Norbert Jokl, tit. ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil.

25.2.1877 – 6.5.1942
born in Bisenz, Mähren, Czech Republic died in Vernichtungslager Maly Trostinec, Belarus

Honors

Ehrung Titel Datierung Fakultät
Commemorative Plaque of Faculty 1982 Faculty of Philosophy

1979 konstituierte sich eine 12-köpfige Arbeitsgruppe „Ehrung für Norbert Jokl“, der Oberrat Dr. Otto Back, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang U. Dressler, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stanislaus Hafner (Graz), Univ.-Prof. Dr. Josef Hamm, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Radoslav Katičić, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred Mayrhofer, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hermann Ölberg (Innsbruck), Oberrat Dr. Oskar E. Pfeiffer, Magn. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Richard Plaschka, Archivrat DDr. Robert Schwanke, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Georg R. Solta und Univ.-Prof. Dr. Erika Weinzierl). In deren Auftrag stellte Prof. Solta 1982 vom Institut für Sprachwissenschaft den Antrag, Jokl in die Ehrentafel der Philosophischen Fakultät aufzunehmen:

„Sein Hauptarbeitsgebiet war Zeit seines Lebens die Albanologie, in der er an eine reiche österreichische Tradition anknüpfte und in einem Maße fortsetzte, daß er in der Zwischenkriegszeit zum international unbestrittenen Meister dieses Faches wurde. Obwohl er nach seiner Deportation 1942 eines gewaltsamen Todes starb, sind seine Werke derart, daß die moderne Albanologie […] auf Schritt und Tritt auf seinen Forschungen aufbaut. […] In den Vierzigerjahren war es weder unserer Universität noch Kollegen im In- und Ausland möglich, diesen Großen seines Faches vor seinem Ende zu bewahren – heute könnten wir mit der Ehrung Jokls auch unsere Dankesschuld abtragen.“
(Antrag von Prof. Georg R. Solta, 18. März 1982, in: Archiv der Universität Wien, Akademischer Senat GZ 6 ex 1981/82)

Der Antrag wurde von der Geisteswissenschaftlichen Fakultät unterstützt, der Akademische Senat der Universität Wien stimmte dem Antrag am 29. April 1982 einstimmig zu und die Eintragung – die letzte auf der Ehrentafel der Philosophischen Fakultät – wurde Anfang Mai 1982 beauftragt.

Jokl, son of merchant, graduated from high school, enrolled at the Law School of the University of Vienna and finished his studies with the academic title Dr.jur. in 1901. In 1903 he began to work at the university library, studied linguistics at the Philosphical School of the University of Vienna and graduated in 1908. After that he devoted himself to the Albanian language, a linguistic field that had not been widely studied at the time.
In 1913 he was promoted 'Privatdozent' whose field was "Indo-European linguistics with special consideration to Albanian, Baltic and Slavic languages". In 1923 he received the title of an Associate professot (tit. ao. Prof.). At the university library he supervised the fields of Indo-Germanic and Finno-Ugrian linguistics. Because of his long-time employment at the library he received the honorary title of an senior librarian ('Oberstaatsbibliothekar') in 1928 and of a 'Hofrat' in 1937.

He was persecuted in times of Nazism as a Jew lost his position and was thrown out of the university on May 20th, 1938.
In order to have at least admittance to libraries, Jokl submitted an application to be equalized with "persons of mixed blood of 1st degree". But the application was rejected in 1940. His attempts to emigrate from Austria did not succeed, e.g. initiatives of Albanian national writer Gjergj Fishta and of the Italian albanologist Carlo Tagliavini, who tried to bring Jokl and his library to Albania, because the national socialists refused to give him an exit permit to Albania in 1941. In March1942 Jokl was arrested by the Gestapo in Vienna and transferred to the collection camp. Two months later he was deported to Maly Trostinec.
Despite Jokl bequeathing his library to Albania, it was confiscated and 'aryanized', supported by Viktor Christian, Dean of the Philosophical School of the University of Vienna, and Paul Heigl, the director general of the National Library of Austria. The exgtensive collection was handed to the national library 'as a loan' in 1942 was taken in possession in 1946.

On April 29, 1982 the Senate of the University of Vienna decided to inscribe Norbert Jokl's name to the board of honour of the University.

Katharina Kniefacz

Zuletzt aktualisiert am 03/28/24

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