Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann

Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann (8 October 1934 – 2 August 2022) was a German philosopher. He was known for his expertise on Heidegger's thought, having worked with him at the University of Freiburg from 1972 to 1976. Herrmann taught there as professor from 1979 to 1999.

Life and career
Herrmann was born in Potsdam, where he attended schools. He achieved the Abitur at the Wald-Gymnasium in Berlin-Grunewald. He studied philosophy, history and German studies, first at the Free University Berlin from 1955 to 1957, then at the University of Freiburg. He achieved the doctorate in 1961, supervised by Eugen Fink. He then worked as Fink's assistant until 1970. He was habilitated in 1970, and subsequently lectured at the university. Hermann was appointed professor in 1979, being emerited in 1999.

Heidegger
Herrmann worked personally with Martin Heidegger from 1972 until his death in 1976. Heidegger appointed him as curator for a complete edition of his Works, begun in 1975 and ongoing. For Herrmann, it became a mission to teach about the philosopher internationally. He worked with Francesco Alfieri, editing an Italian edition of Heidegger's correspondence from 1930 to 1949 with his brother Fritz, which discusses political and social issues. In 2017, the two published Die Wahrheit über die “Schwarzen Hefte”, published by Duncker & Humblot in Berlin. It was translated in 2021 as Martin Heidegger and the Truth About the “Black Notebooks”, with bilingual excerpts from the Notebooks. In 2019, Herrmann published a commentary to Heidegger's Vom Ereignis, which was received as a welcome accessible approach to his philosophy.

Personal life
Herrmann was married to Veronika née Müeller-Osthaus. He died on 2 August 2022 at a clinic in Freiburg, where he spent a few days following a heart attack. He was 87.