The explainer of the world. Klaus Mehnert's rise from expert on Eastern Europe to public intellectual of the early Federal Republic of Germany

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Dietmar Neutatz
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 564244754

The research project examines the life of the expert on the East, publicist, journalist and professor of political science Klaus Mehnert (1906-1984) in the context of his dual function as a prominent ‘explainer of the world’ of West German post-war society on the one hand and as an influential advisor to the (foreign) policy of the early Federal Republic on the other. Klaus Mehnert explained the politics and society of the Soviet Union, but also those of the USA and China, to the population of the Federal Republic like no other. As a networker, he belonged to those experts on the East who began their careers before 1933 and were able to continue them successfully after 1945. Paradigmatically, his life provides insights into the roles and functions of experts who appeared not only as influential advisors and reporters, but also as self-confident political actors in the Federal Republic’s public sphere. The aim of the research project is to analyse how he was able to develop from a specialist on Eastern Europe to a universal expert omnipresent in the media over the course of the 1950s and 1960s. These findings will be embedded in the history of mentalities in the early Federal Republic of Germany by analysing Mehnert’s resonance space and the social framework conditions of experts in the context of a changing society. The project thus aims to contribute to research on Eastern European experts and expertise in the Federal Republic, on cultural mediation processes and on the history of intellectuals and ideas in post-war Germany. At the same time, the view through Mehnert’s ‘burning glass’ offers conclusions about the agency of conservative public intellectuals in the founding phase of the Federal Republic, the situation of German research on Eastern Europe after 1945 and the resonance space of (Eastern European) experts in West German society. The project understands expertise as a social field and experts as hybrid constructs that combine diverse forms of knowledge with diverse power strategies. Therefore, firstly, the strategies used by Mehnert to achieve his status as an expert and to adapt to new circumstances will be analysed. To this end, his credibility, self-promotion and networking strategies are analysed in the context of the various roles that Mehnert took on in the course of his life. Secondly, Mehnert is defined as a public intellectual who attempted to influence the public opinion. The project is based on the assumption that intellectuals are exponents of the zeitgeist in a special way, which is why cultural, political and scientific transformation processes and framework conditions; the agency of right-wing intellectuals and Eastern Europe experts in the early Federal Republic and Mehnert's resonance space are examined by analysing his social figure as a public intellectual.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants