Heinrich August Winkler (born 19 December 1938 in
Königsberg) is a German
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
.
With his mother he joined the
westward flight in 1944, after which he grew up in southern Germany, attending a Gymnasium in
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no ...
. He then studied
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as we ...
,
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions an ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. S ...
and
public law
Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...
at
Münster,
Heidelberg and
Tübingen
Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in t ...
. In 1970 he became professor at the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and ...
. From 1972 to 1991 he was professor at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...
. Since 1991 he has held a chair of modern history at the
Humboldt University
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
Berlin. He has been a member of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been ...
(SPD) since 1962, and has ties to numerous prominent politicians within that party, including former Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of German ...
. He is the author of a book detailing a comprehensive political history of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
, among others.
During the ''
Historikerstreit
The ''Historikerstreit'' (, "historians' dispute") was a dispute in the late 1980s in West Germany between conservative and left-of-center academics and other intellectuals about how to incorporate Nazi Germany and the Holocaust into German hist ...
,'' Winkler was a leading critic of
Ernst Nolte
Ernst Nolte (11 January 1923 – 18 August 2016) was a German historian and philosopher. Nolte's major interest was the comparative studies of fascism and communism (cf. Comparison of Nazism and Stalinism). Originally trained in philosophy, he wa ...
.
[Winkler, Heinrich August “Eternally in the Shadow of Hitler?” pages 171–176 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, 1993 page 173]
Selected bibliography
* "From Social Protectionism to National Socialism: The German Small-Business Movement in Comparative Perspective," ''The Journal of Modern History'' Vol. 48, No. 1, March 1976
* ''In Search of Germany'' (with
Michael Mertes and
Steven Muller). Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick and London 1996,
* ''Germany: The Long Road West. Vol. 1: 1789–1933.'' Oxford University Press, Oxford 2006,
* ''Germany: The Long Road West. Vol. 2: 1933–1990.'' Oxford University Press, Oxford 2007,
* “Weimar 1918-1933: Die Geschichte der ersten Deutschen Demokratie.” C.H. Beck oHG, München 1993,
Notes
Further reading
* Berger, Stefan. "Rising Like a Phoenix… The Renaissance of National History Writing in Germany and Britain Since the 1980s." In:
online
External links
Prof. Dr. Heinrich August WinklerInstitute für Geschichtswissenschaften. Western history staff
curricula vitae. Retrieved July 27, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Heinrich August
1938 births
Living people
20th-century German historians
Historians of Europe
Writers from Königsberg
People from East Prussia
University of Münster alumni
Heidelberg University alumni
University of Tübingen alumni
Free University of Berlin alumni
University of Freiburg alumni
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
German male non-fiction writers
21st-century German historians