Ian Kershaw

Sir Ian Kershaw ( born April 29, 1943 in Oldham, Lancashire ) is an English historian who was known for his writings on National Socialism, particularly through his sensational two-part biography of Adolf Hitler.

Life

Kershaw studied at Liverpool and Oxford. After graduating, he worked as a lecturer in Medieval and Modern History at the University of Manchester. By the way, he learned at the Goethe -Institut of the city's German language. Language, culture and history of Germany impressed him so effectively that it shifted its focus on German history.

1983/84 he was a visiting professor at the Ruhr- University in Bochum held. In 1987, he accepted a professorship of modern history at the University of Nottingham. Two years later he moved to the University of Sheffield, where he taught until his retirement in late September 2008 as a professor of modern history.

Kershaw counts in professional circles of the most important experts in the field of German history in the 20th century. A wider audience, he became known for his two-part biography of Hitler, which was released in 1998 and 2000. It is now regarded as a standard work.

In his 2011 published book The End. Fight until the downfall Kershaw goes into the question of why many German Hitler "to the end " followed, and no sooner surrendered, but continued to fight, though long ago it was obvious that Germany would lose the war. Kershaw identifies four main reasons: virtues such as sense of duty and honor were exploited by the Nazis or abused, many people saw no alternative, they also feared the terror of the SS and Gestapo ( against civilians and soldiers, for example, against deserters ) on the one hand and the Red Army on the other hand.

Honors

1991 Kershaw was inducted into the British Academy. In 1994 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his services to the German history. 2002 Kershaw was defeated by Queen Elizabeth II knighted and may be called since Sir Ian Kershaw. 2012, he shared with Timothy Snyder the Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding.

Writings (excerpt)

• The Hitler myth. Public opinion and propaganda in the Third Reich. German publishing house, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-421-01985-1; revised, new German version: The Hitler myth. Leader cult and popular opinion. German publishing house, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 978-3-421-05285-8
• The Nazi dictatorship: problems and perspectives of interpretation. E. Arnold, London, 1985, ISBN 0-7131-6408-5. The Nazi State. Interpretations of history and controversy at a glance. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1988, ISBN 3-498-03462-6

• Hitler 1936-1945. German publishing house, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 978-3-421-05132-5; several editions.
• Hitler 1889-1945. Revised one-volume edition in paperback. Pantheon publisher in the publishing group Random House, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-570-55094-6.

• Hitler's friends in England. Lord Londonderry and the road to war. German publishing house, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-421-05805-9.

• Turning points. Key decisions in the Second World War. German publishing house, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-421-05806-5.

• The end. Fight to the downfall. Nazi Germany 1944/45. German publishing house, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-421-05807-2.