Fritz Kern (28 September 1884 - 21 May 1950) was a German medievalist historian who became involved in politics. He held teaching chairs on History at Frankfurt (Main) University between 1914 and 1922, and at Bonn University between 1922 and 1946. Life Provenance Max Friedrich Ludwig Hermann Kern - always identified in sources simply as Fritz Kern - was born into an upper middle-class Catholic family in Stuttgart. Both his parents came from legal-administrative "establishment" families, and were members of what would have been considered Württemberg's "minor aristocracy". Hermann von Kern (1854–1932), his father, was a senior government administrator who later became a "Staatsrat" (loosely, "national councillor") for the Kingdom of Württemberg. His mother, born Marie von Hufnagel (1860–1944), was a daughter of Georg Ludwig von Hufnagel (1825–1900), a lawyer who towards the end of his career served as senate president (in this instance a senior judicial position) in Stuttgart. Fritz Kern had a sister who was four years younger than he was and a brother who was eleven years his junior. Formal education Following two years in a pre-school, Fritz Kern was still only 8 when he was enrolled at Stuttgart's prestigious Karls-Gymnasium, a "humanist" secondary school with a strong focus on Greek and Roman culture in its curriculum. He continued to attend this school for ten years. Kern was a scholarly pupil, winning many prizes including one, in 1902 for a speech he delivered as part of the celebrations for of the emperor's birthday, on the intriguing subject "Frederick the Great as Crown Prince". After passing his school final exams, during 1902/03 he spent two terms at the University of Lausanne studying Jurisprudence, out of respect for his family's traditions. Lausanne was chosen both on account of its climate and the perceived purity of the lakeside air, thought likely to reduce his tendency to Bronchitis and in order that he might perfect his French. However, in 1903 he decided he wished to become not a lawyer but an historian. His father agreed to this change of direction only with the greatest reluctance. There followed six terms as a history student, of which the first two were spent studying at Tübingen where he was taught by Georg von Below (1858 - 1927), who became a life-long friend. Von Below had a reputation as a fierce defender of prevailing traditions of political and constitutional historiography: he was more than happy