Rohrbach, Paul

Rohrbach, Paul, b 26 June 1869 in Ostsee, Courland (now Latvia), d 19 July 1956 in Munich. Baptist theologian, historian of Eastern Europe, and publicist, of Baltic German origin. He studied history and geography at Dorpat University and then moved to Berlin, where in March 1918, together with Axel Schmidt, he founded the German-Ukrainian Society and its organ, Die Ukraine. In a series of books, articles, and brochures beginning in 1914, Rohrbach expounded on the threat of Russian expansionism and argued that Ukraine was nationally and culturally distinct from Russia, and that world powers should support Ukrainian independence. His position won him great popularity among Ukrainians; he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Ukrainian Free University and named honorary president (1952–6) of the renewed German-Ukrainian Society.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]