Gustav Radbruch

Gustav Radbruch (1878-1949) was one of the most important legal philosophers of the 20th century. Born in Lübeck in 1878, he studied law in Munich, Leipzig and Berlin. He taught criminal law and legal philosophy as a professor in Heidelberg, Königsberg and Kiel. In 1920, he became a member of the Reichstag for the SPD, and in 1921 Minister of Justice. After the National Socialists came to power, Radbruch was the first German professor to be dismissed from his teaching post. In 1945 the Allies reinstated him. His philosophy of law also gained practical significance in the legal assessment of Nazi and SED injustices.