Wolfgang Preiser (1903–1997) und sein „Institut für Geschichte des Völkerrechts“ an der Universität Frankfurt

Wolfgang Preiser (1903-1997), professor of criminal law and international law, founded the “Institute for the History of International Law” at the University of Frankfurt in 1955. This biography tells the story of Preiser's life and interprets his work, drawing on archival research and interviews. Preiser was particularly interested in the origins of international law. He retained a lifelong fascination for its earliest evidence in the Middle East. In his later work, Preiser devoted himself to non-European regions of the world and the manifestations there of what he recognized as international law. The study is therefore also a contribution to the concept of international law and the problems of its historical research beyond Eurocentrism.