Michael Stürmer
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Michael Stürmer (born September 29, 1938) is a conservative German historian best known for his role in 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 ...
'' of the 1980s, for his geographical interpretation of German history and for an admiring 2008 biography of the Russian politician
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
.


Life and work

Born in
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
, Germany, Stürmer received his education in history, philosophy and languages at the
University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...
, 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 t ...
and at the
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...
. From 1973 to 2003 he held a professorship at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and at various times has served as a guest lecturer at the
Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...
,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
. Also, he is on the advisory board of
OMFIF The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) is an independent think tank organization concerned with central banking, economic policy, and public investment. OMFIF was co-founded in 2010 by David Marsh, who has subsequently s ...
where he regularly participates in various meetings regarding the financial and monetary system. In the 1980s Stürmer worked as an advisor and speech-writer to the West German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...
. Stürmer works as chief correspondent for the newspaper ''
Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...
'', published by the
Axel Springer AG Axel Springer SE () is a German digital and popular periodical publishing house which is the largest in Europe, with numerous multimedia news brands, such as ''Bild'', ''Die Welt'', and ''Fakt'' and more than 15,000 employees. It generated tot ...
publishing group. Stürmer specializes in the history of the
German Empire 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 ...
(1871–1918). He began his career on the political left in the 1960s, but shifted rightward during the course of the 1970s.Muller, page 35. The turning point occurred in 1974 when 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 the ...
''Land'' government of
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
attempted to abolish history as a subject in the Hesse educational system and to replace it with "social studies". Stürmer played a major role in campaigning for the defeat of the SPD government in the 1974 elections. Starting in the early 1980s Stürmer became a well-known figure in the Federal Republic, with frequent contributions to the ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
'' newspaper, his editorship of a number of popular book series entitled "The Germans and their Nation" and holding a series of lectures for the general public.Muller, page 36. Stürmer argues that "the future is won by those who coin concepts and interpret the past". In a series of his essays published in book form in 1986 as ''Dissonanzen des Fortschritts'' (''Dissonances of Progress''), he claimed that democracy in West Germany cannot be taken for granted; that though Germany does have a democratic past, the present system of the Federal Republic developed in response to past totalitarian experiences of both left and right; that
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
has played a key role in limiting the options of German governments; and that given the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the ideas of neutrality for the Federal Republic or reunification with
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
were not realistic.Muller, page 37. Stürmer is arguably best known for his advocacy of a geographical interpretation of
German history The Germani tribes i.e. Germanic tribes are now considered to be related to the Jastorf culture before expanding and interacting with the other peoples. The concept of a region for Germanic tribes is traced to time of Julius Caesar, a Roman gen ...
. In a geographical variant of the ''
Sonderweg (, "special path") refers to the theory in German historiography that considers the German-speaking lands or the country of Germany itself to have followed a course from aristocracy to democracy unlike any other in Europe. The modern school of t ...
'' theory, he has argued that what he regards as Germany's precarious geographical situation in
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
has played the deciding role in the course of German history, and that coping with this has left successive German rulers no other choice but to engage in
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
government. Evans 1989, page 104 Burleigh & Wippermann, page 19. In Stürmer's opinion, the "belligerence" of the ''Reich'' came about through a complex interplay of Germany's location in the "middle of Europe" surrounded by enemies and of "democratic" forces in the domestic sphere. Stürmer has asserted that Germany - confronted with dangers from a
revanchist Revanchism (french: revanchisme, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. As a term, revanchism originated in 1870s Fr ...
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and an aggressive
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, and as the "country in the middle" - could not afford the luxury of democracy. He regards
Imperial Germany 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 ...
as more democratic and less "Bonapartist" than historians such as
Hans-Ulrich Wehler Hans-Ulrich Wehler (September 11, 1931 – July 5, 2014) was a German left-liberal historian known for his role in promoting social history through the "Bielefeld School", and for his critical studies of 19th-century Germany. Life Wehler was bor ...
have claimed, and that these democratic tendencies came to the fore during the Revolution of 1918–1919. In Stürmer's view, it was too much
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
rather than too little that led to the end of the ''Kaiserreich'' as the "restless ''Reich''" collapsed because of its internal contradictions under the pressures of
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 ...
. In the mid-1980s Stürmer sat on a committee - together with Thomas Nipperdey and
Klaus Hildebrand Klaus Hildebrand (born 18 November 1941, Bielefeld, Germany) is a German liberal-conservative historian whose area of expertise is 19th–20th-century German political and military history. Biography Hildebrand is an intentionalist on the or ...
- in charge of vetting the publications issued by the Research Office of the West German Ministry of Defense.Evans 1989, page 44. The committee attracted some controversy when it refused to publish a hostile biography of
Gustav Noske Gustav Noske (9 July 1868 – 30 November 1946) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the first Minister of Defence (''Reichswehrminister'') of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920. Noske has been a cont ...
. During the late 1980s, Stürmer played a prominent role in 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 ...
''. Left-wing historians criticized him for an essay he wrote entitled "Land Without History" published in the ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
'' on April 25, 1986, in which he had claimed that Germans lacked a history to be proud of, and called for a positive evaluation of German history as a way of building national pride. He argued that Germans were suffering from a "loss of orientation" caused by the lack of a positive view of their history. In his view, the fall of the Weimar Republic was caused by "loss of orientation" due to the secularization of a previously religious country.Stürmer 1993, page 16 Stürmer argued that West Germany had an important role in the world to play, could not play that role because the lack of a past to be proud of was "seriously damaging the political culture of the country" and wrote that it was "morally legitimate and politically necessary" for Germans to have a positive view of their history. In his view, what was needed was a campaign by the government, the media and historians to create a "positive view" of German history. In Stürmer's opinion, the Nazi era was a major block towards a positive view of the German past, and what was needed was a focus on the broad sweep of German history as opposed to the 12 years of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
as a way of creating a national identity that all Germans could take pride in.Kershaw, page 239. He wrote that the "loss of orientation" caused by the absence of a German national identity led to a "search for identity".Evans 1989, page 21. In his opinion this search was crucial because West Germany was "now once more a focal point in the global civil war waged against democracy by the Soviet Union". Because of the "loss of orientation", he argued that West Germans were not standing up well to the "campaign of fear and hate carried into the Federal Republic from the East and welcomed within like a drug". He claimed that
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
's policy in the 1950s of not prosecuting those responsible for Nazi-era crimes against humanity and war crimes was a wise one and that it was a huge mistake to begin prosecutions in the 1970s as it destroyed any prospect of positive feelings about the German past. Writing in 1986, Stürmer complained that recent opinion polls showed 80% of Americans were proud of being American, that 50% of the British were proud of being British, and 20% of West Germans were proud of being German, and argued until national pride could be restored, West Germany could not play an effective part in the Cold War. At the 1986 Römerberg Colloquia (a gathering of intellectuals held annually in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
), Stürmer argued that Germans had a destructive "obsession with their guilt", which he complained led to a lack of a positive sense of German national identity.Evans 1989, page 103. Likewise, he argued that the legacy of 1960s radicalism was an over-emphasis on the Nazi period in German history. He called for ''Sinnstiftung'', to give German history a meaning that would allow for a positive national identity. At the colloquia, Stürmer stated: "We cannot live by making our past...into a permanent source of endless guilt feelings".Evans 1989, pages 103–104. At the same gathering, he spoke of "the deadly idiocies of the victors of 1918", which led to a loss of a German national identity, and to the collapse 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 ...
as Germans, confronted with the crises of modernity without a positive national identity, opted for the Nazi solution. At the same time he complained that the Allies had made the same mistake after 1945 as they had in 1918, laying a burden of guilt on Germans that prevented them from having positive feelings about their past. He complained that, "as Stalin's men sat in judgment in Nuremberg" proved, that what he regards as the self-destructive German obsession with Nazi guilt was the work of outsiders serving their own aims. During the same session, Stürmer attacked those historians who argued that Germany started
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 ...
in 1914, and instead blamed France and Russia for the First World War. Moreover, he argued that whatever Germany did to start the First World War was only a defensive reaction imposed by geography. The sessions of the 1986 Römerberg Colloquia involving Stürmer were stormyEvans 1989, page 173 When it became time to print the proceedings of the Colloquia, he refused to allow his contributions to be published, complaining of the "defamations and denunciations" he alleged to have been subjected to.Evans 1989, page 173 When his contribution, the essay "Weder verdrängen noch bewältigen: Geschichte und Gegenwartsbewusstein der Deutschen" was published in the Swiss journal ''Schweizer Monatshefte'', he edited it heavily to remove many of his more controversial statements about the need for Germans to forget about Nazi crimes in order to feel good about their past.Evans 1989, page 173 Despite his editing of his essay, he refused to allow it to be published in an anthology about the ''Historikerstreit'' out of the concern it might damage his reputation as a historian.Evans 1989, page 173 Stürmer's critic, the British historian
Richard J. Evans Sir Richard John Evans (born 29 September 1947) is a British historian of 19th- and 20th-century Europe with a focus on Germany. He is the author of eighteen books, including his three-volume ''The Third Reich Trilogy'' (2003–2008). Evans was ...
stated that the remarks he quoted Stürmer as making at the 1986 Römerberg Colloquia came from a tape-recorded record at the Colloquia, and not from the edited version provided by StürmerEvans 1989, page 173
Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas (, ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas's wor ...
began his article "A Kind of Settlement of Damages" in the ''
Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...
'' newspaper on July 11, 1986 with an attack on Stürmer. He took Stürmer to task for his statement that history served the purpose of integrating the individual into the wider community, and as such history had the need to provide a "higher meaning" to create the proper national consciousness in the individual, who otherwise would lack this national consciousness. Habermas accused Stürmer on marching to a "
geopolitical Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...
drumbeat" with his depiction of German history determined by geographical factors requiring authoritarian government. He wrote Stürmer was trying to create a "vicarious religion" in German history intended to serve as a "...kind of NATO philosophy colored with
German nationalism German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one na ...
". In response to Habermas’s essay, Stürmer in a letter to the editor of the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' published on August 16, 1986 wrote that Habermas was confusing the “national question” with the “German question”, and argued that the German predicament was due to Germany’s geographical situation in the heart of Europe.Stürmer, Michael. "Letter to the Editor of the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', August 16, 1986" pages 61-62 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, 1993 page 61. He denied seeking to “endow” history with a "higher meaning", accusing Habermas of seeking to do that. Stürmer charged that Habermas had created an "indictment that even fabricates its own sources", and ended his letter with the remark about Habermas "It's a shame about this man who once had something to say". Replying to Stürmer, Habermas in his "Note" of February 23, 1987 accused Stürmer of having the "
chutzpah Chutzpah () is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. It derives from the Hebrew word ' (), meaning "insolence", "cheek" or "audacity". Thus the original Yiddish word has a strongly negative connotation but the form which entered English ...
" to deny his own views when he wrote that he was not seeking to "endow" history with a "higher meaning", and quoted from Stürmer's book ''Dissonanzen des Fortschritts'' to support his contention. In response to Habermas, Stürmer in his "Postscript" of April 25, 1987 accused Habermas of being a Marxist who was responsible for "the invention of fact-free scholarship".Stürmer, Michael. "Postscript, April 25, 1987" pages 266-267 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, 1993 page 266. Stürmer claimed that Habermas had played an "obscene role" in the West German election of 1987 by labeling anyone he disliked as a Nazi, and that the reasons for Habermas's attack on him were to help the SPD in the election. Stürmer charged that Habermas was guilty of misquotation, and of making confusing statements such as his claim that he was working to create a "NATO philosophy" while seeking to bring Germany closer to the West. Many of Stürmer's critics in the ''Historikerstreit'' such as
Hans-Ulrich Wehler Hans-Ulrich Wehler (September 11, 1931 – July 5, 2014) was a German left-liberal historian known for his role in promoting social history through the "Bielefeld School", and for his critical studies of 19th-century Germany. Life Wehler was bor ...
and
Jürgen Kocka Professor Emeritus Jürgen Kocka (born 19 April 1941 in Haindorf, Sudetenland) is a German historian. A university professor and former president of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (2001–2007), Kocka is a major figure in the new ...
, accused Stürmer of attempting to white-wash the Nazi past, a charge Stürmer vehemently rejected. In response to Stürmer's geographical theories about how Germany's "land in the middle" status had forced authoritarianism on the Germans, Kocka argued in an essay entitled "Hitler Should Not Be Repressed by Stalin and Pol Pot" published in the ''
Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (FR) is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition (see link below) as well as an e-pa ...
'' on September 23, 1986 that “Geography is not destiny”Kocka, Jürgen "Hitler Should Not Be Repressed by Stalin and Pol Pot" pages 85-92 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1993 page 91. Kocka wrote that both
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
were also "lands in the middle", and yet neither country went in the same authoritarian direction as Germany.
Martin Broszat Martin Broszat (14 August 1926 – 14 October 1989) was a German historian specializing in modern German social history. As director of the Institut für Zeitgeschichte (Institute for Contemporary History) in Munich from 1972 until his death ...
accused Stürmer of attempting to create an "ersatz religion" in German history that Broszat argued was more appropriate for the pre-modern era then 1986.
Hans Mommsen Hans Mommsen (5 November 1930 – 5 November 2015) was a German historian, known for his studies in German social history, and for his functionalist interpretation of the Third Reich, especially for arguing that Adolf Hitler was a weak dictator. ...
wrote Stürmer's attempts to create a national consensus on a version of German history that all Germans could take pride in was a reflection that the German rightists could not stomach modern German history, and were now looking to create a version of the German past that German rightists could enjoy. Mommsen charged that to find the "lost history", Stürmer was working towards "relativizing" Nazi crimes to give Germans a history they could be proud of.Mommsen, Hans "The Search for the 'Lost History'" pages 101–113 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, 1993 page 109. However, Mommsen argued that even modern right-wing German historians might have difficulty with Stürmer's "technocratic instrumentalization" of German history, which Mommsen claimed was Stürmer's way of "relativizing" Nazi crimes. In another essay, Mommsen argued that Stürmer's assertion that he who controls the past also controls the future, his work as a co-editor with the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' newspaper which had been publishing articles by
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 was ...
and
Joachim Fest Joachim Clemens Fest (8 December 1926 – 11 September 2006) was a German historian, journalist, critic and editor who was best known for his writings and public commentary on Nazi Germany, including a biography of Adolf Hitler and books about ...
denying the “singularity” of the Holocaust, and his work as an advisor to Chancellor Kohl should cause "concern" with historians. Stürmer was attacked by Habermas and Wehler for writing the following: Habermas accused Stürmer of believing that "a pluralism of values and interests leads, when there is no longer any common ground...sooner or later to social civil war".Muller, page 38.
Hans-Ulrich Wehler Hans-Ulrich Wehler (September 11, 1931 – July 5, 2014) was a German left-liberal historian known for his role in promoting social history through the "Bielefeld School", and for his critical studies of 19th-century Germany. Life Wehler was bor ...
called Stürmer's work "a strident declaration of war against a key element of the consensus upon which the socio-political life of this second republic has rested heretofore". Stürmer's defenders such as the American historian Jerry Muller argued that Wehler and Habermas were guilty of misquoting Stürmer, and of unjustly linking him with
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 was ...
as a sort of guilt by association argument.Muller, pages 38 & 40. In response to his critics, Stürmer in an essay entitled "How Much History Weights" published in the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' on November 26, 1986 wrote that
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
was a major power in the world because the French had a history to be proud of, and claimed that West Germany could only play the same role in the world if only they had the same national consensus about pride in their history as did the French. As the example of the sort of history that he wanted to see written in Germany, Stürmer used
Fernand Braudel Fernand Braudel (; 24 August 1902 – 27 November 1985) was a French historian and leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects: ''The Mediterranean'' (1923–49, then 1949–66), ''Civilization and Capitalism'' ...
's ''The Identity of France'' volumes.Stürmer, Michael. "How Much History Weighs" pages 196–197 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1993 page 197 Stürmer wrote that Braudel and the other historians of the Annales School had made geography the centre of their studies of French and European history while at the same time promoting a sense of French identity that gave the French a history to be proud of. Stürmer went on to argue that the German people had not had a really positive view of their past since the end of the First Reich, and this lack of a German identity to be proud of was responsible for all of the disasters of German history since then. Stürmer asserted "All of our interpretations of Germany had collapsed". As a result, he claimed that at present, the German people were living in historical "rubble", and that the Federal Republic was doomed unless the Germans once again had a sense of history that provided the necessary sense of national identity and pride The classicist Christian Meier, who was president of the German Historical Association in 1986 wrote that Stürmer was seeking to make history serve his conservative politics by arguing that Germans needed a history capable of creating a national identity that would allow Germans to face the challenge of the Cold War with pride and confidence in their future.Meier, Christian “Not a Concluding Remark” pages 177–183 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1993 page 181 Meier argued that Habermas was correct in expressing his concerns about Stürmer’s work, but asserted that Habermas had wrongly accused the Atlanticist Stürmer of seeking to revive the original concept of the ''
Sonderweg (, "special path") refers to the theory in German historiography that considers the German-speaking lands or the country of Germany itself to have followed a course from aristocracy to democracy unlike any other in Europe. The modern school of t ...
'', that of Germany as a great Central European power that was neither of the West nor of the East. That aside, Meier felt that Stürmer’s claim that the future belonged to those who controlled the past, and that it was the duty of German historians to ensure the right sort of future by writing the right sort of history was troubling.
Imanuel Geiss Imanuel Geiss (9 February 1931 – 20 February 2012) was a German historian. Life Imanuel Geiss was born in Frankfurt am Main, the youngest of the five children of a working-class family affected by the economic crisis. His unemployed fathe ...
wrote that Stürmer was acting within his rights in expressing his right-wing views, and arguing against Habermas claimed there was nothing wrong in claiming that geography was a factor in German history The British historian
Richard J. Evans Sir Richard John Evans (born 29 September 1947) is a British historian of 19th- and 20th-century Europe with a focus on Germany. He is the author of eighteen books, including his three-volume ''The Third Reich Trilogy'' (2003–2008). Evans was ...
who was one of Stürmer's fiercer critics accused Stürmer in his 1989 book ''In Hitler's Shadow'' of being an apparent believer that: Along the same lines, Evans criticized Stürmer for his emphasis on the modernity and totalitarianism of National Socialism, the role of Hitler, and the discontinuities between the Imperial, Weimar and Nazi periods.Evans 1989, page 114. In Evans's view, the exact opposite was the case with National Socialism as a badly disorganized, anti-modern movement with deep roots in the German past, and the role of Hitler much smaller than the one Stürmer credited him with.Evans 1989, page 115. Evans accused Stürmer of having no real interest in the collapse of Weimar, and only using the Nazi ''
Machtergreifung Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...
'' as a way of making contemporary political points.Evans 1989, page 116. Evans denounced Stürmer for writing a laudatory biography of
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
, which he felt marked a regression to the Great man theory of history and an excessive focus on
political history Political history is the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is closely related to other fields of history, including diplomatic history, constitutional history, social ...
.Evans 1989, page 119. In Evans's opinion, a social historical approach with the emphasis on society was a better way of understanding the German past. In his 1989 book about the ''Historikerstreit'', ''In Hitler's Shadow'', Evans stated that he believed that the exchanges during the ''Historikerstreit'' had destroyed Stürmer's reputation as a serious historian.Evans 1989, page 123. Much of Stürmer's work since the ''Historikerstreit'' has been concerned with creating the sense of national identity he feels Germans are missing. In his 1992 book, ''Die Grenzen der Macht'', Stürmer suggested that German history be viewed in the long-term starting from the 17th century to the 20th century to find the "national and trans-national traditions and patterns worth cherishing".Kershaw, page 242. Stürmer argued that traditions were tolerance for religious minorities, civic values, federalism and striking the fine balance between the peripheries and the center. In a July 1992 interview, Stürmer called his historical work a "bid to prevent Hitler remaining the final, unavoidable object of German history, or indeed its one and only starting point".Interview with David Walker in ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'', July 24, 1992. In 2004 Stürmer became a founding member of the
Valdai Discussion Club The Valdai Discussion Club is a Moscow-based think tank and discussion forum. It was established in 2004 and is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place. In 2014, the managem ...
. Stürmer's latest book, a biography of the Russian Prime Minister and former President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, appeared in 2008. A British reviewer praised Stürmer for his refusal to hold Putin's KGB background against him and for his willingness to accept Putin for who he was. Much of Stürmer's biography was based upon his interviews with Putin during the annual meetings of the Valdai group.


Work

*''Putin And the Rise of Russia: The Country That Came In From The Cold'', London: Orion 2008 *"Balance from Beyond the Sea" pages 145-153 from ''The Washington Quarterly'', Volume 24, Number 3, Summer 2001 *''The German Empire, 1870–1918'', New York : Random House, 2000 . *(Editor) ''The German Century'' London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1999 . *Co-edited with
Robert D. Blackwill Robert Dean Blackwill (born August 8, 1939)
is a retired United States, American diplomat, author ...
''Allies Divided : Transatlantic Policies for the Greater Middle East'', Cambridge, Mass. ; London : MIT Press, 1997 . *Contributor to ''For the Friends of Nature and Art : the Garden Kingdom of Prince Franz von Anhalt-Dessau in Age of Enlightenment'', Ostfildern-Ruit : G. Hatje ; New York : Distribution in the US DAP, Distributed Art Publishers, 1997 . *"History In a Land Without History" pages 16–17; “Letter to the Editor of the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', August 16, 1986” pages 61–62; "How Much History Weighs" pages 196–197; and "Postscript, April 25, 1987" pages 266-267 from ''Forever In The Shadow of Hitler?'' edited by Ernst Piper, Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1993. *''Dissonanzen des Fortschritts'', Piper Verleg, Munich, 1986. *''Die Reichsgründung: Deutscher Nationalstaat und europäisches Gleichgewicht im Zeitalter Bismarcks'', München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1984 . *Review of ''Meisterwerke Fränkischer Möbelkunst: Carl Maximilian Mattern'' by Hans-Peter Trenschel & Wolf Christian von der Mülbe pages 565-567 from ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', 47 Bd., H. 4, 1984. *Review of ''Les Meubles Français du XVIIIe siècle'' by Pierre Verlet pages 573-576 from ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', 47 Bd., H. 4, 1984. *Review of ''Gebrauchssilber des 16. bis 19. Jahrhunderts'' by Alain Gruber pages 289-291 from ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', 47 Bd., H. 2 1984. *Review of ''Artists and Artisans in Delft. A Socio-Economic Study of the Seventeenth Century'' by John Michael Montias pages 614-615 from ''The Business History Review'', Volume 57, No. 4, Winter, 1983. *''Das ruhelose Reich: Deutschland 1866–1918'', Berlin: Severin und Siedler, 1983 . *''Die Weimarer Republik : belagerte Civitas'', Königstein/Ts. : Verlagsgruppe Athenäum, Hain, Scriptor, Hanstein, 1980 . *“An Economy of Delight: Court Artisans of the Eighteenth Century” pages 496-528 from ''The Business History Review'', Volume 53, No. 4 Winter 1979. *“'Bois des Indes' and the Economics of Luxury Furniture in the Time of David Roentgen” pages 799-807 from ''The Burlington Magazine'', Volume 120, No. 909, December 1978. *Review of ''Industrialisierung und Aussenpolitik: Preussen-Deutschland und das Zarenreich von 1860 bis 1890'' by Horst Müller-Link pages 775-776 from ''The Journal of Modern History'', Volume 50, No. 4, December 1978. *“Caesar's Laurel Crown--the Case for a Comparative Concept” pages 203-207 from ''The Journal of Modern History'', Volume 49, No. 2 June 1977. *''Regierung und Reichstag im Bismarckstaat 1871–1880: Cäsarismus oder Parlamentarismus'', Düsseldorf : Droste, 1974 *''Bismarck und die preussisch-deutsche Politik, 1871–1890'', München: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1970. *(Editor) ''Das kaiserliche Deutschland; Politik und Gesellschaft, 1870–1918'', Düsseldorf, Droste 1970.


Notes


References

* Barnouw, Dagmar. Review of ''Die Weimarer Republik'' pages 119–133 from ''The German Quarterly'', Volume 57, No. 1, Winter, 1984. *Berger, Stefan “Historians and Nation-Building in Germany after Reunification” pages 187-222 from ''Past and Present'', No. 148, August 1995. *Brockmann, Stephen “The Politics of German History” pages 179–189 from ''History and Theory'', Volume 29, No. 2, May, 1990. *Burleigh, Michael & Wippermann, Wolfgang ''The Racial State : Germany, 1933-1945'', Cambridge ngland; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1991 *Cecil, Lamar Review of ''Regierung und Reichstag im Bismarckstaat 1871-1880'' pages 405-407 from ''The American Historical Review'', Volume 81, No. 2, April 1976. *Dorpalen, Andreas Review of ''Das kaiserliche Deutschland: Politik und Gesellschaft 1871-1918'' pages 538-539 from ''The American Historical Review'', Volume 77, No. 2 April 1972. * Evans, Richard ''In Hitler's Shadow : West German Historians and the Attempt to Escape from the Nazi Past'', New York : Pantheon Books, 1989, . * Evans, Richard "The New Nationalism and the Old History: Perspectives on the West German ''Historikerstreit''" pages 761-797 from ''The Journal of Modern History'', Volume 59, No. 4, December, 1987. *Fletcher, Roger Review of ''Bismarck: Die Grenzen der Politik'' pages 148–149 from ''German Studies Review'', Volume 11, No. 1 February 1988. *François, Etienne Review of ''Wägen und Wagen Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Geschichte einer Bank und einer Familie'' pages 115–116 from ''Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire'', No. 29 January - March 1991. *Geary, Dick Review of ''Das Kaiserliche Deutschland. Politik und Gesellschaft 1870-1918'' pages 450-452 from ''The Historical Journal'', Volume 14, No. 2 June 1971. * Gilbert, Felix Review of ''Das ruhelose Reich: Deutschland 1866-1918'' pages 161–163 from ''The Journal of Modern History'', Volume 57, No. 1, March 1985. *Heilbrunn, Jacob "Germany's New Right" pages 80–98 from ''Foreign Affairs'', Volume 75, Issue #6, November–December 1996. *Heuser, Beatrice “Museums, Identity and Warring Historians-Observations on History in Germany” pages 417-440 from ''The Historical Journal'', Volume 33, No. 2 June 1990. *Hirsch, Felix Review of ''Koalition Und Opposition in Der Weimarer Republik, 1924-1928'' pages 646-647 from ''The American Historical Review'', Volume 74, No. 2, December, 1968 * Hirschfeld, Gerhard "Erasing the Past?" pages 8–10 from ''History Today'' Volume 37, Issue 8, August 1987. *Jarausch, Konrad Review of ''The Unmasterable Past: History, Holocaust, and German National Identity'' by Charles S. Maier pages 859-860 from ''The American Historical Review'', Volume 95, No. 3, June 1990. *Joll, James Review of ''Regierung und Reichstag im Bismarckstaat 1871-1880'' pages 460-461 from ''The English Historical Review'', Volume 93, No. 367 April 1978. * Kershaw, Ian ''The Nazi Dictatorship : Problems and Perspectives of interpretation'', London : Arnold 2000. *Lorenz, Chris “Beyond Good and Evil? The German Empire of 1871 and Modern German Historiography” pages 729-765 from ''Journal of Contemporary History'', Volume 30, No. 4 October 1995. *Lyth, Peter Review of ''The Unmasterable past: History, Holocaust and German National Identity'' by Charles S. Maier pages 357-358 from ''German Studies Review'', Volume 13, No. 2, May, 1990. *Maier, Charles ''The Unmasterable Past : History, Holocaust, And German National Identity'', Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1988, . *Minkenberg, Michael “Civil Religion and German Unification” pages 63–81 from ''German Studies Review'', Volume 20, No. 1, February, 1997 *Muller, Jerry "German Historians At War" pages 33–42 from ''Commentary'' Volume 87, Issue #5, May 1989. *Piper, Ernst (editor) ''Forever in the Shadow of Hitler? : Original Documents of the Historikerstreit, the Controversy Concerning the Singularity of the Holocaust'', Atlantic Highlands, N.J. : Humanities Press, 1993 . **Broszat, Martin "Where the Roads Part" pages 125–129. ** Habermas, Jürgen “A Kind of Settlement of Damages” pages 34–45. ** Kocka, Jürgen "Hitler Should Not Be Repressed by Stalin and Pol Pot" pages 85–92. **Meier, Christian “Not a Concluding Remark” pages 177–183. *Roy, Sara Review of ''Allies Divided: Transatlantic Policies for the Greater Middle East'' pages 744-745 from ''The American Political Science Review'', Volume 92, No. 3, September 1998 *Sheenan, James Review of ''Regierung und Reichstag im Bismarckstaat, 1871-1880: Casarismus oder Parlamentarismus'' pages 564-567 from ''The Journal of Modern History'', Volume 48, No. 3 September 1976.


External links


GERMANY: THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST

Profile of Michael Stürmer


* ttp://www.oxonianreview.org/wp/putin-in-shades-of-gray/ 'Putin in Shades of Gray' review of ''Putin and the Rise of Russia'' in the ''
Oxonian Review ''The Oxonian Review'' is a literary magazine produced by postgraduate students at the University of Oxford. Every fortnight during term time, an online edition is published featuring reviews and essays on current affairs and literature. It is t ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturmer, Michael 1938 births Living people 20th-century German historians Writers from Kassel Harvard University staff University of Paris faculty University of Marburg alumni Free University of Berlin alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty People from Hesse-Nassau German male non-fiction writers 21st-century German historians