from the University of Siegen) and German studies expert Thomas Kronschläger (TU Braunschweig) took part in the panel discussion. Kermani explained that he had chosen this topic out of respect for the university, which has a strong tradition of German studies. "And the topic is being strongly promoted by universities." He appealed to students not to be told how to write. "I get nervous about language regulations from above," Kermani admitted. There is no such compulsion at the University of Siegen, emphasized Prof. Vogel. But there is a guideline for gender-appropriate language, added Naumann, which he struggles with. "Because I'm torn about how to do it right." Guidelines guide, they don't force, Kronschläger interjected. "Times are changing. We have to learn to rethink."

Minister Pfeiffer-Poensgen explained that it is important to leave it up to the individual to decide how they use language. "Everyone must be given this freedom." Social change doesn't just happen, said Kermani in response to a question, but for many, gendering has become a struggle. "But grammar is the wrong field for this fight. The instrumentalization of language not only damages the language, but also the struggle," he emphasized. Guides such as the university's were not an imposition "from above", but rather the expression of a movement from below, the panelists from the audience countered.

Moderator Armin Himmelrath sprinted around the lecture hall with a microphone to capture the opinions and made it clear: "The discussion is not over at this point." The university has set up an online forum to collect further opinions on Navid Kermani's theses. The new honorary doctor wants to remain in conversation at and with his University of Siegen.

Rector Prof. Burckhart presented Navid Kermani with the commemorative volume "fünfzig. Between spaces. The University of Siegen from 1972 to 2022" and also thanked Minister Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen: "Like Navid Kermani, you also have a heart for Siegen. Our festival week is characterized by the dialogue between culture and science, so I would also like to thank you in recognition of your work for art and culture, which has been outstanding, especially during the pandemic in Germany."

The ceremony was accompanied by music from Prof. Martin Herchenröder (piano) and Carin Levine (flute). In addition to works by Bach, the musicians also played the piece "Letzte Sicherheiten", which Herchenröder, as a representative of New Music, wrote for Navid Kermani.

In the foyer, visitors were able to view an exhibition by students of art, architecture and social work. They had studied Navid Kermani's literary work and the architecture of the city of Siegen.

Source: Press office of the University of Siegen/Zeppenfeld 2022: https: //www.uni-siegen.de/start/news/oeffentlichkeit/974987.html
[14.01.2025].

Freedom as a life theme - honorary doctorate for Heino Falcke

As part of a ceremony, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities awarded the Protestant theologian Dr. Dr. h.c. Heino Falcke as the 30th honorary doctor of the University of Siegen on November 29, 2012. With Heino Falcke, the Faculty honored the retired Erfurt provost above all for his extraordinary commitment as a Protestant theologian critical of the state and church in the GDR, whose work, life and research were dedicated to the topic of "Christian freedom". This was the second honorary doctorate awarded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities since it was founded in 2011.

Heino Falcke, born in 1929, has provided significant impetus for the conciliar process for peace, justice and the integrity of creation since the 1980s, as Prof. Dr. Veronika Albrecht-Birkner (Protestant Theology, Schools of Philosophy) explained in her laudatory speech. This applies not only to his academic work in the form of numerous publications, but also to his extraordinary political commitment, which, through his work in the Ecumenical Council of Churches, already took a global horizon into account during the GDR era and made it fruitful in the work of local grassroots groups under the motto "Think globally - act locally". Heino Falcke's grassroots work, which was rather distanced from the leadership of the Protestant Church in the GDR, was one of those who directly prepared for the fall of communism. "You took the GDR seriously as a place of proclamation", said laudator Prof. Dr. Heinz-Günther Stobbe (Catholic Theology, Schools of Philosophy) and: "Your life and work combine conscious confessionalism and an ecumenical spirit".

Heino Falcke studied theology in Berlin from 1946 and in Göttingen from 1948. He also completed two guest semesters in Basel. In Basel, he was an assistant to the influential theologian Karl Barth. In 1952, Falcke decided to go to the GDR as a pastor. His reasoning was: "Pastors and theologians of the Confessing Church in the 'Third Reich' had influenced me, and I was convinced that the theology I had learned from them was better suited to the churches that were under communist rule and oppressed by it." After two years as a study inspector at the preacher's seminary in Wittenberg, Falcke became an assistant to the Chair of Systematic Theology at the Rostock Theological Schools. A dissertation topic agreed with Karl Barth, "The Social Theory of Friedrich Schleiermacher", was continued in Rostock and completed in 1958 with a doctorate in theology. His habilitation followed in 1961. In order to avoid conflicts of loyalty as a state-employed professor in the GDR, he became a pastor. Finally, he was a Protestant provost in Erfurt from 1973 to 1994.
Source: Kordula Lindner-Jarchow, Freiheit als Lebensthema - Heino Falcke zum Ehrendoktor ernannt, Press and Information Office of the University of Siegen, November 30, 2012.

Faculty of Arts and Humanities awards its first honorary doctorate to Pastor Ulrich Weiß

On May 11, 2011, the University of Siegen awarded its 28th honorary doctorate to Pastor Ulrich Weiß (1941-2011). This was the first honorary doctorate to be awarded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, into which the former Departments 1 to 3 have been merged since the beginning of 2011.

The decision followed a suggestion from the Protestant Theology department of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The award honored a personality who did not carry out his special research achievements in a purely academic environment, who was rooted in the region and was considered an expert par excellence in regional church history. The combination and communication of practice and science was particularly emphasized.

Rector Prof. Dr. Holger Burckhart was also delighted with the award: "With this award, we are showing that we also appreciate and recognize exceptional careers of an academic nature." He added: "With Mr. Weiß, we are gaining a personality of great regional commitment and exceptional academic presence in the reappraisal of regional history."

Ulrich Weiß was born in Altenhundem in 1941 and grew up in Niederdielfen. He completed his Abitur at the Löhrtor-Gymnasium in Siegen and studied theology in Tübingen, Heidelberg and Göttingen. He completed his vicariate as an inspector of the Reformed House of Studies in Göttingen and in the Christuskirche congregation in Siegen. After his second theological examination, he spent two years as a study inspector at the Reformed seminary in Wuppertal. Both positions as inspector in Göttingen and Wuppertal show that Ulrich Weiß was always interested in combining science and practice. For twenty-three years he was pastor of the Christus-Kirchengemeinde in Siegen (1978 to 2001), as well as deputy superintendent for many years and a member of the regional synod of the Protestant Church.

In numerous publications and countless lectures, Ulrich Weiß rendered outstanding services as a mediator of theological and, above all, church and theological history. At the Wednesday Academy and at the University of Siegen, he repeatedly offered events - increasingly after his retirement - in which he mostly reflected on regional church history and at the same time highlighted the special features of the various church groupings. His research interest lay in the critical monitoring of the Reformed churches; other focal points included the church history of Hohenlimburg and the history of the revivalist movement in Siegen and Nassau. Ulrich Weiß died on June 30, 2011 at the age of 70.
Source: Kordula Lindner-Jarchow, University of Siegen verleiht Pfarrer Ulrich Weiß die Ehrendoktorwürde, Presse- und Informationsstelle University of Siegen, May 16, 2011.

Honorary doctorate for Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht
With Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, the University of Siegen honored a "scholar" in the truest sense of the word on 27 June 2007. A Romance philologist by training, or even better: a Hispanist, it is difficult today to categorize him in just one discipline.

Working in Department 3 at the University of Siegen from 1983 to 1989, he made a lasting contribution to the establishment of a humanities research training group funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the first of its kind at a German university. Renowned scholars such as Jürgen Habermas, Niklas Luhmann, Jean-Francois Lyotard and Paul Watzlawick taught and worked at the Research Training Group "Forms of Communication as Forms of Life".

Research and teaching at the University of Siegen was at an excellent level long before terms such as "excellence initiative" or "elite education" were on everyone's lips. In addition to the Siegen Graduate School, the colloquia held at the InterUniversity Center Dubrovnik formed a further basis for the international reputation that Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht and, with him, Siegen Romance Studies increasingly gained. The colloquia in Dubrovnik (at that time still in Yugoslavia) were the main way in which cooperation between academics from East and West was intensively initiated even before the disappearance of the Iron Curtain. A number of guests from the GDR and other Eastern European countries found their first substantial opportunities to work in a Western context in Siegen during Gumbrecht's time.

Numerous monographs, the co-editorship of books and anthologies, almost 300 academic essays, countless shorter academic articles and a wealth of commentaries, interviews and statements, including on scientific and cultural policy issues, bear witness to his unbroken creative power to this day. His experience as a professor at Stanford University in California and his countless visits to universities and research institutes around the world have enabled Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht to comment critically on science policy trends in Germany and Europe. His contributions to a renowned German daily newspaper, including the "Year of the Humanities 2009", show him to be a profound connoisseur and critic of his own discipline. The University of Siegen awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements and, in this particular case, for the inspiration that the humanities scholars in Siegen have drawn and continue to draw from his work, even though he has long since moved his academic work to another location.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Gumbrecht is the 5th honorary doctor of the former Faculty 3 of the University of Siegen. The international recognition of the Romance philologist is also reflected in honorary doctorates from the universities in Montevideo, Montreal, St. Petersburg, Greifswald, Lisbon, Marburg and Aarhus.
Source: Kordula Lindner-Jarchow, Honorary doctorate for Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht, Press and Information Office University of Siegen, June 28, 2007.

Honorary doctorate for Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Iser - an "ornament to the university"
On October 24, 2003, the then Department of Linguistics, Literature and Media Studies awarded another honorary doctorate to the internationally renowned English scholar Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Iser (1926-2007) from the University of Konstanz and the University of California (Irvine).

Wolfgang Iser studied English, Philosophy and German in Leipzig, Tübingen and Heidelberg. He obtained his doctorate in Heidelberg in 1950, where he also habilitated seven years later. In 1960, he accepted an appointment at the University of Würzburg, where he took up the Chair of English Studies. After teaching at the University of Cologne for three years, he moved to the University of Constance in 1966. Together with Hans Robert Jauß and Hans Blumenberg, he was one of the founders of the research group "Poetics and Hermeneutics". He received international recognition for the development of his theory of the aesthetics of effect.

In addition to his outstanding academic achievements, his stimulating influence on the expansion of the literary studies orientation of the Siegen faculty was particularly acknowledged during the academic ceremony. Wolfgang Iser had visited Siegen several times for the purpose of networking literary, cultural and media studies and also gave the lecture at the opening of the research college "Intermediality" in June 2002.

University Rector Prof. Dr. Theodora Hantos described the honoree as a personality who dared to think in new ways, who was committed to supporting young academics and who, like few academics in the post-war period, had helped the German humanities achieve international recognition. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Iser is an "ornament to the university". In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Ludwig Pfeiffer praised the English scholar as a formative figure on the literary studies scene.

In his speech entitled "On the Concept of Culture", Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Iser emphasized the University of Siegen's willingness to experiment and expressed his gratitude for the special award, which made him feel a special sense of belonging to the University of Siegen.

In addition to the honor from the University of Siegen, Iser received the same award from the universities of Sofia, Bucharest and Giessen. He was also an honorary member of the British Comparative Literature Association and the Modern Language Association of America (MLA). He was also made an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Iser died on January 24, 2007 at the age of 80.
Source: Siegener Zeitung, October 25, 2003, p. 10.

Honorary doctorate for Prof. Dr. George Mosse - "A modest gesture of reparation"
With the award of an honorary doctorate to Prof. Dr. George Mosse on November 6, 1998, the University of Siegen continued its tradition of honoring outstanding academics who were persecuted under National Socialism as a small gesture of reparation.

Rector Prof. Dr. Albert Walenta was delighted that the eighty-year-old historian from the University of Wisconsin had traveled to Siegen especially to receive the award. However, this is not the first time that Prof. Dr. George Mosse has visited the city of crowns. He had already visited Siegen in 1977, when he came to the city for a colloquium on the First World War.

In his laudatory speech, literary scholar Prof. Dr. Klaus Vondung made it clear how much recognition Mosse's writings have received beyond the field of history. The historian had gained an international reputation above all for his studies on the world of thought and the political symbolism of the völkisch and National Socialist milieu in Germany since the late German Empire. He came to the conclusion that National Socialism had been able to develop so strongly in Germany primarily because it had appropriated myths in German culture and used them - in a perverted form - to attract a larger following. Mosse's thematic focus was closely related to his own biography. He was born in Berlin in 1918, the son of an officer and grandson of the newspaper publisher of the same name, Rudolf Mosse. However, Mosse was forced to leave Germany after the Nazis seized power due to his Jewish faith and emigrated first to England and later to the USA, where he began his academic career. He received his doctorate from the prestigious Harvard University in 1946 and rose to become one of the leading historians of National Socialism. Vondung emphasized that the honorary doctorate primarily distinguished the historian Mosse. "But it should also be a modest gesture of reparation and a gesture to say thank you for helping us Germans to understand what went wrong in our history."

Due to the great impact of his academic work, Prof. Dr. George Mosse received numerous other awards, including the Goethe Medal in 1988 and the Leo Baeck Medal of the institutes of the same name in 1998. At the University of Wisconsin, the Humanities Building was named after him and in 2000, the American Historical Association established an award for outstanding work in the intellectual and cultural history of Europe since 1500 called the "George L. Mosse Prize". The scholar died on January 22, 1999, shortly after receiving an honorary doctorate from Siegen in Madison, Wisconsin.

Sources: Siegener Zeitung, November 7, 1998, p. 4; Westfälische Rundschau, No. 263, November 7, 1998, p. RSI 3.

"Personality from the field" receives honorary doctorate
On May 8, 1998, Eckart Stein, Editorial Director of "Das kleine Fernsehspiel" at ZDF, was awarded an honorary doctorate. It was the third award of this kind from the former Faculty 3. Dean Prof. Dr. Burkhart Schaeder paid tribute to Stein's close links to the Siegen media studies course and the special research area 240 "Quality-oriented media development and planning". Prorectors Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Deiseroth praised the new honorary doctor as a "personality from the field". Practical relevance is particularly important at the local university.

The life and work of Eckart Stein were the focus of the lecture by Prof. Dr. Helmut Schanze from the Collaborative Research Centre 240. Stein succeeded in achieving a special quality in television programming with the "Kleines Fernsehspiel". Numerous up-and-coming filmmakers have gained a foothold in this profession thanks to his commitment. Schanze paid tribute to Stein as a man who had helped to shape, experience and record the change in the media. With his work, he had made a decisive contribution to the emergence of the New German Cinema.

The laudatory speech was held by Berlin filmmaker Jutta Brückner, who had received her first commission from Stein in March 1975. The honoree had supported her with benevolence and criticism. "There was little money and a lot of freedom in small television drama. A tremendous amount of art and sincerity were possible." She thanked Stein for making it possible for her to become a filmmaker.

In addition to the honorary doctorate from the University of Siegen, Eckart Stein received numerous other awards, including the Adolf Grimme Prize for the conception of the entire series "Das kleine Fernsehspiel" (1977), the Galilei Prize of the Council of Europe (1988) and the German television award "Telestar" (1994).
Source: Siegener Zeitung, May 11, 1998, p. 5.

Honorary doctorate for Prof. Dr. Magdalena Sokolowska - combining academic work with social commitment

The first honorary doctorate of the former Faculty 1 was awarded to the internationally renowned Polish sociologist Magdalena Sokolowska on October 29, 1987. She had already been a guest of the Research Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences in 1978 and had subsequently held several visiting professorships. She also initiated the partnership agreement between the University of Siegen and the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Numerous joint research projects between German and Polish academics have been carried out as part of this cooperation.

Rector Prof. Dr. Rimbach recalled the fate of the Polish scientist, who was expelled from Germany in 1939 and deported to Bavaria in 1943 as a forced laborer to an SS brigade leader. "It would be only too natural for someone who has experienced something like this to want nothing more to do with the Germans for the rest of their lives," explained the Rector. The fact that Magdalena Sokolowska, on the other hand, acted as a "bridge builder" was therefore all the more worthy of recognition.

In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Rainer Geißler emphasized that the Polish medical sociologist was held in high esteem by colleagues, health policy makers and the medical profession. Her dissertation on the influence of housing density on the incidence of scarlet fever had already indicated the direction of her interest. Magdalena Sokolowska had combined her scientific work with a pronounced social commitment. Even in her work as a company doctor, she had distinguished herself with an inexhaustible drive to get things moving, create something new and help people.

Since the 1960s, Prof. Dr. Magdalena Sokolowska had been an employee and advisor to the World Health Organization. From 1978-1982 she was Vice President of the International Sociological Association. The Polish scientist died in 1989 at the age of 67.

Source: Siegener Zeitung, October 30, 1987, p. 2, p. 1.

The honorary doctorate for Prof. Dr. Leo Löwenthal as a sign of reconciliation

In the presence of numerous guests from politics, academia, the judiciary, administration and the student body, Prof. Dr. Leo Löwenthal (1900-1993) was awarded an honorary doctorate by Faculty 3 of the University of Siegen on 24 May 1985 in the Blue Lecture Hall. It was the second honor of this kind awarded by the department.

In his welcoming address, Rector Prof. Dr. Gerhard Rimbach referred to the Jewish wisdom "The secret of reconciliation is memory" and asked whether the Jewish scientist was at all prepared to accept the honorary doctorate. In anticipation of the National Socialist tyranny, Prof. Dr. Löwenthal had emigrated to the USA in 1933. In this context, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Rimbach recalled the failure of German academics to stand up for their Jewish colleagues. The German student body had also prepared the Holocaust with its book burnings. The willingness to accept the honorary doctorate is therefore a sign of reconciliation - said Rimbach - with which the guilt of Germans is forgiven.

In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Hans Gumbrecht paid tribute to the life and work of the Jewish scientist with the lecture "Leo Löwenthal - a (not only intellectual) concept of style". After studying law, mathematics, philosophy and sociology, his interest in Zionism and the European Enlightenment provided the initial impetus for his research work. In 1926, he began his work at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, whose move abroad (first to Switzerland, then to the USA) he had prepared before the National Socialist seizure of power. From America, he fought against National Socialism through academic reviews of propaganda articles and speeches.

In 1956, Löwenthal received a professorship at the University of Berkeley, where he continued to work after his retirement. Together with Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse, he was one of the co-founders of Critical Theory.

The literary sociologist received further honorary doctorates from the University of Hamburg and the Free University of Berlin. He was awarded the Theodor W. Adorno Prize in 1989. Prof. Dr. Leo Löwenthal died on January 21, 1993 in Berkeley, California.

Source Siegener Zeitung, May 23, 1985, B.1, p. 3.

An act of reparation - the honorary doctorate for Käte Hamburger

On June 25, 1980, the Department of Linguistics and Literature awarded its first honorary doctorate. The award went to the renowned Germanist Prof. Dr. Käte Hamburger (1896-1992). In the presence of numerous professors, lecturers and students, founding rector Artur Woll emphasized that, in addition to honoring her academic achievements, the appointment was also an act of reparation that could be carried out without prejudice, especially by newly founded universities. Expelled by the National Socialists due to her Jewish ancestry, Käte Hamburger emigrated to Sweden in 1934. After working there as a journalist, writer and language teacher, she returned to Germany from exile in 1956. In 1922, she had published a work on Friedrich Schiller entitled "Schiller's Analysis of Man as the Basis of his Philosophy of Culture and History. Ein Beitrag zum Problem des Individualismus, dargestellt auf Grund seiner philosophischen Schriften" with Clemens Baeumker in Munich.

In his laudatory speech on Hamburger's academic work, Prof. Dr. Helmut Kreuzer highlighted her achievement in identifying the Kantian influences in the works of important playwrights and novelists. He also highlighted her work "The Logic of Poetry", in which she examined the effect of poetic language and arrived at a new approach that no longer takes poetic aesthetics as its starting point, but poetic logic.

In her keynote speech, Prof. Dr. Käte Hamburger addressed the topic "Fear and pity - a Lessing problem". Starting from the Aristotelian definition of tragedy, which is based on the four concepts of pity, fear, affects and purification, Käte Hamburger presented both of the latter concepts as controversial, not only because of their Aristotelian origin, but also because of the irritations they caused in the 16th and 17th centuries. The poetry of the 18th century was therefore characterized solely by the terms "pity" and "fear". Lessing had set Aristotle's model in absolute terms and attempted to resolve the contradictions that arose in the definition of pity and fear by placing pity in the service of humanity.

In addition to an honorary doctorate from the University of Siegen, Prof. Dr. Käte Hamburger was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1966, the Medal of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg in 1984 and the Schiller Memorial Prize in 1989. The University City of Göttingen honored Käte Hamburger with the naming of a street and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with the funding program for the humanities, the "Käte Hamburger Kolleg". She died at the age of 95 on April 8, 1992 in Stuttgart.

Source: Siegener Zeitung, June 26, 1980, p. 4.