„Adolf v. Harnack was one of the most admired and, at the same time, one of the most fiercely challenged theologians of his era,“ begins Harnack’s biographer Kurt Nowak in his portrait of the life of the church historian and scientific organiser. A strong Protestant work ethic coupled with huge working capacity and stupendous knowledge enabled Harnack to adopt an exceptional position in academic life, both in the Kaiser’s empire and in the Weimar Republic. Harnack became the first President of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in 1911. He exercised the office on a part-time basis until his death in 1939. Harnack taught ecclesiastical history and the history of dogma at Berlin University until 1921. In parallel, he modernised the Prussian library system as Director General of the Prussian State Library and advised the Prussian Education Ministry on university and school matters as a sought-after expert. In the Weimar Republic he also played a decisive role in establishing the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft (the Emergency Association of German Science), the predecessor of the German Research Foundation.
piety with no religious doubts“ had its origin in his deeply Protestant parental home