Hermann Friederich Weiss, professor emeritus of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, died peacefully on March 18, 2026, following a short illness.
He was born June 17, 1937, in Beuel, Germany, to Hildegard (Kemmerich) Weiss and Arnold Weiss. As a child, Hermann experienced World War II and its aftermath, growing up in the village of Vilich outside Bonn after his family returned there.
In 1963, he received his undergraduate degree and teaching license from the University of Bonn in English and German. After teaching appointments at St. Andrews, Scotland, and the University of Oregon, he entered Princeton University to pursue his Ph.D., which he received in 1968.
Hermann joined the faculty of the University of Michigan during the same year. He gained tenure in 1975 and promotion to full professor in 1982. A cherished teacher, Hermann inspired a generation of students with his seminars on German literary history and culture.
As a scholar, Hermann enjoyed international visibility and recognition for his work on Heinrich von Kleist, from his first publication “Funde und Studien zu Heinrich von Kleist” (1984) to his recent, spectacular find of five new letters by the seminal author, which Hermann presented in the “Kleist-Jahrbuch” (2025).
Hailed as the “find of a century” in the European press, the discovery cast new light on Kleist’s political moment in a war-torn Europe and added nuance to our understanding of European nationalism. Hermann was equally well known for his edition of letters written by Achim von Arnim and his contributions to that author’s complete edition of writings, along with numerous other publications on German romanticism.
As the recent find of Kleist letters shows, Hermann’s scholarly life after retirement did not slow — if anything, it widened. He stayed in contact with the department and shifted significant energy to historical research, including work on forced Jewish labor under National Socialism and contributions to an online encyclopedia of the Holocaust.
His 2004 book, “Buschvorwerk im Riesengebirge, Eine Gemeinde in Niederschlesien von den Kriegsjahren bis zur Vertreibung,” explored the reality of forced labor at a factory where his father worked as a civil engineer — an ethical and historical tension that stayed with him.
Beyond the archive and the classroom, Hermann lived with a zest that was equal parts curiosity, discipline, and play. After meeting his second wife, Rebecca (“Becky”) Hoort, the two traveled widely together — to Tanzania, India and Indonesia, Oregon and Hawaii. Hermann loved nature and took environmental protection seriously. Summers often centered on a cherished lake near his home, where he helped lead efforts to save it from development; the friendships formed there were deeply important to him.
Community mattered to him in daily life as well as in scholarship. Hermann and Becky lived for 12 years in an Ann Arbor co-housing community and embraced intentional community as a way of living.
Music was another constant joy — classical, jazz, and more. In recent years Hermann created a popular concert program at the senior community where he and Becky had moved, engaging advanced students from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
Hermann was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Ursula (Weiss) Heppekausen; and his ex-wife, Ruth (Dressler) Weiss. He is survived by his loving wife Becky Hoort; his brothers Robert Weiss and Gebhardt Weiss; nieces, nephews and cousins on both his and Becky’s sides; and many friends, neighbors, colleagues and students.
A memorial celebration of Hermann Weiss’s life will be held at 1 p.m. June 20 at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Food Gatherers in Ann Arbor, The Ecology Center, or U-M’s Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures.
