Peter Rohrbacher

Dr. Peter Rohrbacher is a senior researcher at the Institute for Social Anthropology (ISA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). His work centers on historical anthropology, with a focus on the intersections of ethnology, African/Oriental studies, and Catholic Church networks during Austria's interwar and Nazi periods. He co-edited the seminal three-volume work Völkerkunde zur NS-Zeit aus Wien (2021) and leads projects on Caucasus/Turkestan research and ecclesiastical-political networks, funded by ÖAW and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).

Rohrbacher's research spans:

• The history of anthropological theories (e.g., diffusionism, Kulturkreislehre)
• Colonial ethnology and scientific racism in interwar Europe
• Vatican-missionary networks and resistance to Nazism
• Biographical studies of key figures like Wilhelm Schmidt and Richard Thurnwald

His recent publications analyze trends in 20th-century anthropology, emphasizing:

• Methodological debates in Nazi-era ethnography
• Transdisciplinary approaches combining archaeology, linguistics, and anthropology
• Institutional histories of the Vienna School of Ethnology
• Ethical conflicts in colonial and racial scholarship

He directs projects including Socio-cultural anthropology during Austria's interwar period and History of anthropology of Caucasus and Turkestan research in Vienna during the Nazi period, collaborating with scholars like Andre Gingrich. No awards or student advisories are documented.