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Martin Heidegger (r.) and Hans-Georg Gadamer (l.) (1923)
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is considered to be one of the most influential German philosophers of the 20th century. In 1923, he was appointed to a professorship at the University of Marburg, where Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) was among a group of his students that also included Hannah Arendt, Karl Löwith, Leo Strauss, and Hans Jonas. Gadamer, who was profoundly influenced by and maintained a lifelong friendship with Heidegger, is the most influential figure in the development of 20th century hermeneutics. Unlike Heidegger, who joined the Nazi party in 1933, Gadamer never became a party member. The photograph was taken at Heidegger’s mountain chalet outside the Black Forest village of Todtnauberg.