Hermann Aubin was born in Reichenberg, Austria on 23 December 1885. His father was a wealthy factory owner. The Aubin family were descended from French Huguenots who had settled in Frankfurt in the 16th century AD. Aubin graduated at the top of his class from the gymnasium at Reichenberg in July 1904, and subsequently volunteered for a year as a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian Army. From 1905, Aubin studied history and economics at the universities of Munich and Freiburg. He gained a PhD at Freiburg in 1910 under the supervision of Georg von Below.
After gaining his PhD, Aubin lectured on history in Düsseldorf. During World War I, Aubin served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army on a variety of fronts. He gained his habilitation in 1916 under the supervision of Aloys Schulte. With the dismemberment of Austria-Hungary, Aubin became a German citizen. From 1920 onwards, Aubin taught history in Bonn. Aubin was hit hard economically by the hyperinflation of the 1920s, and the poor economic situation in Germany prevented him from gaining a full professorship. During this time, Aubin contemplated leaving the history profession. In 1925, he was appointed a lecturer at the University of Giessen. In 1929 he was appointed a professor of history at the University of Breslau.
During the Third Reich era, Aubin was a supporter of German efforts for eastward expansion, particularly the invasion of Poland in 1939. Aubin was a leader in the German academic tradition of Ostforschung an area of research meant to provide intellectual justification for German expansion into its Eastern frontier. Aubin worked alongside historians such as Albert Brackmann in order to promote German resettlement in Poland. Aubin also worked in collaboration with the Generalgouvernment of Hans Frank in promoting German colonization.[2]
At the end of World War II, Aubin was drafted into the Volksturm and fought in the Siege of Breslau. In 1946, Aubin was appointed Professor of Medieval and Modern History at the University of Hamburg. From 1955, he was honorary professor of history at the University of Freiburg. After the war, Aubin founded and led a number of scholarly organizations. He was the editor of Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung from 1952 to 1966. Aubin played a leading role in shaping the field of history in West Germany. From 1953 to 1958, he was the chairman of the Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands. On his 70th birthday in December 1955, Aubin received the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He died in Freiburg on 11 March 1969.
