Klaus Hildebrand

Klaus Hildebrand ( born November 18, 1941 in Bielefeld ) is a German historian.

Life and research priorities

Hildebrand studied from 1961 History, Social Sciences and Literature at the University of Marburg, where Andreas Hillgruber 's class. From 1965 to 1969 Hildebrand was a research assistant at the Historical Institute of the University of Mannheim, where he became a PhD at Manfred Schlenke with the dissertation Hitler, Nazi Party and Colonial Question 1919-1945 1967. 1972 also took place in Mannheim, the Habilitation in Modern History; Hildebrand then worked until 1974 as a Scientific Council and a professor of general history with special emphasis on contemporary history at the University of Bielefeld.

1974 Hildebrand was appointed Professor of Medieval and Modern History at the University of Frankfurt am Main. An appeal to the University of Harvard, he refused, saying he would need to specify in teaching and research on the history of the Third Reich and foreign policy. In 1977 he moved to the chair of modern history at the University of Münster. From 1982 until his retirement in February 2010 Hildebrand finally was Professor of Modern History at the University of Bonn. Since a serious illness in 2008 Hildebrand rests scientific work; on his chair in Bonn he was represented from 2008 to 2010 by Dominik Geppert.

Hildebrand's research focuses on the history of the European states, especially of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the history of international relations. His research overview The Third Reich, first published in 1979 and regularly updated since then is considered as a standard work and was translated into several languages. Among his most important works is the first time in 1995 published overview presentation The past empire. German Foreign Policy from Bismarck to Hitler. Hildebrand is also an expert on the history of German foreign policy since 1949 and was involved in numerous TV documentaries as a consultant. He is also co-editor of the Encyclopedia German history and records and the external policy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

With his publications Hildebrand is considered as a prominent advocate of diplomacy historical approach. It is criticized because of social historical perspective (Hans -Ulrich Wehler, Hans Mommsen ) too strong people - centeredness and intention of his explanations.

For his research Hildebrand received numerous national and international awards. In 1987 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st class. Hildebrand is a member of numerous academic bodies, including since 1982 the Commission for the History of parliamentarism and political parties ( 1998 to 2007 as its president ), since 1983 the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute of Contemporary History, as well as since 1991, the North Rhine- Westphalian Academy of Sciences. 1986/87 he was a member of the founding Board of the House of History; since he is a member of its Scientific Advisory Board. From 1998 he was co-editor of the Historical Journal by the end of 2009. Hildebrand was a member of the set up by the then Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer Independent Commission of Historians, the aufarbeitete the history of the Ministry scientifically.

Writings (selection )

  • From Empire to Empire: Hitler, Nazi Party and Colonial Question 1919-1945 ( = Publications of the Historical Institute of the University of Mannheim Vol 1. ). Fink, Munich, 1969 ( dissertation).
  • Bethmann Hollweg, the Chancellor without qualities? Judgments of historical research. A critical bibliography. Droste, Dusseldorf 1970.
  • German foreign policy from 1933 to 1945. Calculus or Dogma? Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1971; 5, revised edition 1990, ISBN 3-17-009756-3.
  • The German Reich and the Soviet Union in the international system from 1918 to 1932. Legitimacy or Revolution? ( = Frankfurter historical lectures. Vol. 4). Steiner, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-515-02503-0.
  • The Third Reich ( = Oldenbourg outline of the story. Vol. 19). Oldenbourg, Munich, 1979; 7, revised edition 2009, ISBN 978-3-486-59200-9 (translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese ).
  • Edit with Karl Ferdinand Werner: Germany and France from 1936 to 1939. 15 German - French historian Colloquium of the German Historical Institute Paris ( = Supplements of Francia. Vol. 10). Artemis, Munich / Zurich 1981, ISBN 3-7608-4660-2 ( digitized on perspectivia.net ).
  • From Erhard to the grand coalition: 1963-1969 ( = History of the Federal Republic of Germany Vol 4. ). German publishing house, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-421-06734-1.
  • German Foreign Policy 1871-1918 ( = Encyclopedia of German history. Vol. 2). Oldenbourg, Munich, 1989; 3rd revised edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-486-58698-5.
  • The past empire. German Foreign Policy from Bismarck to Hitler. German publishing house, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-421-06691-4; several unchanged reprints; last: Oldenbourg, München 2008, ISBN 978-3-486-58605-3.
  • No intervention - the Pax Britannica and Prussia 1865/66-1869/70. An investigation of the English world politics in the 19th century. Oldenbourg, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-486-56198-7.
  • Between politics and religion. Studies on the emergence, existence and effect of totalitarianism ( = headings of the Historical College. Colloquia 59). Oldenbourg, München 2003, ISBN 3-486-56748-9.
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