Agathe Lasch, „valest“ rahvusest teadlane

Agathe Lasch, a scientist of the “wrong” nationality

Abstract

Pharmacist Alma Tomingas is considered to be the first female professor
at the University of Tartu, who received this title in 1940;
however, already in 1939, the Faculty of Philosophy of the University
of Tartu had chosen Agathe Lasch as professor of German studies
(germanistika).
Born in Berlin in 1879, Agathe Lasch was a recognized scholar at
the time - the first female professor of German studies in Germany
and the first female professor at the University of Hamburg. Because
she was Jewish, Agathe Lasch’s successful research career was
interrupted by the coming to power of the Nazis in Germany, which
pushed her away from academic life and forced her to look for work
abroad, including in Tartu. The Council of the Faculty of Philosophy
of the University of Tartu considered Agathe Lasch, as the world’s
best Middle Low German language specialist, to be the most suitable
candidate for the position of professor of German studies, who would
study the Baltic German language and its relations with the Estonian
language. Unfortunately, by 1939, political conditions in Europe
had become so uncertain that Konstantin Päts, as the president of
a small country, did not dare to go against the will of Germany and
confirm the Jewess Agathe Lasch as a professor.
The subsequent fate of Agathe Lasch was sad, as she was arrested
and executed near Riga in 1942 together with her sisters. Years later,
Agathe Lasch has been honored again as an outstanding scientist;
a street and a square in Germany have been named after Lasch to
commemorate her; several commemorative plaques have been erected,
and young scientists are rewarded with the Agathe Lasch Prize.