Norbert Jokl - Career

Career

From 1913, he was a Privatdozent whose field was "Indo-European linguistics with special consideration to Albanian, Baltic and Slavic languages“. In 1923, he became a Professor extraordinarius, and in 1937 a Hofrat. He wrote numerous works on Albanology and became a renowned specialist. In April 1933, the paleontologist and Albanologist Franz Nopcsa (Ferenc Nopcsa) shot his secretary and himself, leaving his Albanological papers to Jokl.

After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, Jokl’s manuscripts started being rejected and he was no longer invited to conferences. On May 20, 1938, he was discharged as a result of the Anschluss of Austria and was prohibited from entering his former place of work. The Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Viktor Christian, tried to save Jokl’s job, but this was in vain. Later that year, Jokl submitted an application (supported by the Dean) to be equalized with "persons of mixed blood of 1st degree“ in order to have admittance to libraries. The application was rejected.

Georg Solta, who went on to become a professor of Indo-European linguistics, would often visit him during the following four years, in order to further his studies and to maintain personal interaction with his mentor. Solta says that Jokl lived alone ascetically, though a maid would prepare food for him. Two rooms were filled with books and all of his free time was dedicated to research.

Jokl tried to find a job abroad, but this was also in vain. His last chance was a librarian position that was created for him in Albania with a monthly salary of 600 Albanian franks. Franciscan priest and Albanian national writer, Gjergj Fishta, intervened through a letter, dated 23 September 1939 to Francesco Jacomoni, vice-regent in Albania to make Italy intervene with the Third Reich in order to allow Jokl transfer to Albania. Jokl himself wanted to emigrate to Albania. However, neither the efforts of Gjergj Fishta, nor those of Carlo Tagliavini, a professor of the University of Padua, nor the appeal of Galeazzo Ciano, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, yielded the necessary permission for him to emigrate to Albania. In one of his applications, he also asked for permission to take along his library, but was opposed by Dean Christian, who was very interested in keeping Jokl’s extensive collection at the University. Jokl’s library also contained his life work and the handwritten supplements to the Albanian vocabulary by Gustav Meyer.