»Kein Freund unserer Republik, sagt aber, was er meint«

During the Third Reich, Elliger was transferred from Kiel to Greifswald because of his legalistic leanings. His work in Berlin, which began in 1950, brought him once again into conflict with state policy on higher education. He was open in his opposition to the influence exerted by the state party of the GDR on teaching and research, and stood up for students in the face of impending reprisals. He was able to evade dismissal when he was offered a chair in Bochum in 1964.