Dietrich Hofmann und die Anfänge der Nordfriesischen Wörterbuchstelle in Kiel

The North Frisian Dictionary Centre at the University of Kiel has been in existence since 1950. At first it was part of the Department of Scandinavian Studies, whose directors Hans Kuhn and Dietrich Hofmann were also in charge of it, Kuhn from 1950 to 1974 and Hofmann from 1974 to 1978. When Bo Sjölin became the first professor of Frisian Studies in Kiel, he was also responsible for the Dictionary Centre until his retirement in 1997. There then followed a two-year vacancy until Jarich Hoekstra became professor of Frisian Studies and head of the Centre in 1999. The author has long been working on the history of Frisian Studies and asked Dietrich Hofmann (1923–1998) to tell him about the beginning of the North Frisian Dictionary Centre. Hofmann did this in a letter, 14 pages long, in 1996. Now that this letter is about a quarter of a century old, parts of it are being published here for their historical interest.