Fritz Heichelheim

Fritz Moritz Heichelheim, born on May sixth, nineteen oh one, was a distinguished German-born ancient historian renowned for his expertise in ancient economic history. He began his academic journey at the University of Gießen, where he studied under the esteemed historian Richard Laqueur. Heichelheim earned his doctorate in nineteen twenty-five with a thesis titled 'Foreign Inhabitants of the Ptolemaic Empire' and completed his habilitation in nineteen twenty-nine, focusing on 'Economic Fluctuations from the Time of Alexander to that of Augustus'.

His career took a tumultuous turn in nineteen thirty-three when he was dismissed from his teaching position at Gießen due to the National Socialists' purge of universities, following a controversial lecture on Jews in Roman Palestine and Syria. This dismissal forced Heichelheim to emigrate, leading him to England, where he worked as a private tutor and received a fellowship from the University of Cambridge. During this time, he married Gerta Oppenheimer, and they welcomed their son, Peter, in nineteen thirty-nine.

As World War II erupted, Heichelheim faced internment as a German alien in Britain. However, he later secured a position as an assistant lecturer at the University of Nottingham, where he also directed the excavation of a Roman site. In nineteen forty-eight, he moved to Canada to lecture at the University of Toronto, where he ascended through the ranks to become a full professor by nineteen sixty-two. Heichelheim briefly returned to Germany as a visiting professor at the Free University of Berlin in nineteen sixty-one and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada in nineteen sixty-six.

Throughout his career, Heichelheim published two books and over six hundred articles, with 'A History of the Roman People' remaining in print. His scholarly contributions included cataloging Greek coins at the Fitzwilliam Museum and collaborating on significant publications such as 'The Adler Papyri'. He was also instrumental in fostering academic ties between the Universities of Gießen and Toronto, initiating a project to edit and publish papyri preserved in Gießen's library.

Fritz Heichelheim passed away on April twenty-second, nineteen sixty-eight, in Toronto. His legacy endures through his extensive body of work and his role in the academic community, particularly among Holocaust survivors and refugees in Canada.