Emil Utitz

Emil Utitz (27 May 1883 – 2 November 1956) was a Czech philosopher and psychologist. He attended school in Prague and was a classmate of Franz Kafka. Utitz studied in Munich, Leipzig, and Prague, where he obtained a PhD under Christian von Ehrenfels and was greatly influenced by Franz Brentano. He moved to Germany, where he became a professor in Rostock, and from 1925 was Chair of Philosophy at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. In his research, he was concerned with art theory, aesthetics, characterology and cultural philosophy. During his time at Halle, he chaired the second Congress of Aesthetics and Science of Art. As Utitz was of Jewish descent, he was forced into unpaid retirement in 1933 and returned to Prague, where he held the Chair of Philosophy from 1934 to 1938.

In 1942, Utitz and his wife were deported to Theresienstadt Ghetto. He was given special treatment as "prominent" prisoner, served as head of the Ghetto Central Library and was involved in cultural activities. After the liberation of Theresienstadt in 1945, he helped to disband the library, then returned to Prague. Utitz died in Jena in 1956, while travelling through East Germany to give lectures.