Meinecke, Friedrich (1862–1954)

German historian who endeavoured to combine intellectual and political history and produce a synthesis of cultural and political values. His book Cosmopolitanism and the National State 1908 is an account of how the Enlightenment's ideals gave way to the nationalism of the romantics.

Meinecke worked in the Prussian State Archives for 14 years before becoming a professional historian.

His works include Machiavellism 1924, concerned with the ideas of statecraft and their development from the 15th century to the time of Frederick the Great, and Historicism 1936, which deals with the beginnings and development of historicism from the Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico onwards. Meinecke's critical reaction and opposition to the Nazi state are explained in his book The German Catastrophe 1946.