Paul Koschaker (1879-1951)

This book aims to investigate the life and work of Paul Koschaker (1879-1951), who was one of the most prominent legal historians during the first half of the 20th century. From the 1930s onwards, Koschaker is renowned for having attempted reaffirm the authority of Roman law, which was experiencing a major crisis at German universities at the time, mainly due to the Nazi regime's disdain for this subject. Above all, he intend to emphasise the role Roman law played as a cornerstone of European legal tradition, as was masterfully depicted in his book 'Europa und das romische Recht'. Moreover, Koschaker had many other areas of interest throughout his career, such as cuneiform laws and comparative legal history issues. This work in particular attempts to provide the first comprehensive study of Koschaker's biographical experiences, as well as his scientific and academic stances, which have come to light as a result of the discovery and analysis of numerous previously unpublished archival sources.