Ernst Posner
Ernst Maximilian Posner (9 August 1892 – 18 April 1980) was a Prussian state archivist who fled to the United States during World War II where he served as the history department chairman, dean of the graduate school, and director of the School of Social Science and Public Affairs at American University. Additionally, he was a frequent archival consultant to the United States government. Early life and education Posner was born on August 9, 1892, in Berlin to a wealthy Prussian Lutheran family of both Jewish and Christian heritage. His father, Dr. Carl Posner, was a famous urologist. His uncle, Max Posner, who died ten years before Ernst was born, was an archivist with the Prussian Privy State Archives. Posner attended the University of Berlin where he studied philosophy, history, and languages. He attributed a class that he took with German historian Otto Hintze on U.S. Constitutional history as providing him with the basic knowledge he would need for American history later in his life. Having previously served in the military during peace-time, he rejoined Imperial German Army during World War I on both the Eastern and Western fronts. He fought in the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes.