Dr. Holger H. Herwig (born 1941) is a German-born Canadian historian and professor. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including the award-winning, ''The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918'' and ''The Origins of World War I'', written with Richard F. Hamilton. His research focuses on

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and German

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

history. Dr. Herwig holds a dual position at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

as Professor of History and as Canada Research Chair in the

Centre for Military and Strategic Studies The Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (CMSS) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Calgary focusing on military, defence and security issues. CMSS has more than 50 students at the Masters and PhD level wit ...

Early life and education

Herwig was born on September 25, 1941 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1965, he earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

; in 1967, he obtained his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

. In 1971, he received a Ph.D from Stony Brook.

Career

From 1971 to 1989, Herwig taught at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. For one year, starting in 1985, he was visiting Professor of Strategy at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. In 1991, he was made Head of the Department of History at the University of Calgary. He held this position until 1996. Herwig was the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Distinguished Visiting Professor of Judaic Studies at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in 1998. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

. Herwig has written and co-authored over a dozen books. Many of his books have been translated into Chinese, Czech, German, Polish, Portuguese, Serbs-Croatian, and Spanish. His research interests include

German imperial history The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, German military history, German political and

diplomatic history Diplomatic history deals with the history of international relations between states. Diplomatic history can be different from international relations in that the former can concern itself with the foreign policy of one state while the latter deals ...

, and strategic studies. Military

Diplomatic History Diplomatic history deals with the history of international relations between states. Diplomatic history can be different from international relations in that the former can concern itself with the foreign policy of one state while the latter deals ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

fall under his areas of specialization. With co-author,

David Bercuson David Jay Bercuson (born 1945) is a Canadian labour, military, and political historian. Career Born on 31 August 1945 in Montreal, Quebec, he attended Sir George Williams University, graduated there in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in hi ...

, Herwig wrote ''Deadly Seas: The Destruction of the Bismarck'' and ''One Christmas in Washington.'' The former book captured the attention of filmmaker

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...

. Both Bercuson and Herwig produced Cameron's film for the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

, ''James Cameron's Expedition: Bismarck''. Herwig's other television projects in collaboration with Bercuson include ''Deadly Seas'' (1998), ''Murder in Normandy'' (1999), and ''Forced March to Freedom'' (2001).

Publications

*''The Demon of Geopolitics: How Karl Haushofer "Educated" Hitler and Hess'' (2016). *''Long Night of the Tankers: Hitler's War Against Caribbean Oil'' (2012), co-author with David J. Bercuson, *''The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle that Changed the World'' (2011), ** German: ''Marne 1914: eine Schlacht, die die Welt veränderte?'' Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, 2016, . *''War Memory and Popular Culture: Essays on Modes of Remembrance and Commemoration'' (2009), *''War Planning 1914'' (2009), co-author with Richard F. Hamilton, *''World History of Warfare'' (2008), co-author with Christon Archer, John Ferris, and Tim Travers, *''One Christmas in Washington: The Secret Meeting Between Roosevelt and Churchill that Changed the World'' (2006), co-author with David J. Bercuson *''One Christmas in Washington: Roosevelt and Churchill Forge the Grand Alliance'' (2005), co-author with David J. Bercuson and Lloyd James, *''Decisions for War, 1914-1917'' (2004), co-author with Richard F. Hamilton, *''The Origins of World War I'' (2003), co-author with Richard F. Hamilton, *''Cassell's World History of Warfare: The Global History of Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present Day'' (2003), *''The Destruction of the Bismarck'' (2001), co-author with David J. Bercuson, *''The Grand Illusion: The Prussianization of the Chilean Army (Studies in War, Society, and the Militar)'' (1999), co-author with William F. Sater Ph.D. MA AB, *''The Nazi Revolution'' (1999) co-author with Alan Mitchell and

Theodore S. Hamerow Theodore Stephen Hamerow (August 24, 1920 – February 16, 2013) was a Polish-born American historian, focusing on modern history, especially German history of the 19th and 20th century. Born to Jewish parents in Warsaw, Hamerow moved via France t ...

, *''Deadly Seas: The Duel Between the St. Croix and the U305 in the Battle of the Atlantic'' (1998), *''The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918'' (1997), *''The Outbreak of World War I (Problems in European Civilization Series'' (1996) *''Hammer or Anvil? Modern Germany 1648-Present (Problems in European Civilization Series)'' (1993) *''The Outbreak of World War I: Causes and Responsibilities (Problems in European Civilization Series) (1990) *''The Naval Strategy of the World War (Classics of Sea Power)'' (1989) (Translator) with Vice Admiral

Wolfgang Wegener Wolfgang Wegener (September 16, 1875 in StettinOctober 29, 1956 in Berlin-Zehlendorf) was an officer in the Imperial German Navy, retiring in 1926 with the rank of ''Vizeadmiral'' (vice-admiral). He is noted as the originator of a series of influ ...

(Author), *''Luxury Fleet: The Imperial Germany Navy, 1888-1918'' (1987), *''Germany's Vision of Empire in Venezuela, 1871-1914'' (1986), *''Biographical Dictionary of World War I'' (1982), co-author with Neil M. Heyman *''Politics of Frustration: The United States in German Naval Planning, 1889-1941'' (1976) *''German Naval Officer Corps'' (1973)

References

External links

*
i2eye with Dr. Holger Herwig
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herwig, Holger 1941 births Living people American military historians American male non-fiction writers University of British Columbia alumni Stony Brook University alumni