Peter Rohrbacher

Peter Rohrbacher is a researcher at the Institute for Social Anthropology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) and affiliated with the Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Vienna's Faculty of Social Sciences. His academic work bridges institutional history, religious studies, and anthropological theory development.

Dr. Rohrbacher's research focuses on the history of cultural and social anthropology, particularly examining Nazi-era academic history, church history, and the history of African and Oriental Studies. His work reveals intricate connections between religious institutions and anthropological scholarship, especially highlighting how Catholic networks influenced ethnological research during politically turbulent periods.

His scholarly output demonstrates remarkable breadth across historical anthropology, with particular emphasis on Viennese academic traditions. Rohrbacher has extensively documented the complex relationships between ethnologists and political power structures, showing both adaptation to and resistance against Nazi ideology within academic circles. His publications reveal nuanced examinations of figures like Wilhelm Schmidt, Martin Gusinde, and Richard Thurnwald, avoiding simplistic categorizations of collaboration or resistance.

Rohrbacher's current research projects examine the academic history of Viennese Caucasus and Turkestan research during the Nazi era (funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences) and ecclesiastical and political networks of sociocultural anthropology in Austria during the interwar period (FWF P33427). From 2026-2030, he will lead the FWF-funded project 'Austrian Ethnology 1945–1965' as Principal Investigator, investigating postwar anthropology's interdisciplinary connections and international networks.

As a methodological innovator, Rohrbacher combines historical anthropology with contemporary historical approaches, drawing from archives across ten countries. His co-edited three-volume work 'Völkerkunde zur NS-Zeit aus Wien (1938–1945)' represents a landmark contribution to understanding disciplinary entanglements with political power.