Volker Ullrich

For the German politician, see Volker Ullrich (politician).

Volker Ullrich
Volker Ullrich (left), 2008
Volker Ullrich (left), 2008
Born (1943-06-21) 21 June 1943 (age 81)
Celle, Lower Saxony, Nazi Germany
OccupationHistorian · journalist · author
NationalityGerman
Alma materUniversity of Hamburg

Volker Ullrich (born 21 June 1943) is a German historian and journalist.

Career

Volker Ullrich was born in Celle, Lower Saxony, Germany.[1] He studied history, literature, philosophy and education at the University of Hamburg. From 1966 to 1969 he was assistant to the Egmont Zechlin Professor. He graduated in 1975 after a dissertation on the Hamburg labour movement of the early 20th century, after which he worked as a school teacher in Hamburg. He was, for a time, a lecturer in politics at the Lüneburg University, and in 1988 he became a research fellow at Hamburg's Foundation for 20th-Century Social History.[1] In 1990 Ullrich became the head of the political section of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit.[2]

Ullrich has published articles and books on 19th- and 20th-century history. In 1996 he reviewed the thesis postulated in Daniel Goldhagen's book Hitler's Willing Executioners that provoked fresh debate among historians.[3][4]

In 1992 he was awarded the Alfred Kerr Prize for literary criticism,[2] and, in 2008, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Jena.[1]

Publications (selection)

  • The Hamburg labour movement from the eve of the First World War to the Revolution of 1918. Luedke, University of Hamburg, dissertation 1976
  • The Nervous Superpower: the rise and fall of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. S. Fischer, Frankfurt 1997, ISBN 3-10-086001-2[2]
  • Napoleon. A biography. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 2004, ISBN 3-498-06882-2[2]
  • Bismarck (Life & Times). Haus Publishing 2008, ISBN 1904950841[2]
  • The Kreisauer Circle. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 2008, ISBN 3-499-50701-3[2]
  • Hitler - A Biography, Volume 1: Ascent 1889-1939. S. Fischer Verlag 2013, ISBN 3100860055 (German edition). English translation: London The Bodley Head 2016, ISBN 978-1-847-92285-4
  • Hitler - A Biography, Volume 2: Downfall 1939-45 London The Bodley Head 2020, ISBN 978-1-847-92287-8
  • Eight Days in May: The Final Collapse of the Third Reich, Liveright, 2021 ISBN 978-1-63149827-5
  • Germany 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler’s Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis, Liveright, 2023 ISBN 978-132409346-6

References

  1. ^ a b c "Expert and historian Dr. Volker Ullrich receives honorary doctorate at the University of Jena" Archived 1 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine (PDF; 124 kB), University of Jena, 8 December 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Volker Ullrich Archived 4 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Zeit Online. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  3. ^ Ullrich, Volker: Hitler's Willing Executioners – a book that provokes new historical dispute. Die Zeit, 12 April 1996.
  4. ^ Schneider, Michael: The Goldhagen Debate – an historical dispute in the media. Discussion group history vol. 17, Bonn, 1997. ISBN 3-86077-669-X (German text online).