Val, Gustav

After graduating from the French gymnasium in Berlin, Gustav Val studied law for three semesters, and then - German and Roman philology and philosophy in Freiburg, Berlin and Heidelberg. During his studies, in the winter semester of 1896/1897, he became a member of the Burschenschaft Allemannia Berlin fraternity. In 1901, Val received a Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg , defending a dissertation on Johann Christoph Rost: Contribution to the History of 18th Century German Literature. At that time, he also worked as an assistant to Richard Schroeder , who produced Deutsches Rechtswörterbuch (DRW). On April 1, 1902, Gustav Val began his career in the library of the University of Heidelberg as a volunteer; On August 1, 1904, he became a research fellow at the library. In 1905, he participated in the relocation of the library to a new building.

In 1907, Val became the successor to the librarian, Professor Möbius, as a member of the board of the University Library (Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg) in Frankfurt . At this post, he reorganized the library, making it available to the general public.

On January 31, 1913, the Börsenverein der Deutschen Buchhändler zu Leipzig alliance appointed elections for the post of first director of the newly created Deutsche Bücherei. Val won the election and took office on May 15th. At this post, he participated in the construction of the new library building and the selection of employees for it (four librarians and sixty other employees). Disagreements with Karl Siegismund ( German: Karl Hermann Siegismund ; 1861-1932), chairman of the executive committee of Deutsche Bücherei and head of the Börsenverein der Deutschen Buchhändler, led Val to file with the rest of the librarians in early 1914 resignation. The press campaign forced Sigismund to make a public statement, as a result of which the staff continued their work.

On October 23, 1916, Val became the librarian of the German Supreme Court in Leipzig. On January 1, 1918, Val, unsuitable for military service, was elected director of the Hamburg City Library and was awarded the title of professor - he became the successor of Robert Munzel, who died on July 11, 1917. Val headed the Hamburg City Library until his retirement on January 1, 1943 (due to illness). During this period, he was able to double the staffing and budget of the organization. On his 66th birthday, in 1943, Val witnessed the destruction of the Hamburg library as a result of a British air raid (see Hamburg Bombing ).

As part of his scholarly work, Val published a collection of German literature printed outside Germany and works written by German expatriates . From 1921 to 1944, he also lectured at the University of Hamburg on the cultural history of German expatriates.

Between 1933 and 1943, the library under the direction of Valya organized 29 exhibitions, actively participating in Nazi cultural propaganda. On November 11, 1933, Gustav Wahl was among the more than 900 scholars and teachers of German universities and universities who signed the " Statement of Professors on the Support of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist State "; July 6, 1938 he became a member of the NSDAP .

• Die Deutsche Bücherei zu Leipzig // Der Bibliothekar [Leipzig, 1909-1917] (Bd. 8, 1916: 957-958).
• Der Umzug der Heidelberger Universitätsbibliothek im Herbst 1905 // Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen Bd. 22, 1905: 582-585.

Gustav Val was married to Anna Raster ( German: Anna Raster ); the family had three children.

• Alexandra Habermann, Rainer Klemmt, Frauke Siefkes : Lexikon deutscher wissenschaftlicher Bibliothekare 1925-1980. Klostermann, Frankfurt 1985, ISBN 3-465-01664-5
• Helmut Voigt : Leipzig - Hamburg - Dresden. Zum Rücktritt Gustav Wahls von der Leitung der Deutschen Bücherei Leipzig 1916 und zu seiner beabsichtigten Berufung an die Spitze der Sächsischen Landesbibliothek Dresden 1920 // Harald Weigel (Hrsg.): Festschstrutgrfburt Gergfergrtburt Gerüt, 1993 ISBN 3-88309-045-X , S. 775-800.

• Wahl, Gustav (Neopr.) . Sächsische Biografie . Date of appeal May 13, 2018.