Ernst Ludwig Theodor Otto Eger

Otto Eger (19 October 1877 – 11 April 1949) was a German jurist and legal historian. As a professor at the University of Giessen (and undertaking, more briefly, an eight-year professorship at Basel), during the first half of the twentieth century, he was an influential teacher of several generations of legal scholars. He served terms as University Rector at both institutions. A committed nationalist, he backed national socialism which, in his judgement, opened up opportunities for revanchists who still hoped to find ways to undo the destruction of the Bismarckian German state in 1918/1919. More than six decades after his death, Otto Eger remained a controversial figure due to his engagement with the Nazi régime. Life Provenance and early years Ernst Ludwig Theodor Otto Eger was born at Darmstadt. Gustav Eger (1827–1894), his father, was a professor of linguistics at the (slightly misleadingly named) Technical University of Darmstadt. Gustav Eger died in 1894 making Otto an orphan: his mother had already died two years earlier. Otto Eger's later upbringing was accordingly supervised by a guardian: his father had already taken care to make available the funds needed to complete the boy's education. University In 1895 Eger embarked on his university studies, attending the universities of Göttingen (one term), Berlin (one term) and, principally, Giessen, which is where he passed his in jurisprudence. As a student he became a member of the student fraternity . He then took a post with the Legal Preparation Service. He worked, in parallel, on his doctorate, which was supervised by , and which he received from the University of Giessen in 1899 or 1900. His dissertation concerned representation in property acquisition.