[[File:Hermann von der Dunk.jpg|thumb| Hermann von der Dunk]]
{{short description|Dutch historian}} '''Hermann Walther von der Dunk''' (October 9, 1928 in [[Bonn]] – August 22, 2018 in [[Bilthoven]]) was a Dutch historian of German origin.
== Life == Von der Dunk's family fled from [[Nazi-Germany]] to the Netherlands in 1937. As his mother was Jewish, his father could not find any work under National Socialist regime. His father found a position at the school of [[Kees Boeke]] in [[Bilthoven]]. Later, Hermann von der Dunk visited the nearby [[University of Utrecht]]. There, he studied history under professor [[Pieter Geyl]] and later studied at the [[Leibniz Institute of European History]] in [[Mainz]]. In 1966 he finished his dissertation (in German) on "Der Deutsche Vormärz und Belgien, 1830-1848" ("''The German [[Vormärz]] and [[Belgium]], 1830-1848''").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/gs-ba3c5ff5|title=Historicus Hermann von der Dunk (89) overleden|last=Redactie|date=2018-08-23|website=de Volkskrant|language=nl-NL|access-date=2019-07-22}}</ref> One year later, in 1967, von der Dunk became professor for modern and contemporary history as well as cultural history at the University of Utrecht and stayed in this position until 1990.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nos.nl/l/2247286|title=Historicus Hermann von der Dunk was geen archiefrat, maar meeslepend verteller|last=Online|first=Dik Verkuil redacteur|website=nos.nl|date=23 August 2018 |language=nl|access-date=2019-07-22}}</ref> His early retirement was (at least in part) a reaction to the commercialization and bureaucratization of the universities. He specialized in European and Dutch history, as well as Dutch-German relationships. Much of his work focused on "modernity and anti-modern responses",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uu.nl/nieuws/in-memoriam-hermann-walther-von-der-dunk-1928-2018|title=In memoriam Hermann Walther von der Dunk (1928 – 2018)|last=Jonker|first=Ed|date=2018-08-27|website=Universiteit Utrecht|language=nl|access-date=2019-07-22}}</ref> he wrote several monographs and regularly published articles in Dutch newspapers and journals. In 1995 he received the [[Goethe Medal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/gs-ba3c5ff5|title=Historicus Hermann von der Dunk (89) overleden|last=Redactie|date=2018-08-23|website=de Volkskrant|language=nl-NL|access-date=2019-07-22}}</ref>
He was elected member of the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |author=E. Jonker |url=https://www.knaw.nl/nl/actueel/publicaties/levensberichten-en-herdenkingen-2019 |title=Levensberichten en herdenkingen 2019 - Hermann Walther von der Dunk |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |date= |access-date=2020-05-02 |archive-date=2020-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128074807/https://www.knaw.nl/nl/actueel/publicaties/levensberichten-en-herdenkingen-2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Works == *'' Der Deutsche Vormärz und Belgien, 1830/48''. Wiesbaden, F. Steiner, 1966. *'' De verdwijnende hemel. Over de cultuur van Europa in de twintigste eeuw''. 2 volumes. Amsterdam, Meulenhoff, 2000. {{ISBN|9789029068505}}
== References == {{reflist}} {{Authority control}} <!--Wikidata --> {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunk, Hermann von der}} [[Category:1928 births]] [[Category:2018 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Dutch historians]] [[Category:Dutch people of German descent]] [[Category:Dutch people of German-Jewish descent]] [[Category:Historians of the Netherlands]] [[Category:Historians of Germany]] [[Category:Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]]