Roger Moorhouse (born 1968) is a British historian and author.

Education

He was born in

Stockport, Cheshire Stockport was a rural district in the administrative county of Cheshire from 1894 to 1904. The district was the successor to the Stockport Rural Sanitary District formed in 1875. The rural district was originally composed of eight civil parishe ...

, England and attended

Berkhamsted School Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral ...

and the

School of Slavonic and East European Studies The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia. It teaches a range of subjects, including the history ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, graduating with an MA in history and politics in 1994. Whilst a student, Moorhouse worked as a researcher for Professor Norman Davies, collaborating on many of the latter's best-known publications, including '' Europe: A History'', '' The Isles: A History'' and '' Rising '44 ''and culminating in the publication in 2002 of a co-authored study of the history of the city of

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

(the former German Breslau) entitled '' Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City''.

Main publications

In 2006, Moorhouse's first solo book, ''Killing Hitler, ''was published, which has since been translated a number of times. In a CNN news report of 3 September 2011, ''Killing Hitler'' was shown on Al-Saadi Gaddafi's desk after he had fled his office in the wake of the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. The reporter

Nic Robertson Nic Robertson (born 1962) is the international diplomatic editor of CNN. Career Robertson joined CNN in 1990 and is currently the network's international diplomatic editor, based in London. His reporting has focused on global terrorism and arme ...

suggested that Gaddafi had been reading the book prior to his flight. His next book, '' Berlin at War: Life and Death in Hitler's Capital, 1939-45'', is a social

history of Berlin The history of Berlin starts with its foundation in the 14th century. It became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1417, and later of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia grew about rapidly in the 18th and 19th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, which was published in the summer of 2010. Writing in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'', Andrew Roberts commented, "Few books on the war genuinely increase the sum of our collective knowledge of this exhaustively covered period, but this one does". ''Berlin at War'' was listed in the books of the year for 2010 by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', and '' American Spectator'' magazine, and it was shortlisted for the

Hessell-Tiltman Prize The Hessell-Tiltman History Prize is awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content covering a period up to and including World War II, and published in the year of the award. The books are to be of high literary merit, but not pr ...

for history. In 2014, Moorhouse's '' The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941'' was published. Despite praising the book for its "masterly" account of the signing of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...

, the historian Richard J. Evans took exception to the book's "unbalanced treatment" of the crimes of the Soviets over those of the Nazis and asserted that "for all its virtues this is a deeply problematic book". Other reviewers of the book were more positive: the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' described it as "superb" and ''

'' listed it among its Books of the Year for 2014. Moorhouse's more recent publication, ''First to Fight: The Polish War 1939'' (2019 in the UK, 2020 in the US, as ''Poland 1939''), on the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, was widely acclaimed ("fascinating" according to ''The Telegraph'', "deeply researched, very well written . . . standard work" in the words of Andrew Roberts, "timely and authoritative" according to ''The Spectator''), named among books of the year for 2019 by ''BBC History Magazine'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'' and shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History 2020. However, praise was by no means universal. Writing in the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', Anita J. Prażmowska stated that "Moorhouse ignores the fact that Poland did conduct its own independent foreign policy during the whole of the interwar period", that "he is notably ungenerous in recognizing that we have good histories of the period" and that he "refuses to acknowledge France’s role in the crisis of September 1939".

Summary

A fluent German speaker, Moorhouse is a specialist in modern German history, particularly on

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and the

Third Reich 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 ...

. In this capacity, he has written for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published ...

'', and the ''

'', and is a regular contributor to both the ''

BBC History ''BBC History Magazine'' is a British publication devoted to both British and world history and aimed at all levels of knowledge and interest. The publication releases thirteen editions a year, one per month and a Christmas special edition, an ...

'' magazine and ''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

''. Increasingly, Moorhouse is concerning himself with modern

Polish history The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political l ...

, especially of the wartime period. Moorhouse is a regular public speaker, and has appeared, among others, at the

Edinburgh International Book Festival The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square in the centre of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. Billed as ''The largest festival of its k ...

and the

Bath Literature Festival The Bath Literature Festival, held annually in Bath, Somerset, England, was an important date in the national literary calendar, playing host to an array of journalists, novelists, poets, politicians, actors, comedians, writers and biographers b ...

. Since 2016, he has been a visiting professor at the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

Natolin Natolin is a residential neighborhood in Ursynów, the southernmost district of Warsaw. Until the 1980s, Natolin and its neighbouring area Wolica, was a small village located right outside the city limits, with numerous orchards. After that it wa ...

near Warsaw. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

Other publications

* ''Jak powstało Powstanie '44'', Norman Davies, (Znak, Kraków, 2005), Chapter * ''The Men Who Tried to Kill Hitler'', Roger Manvell & Heinrich Fraenkel, (Frontline Books, 2008), Introduction * ''He Was My Chief: The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler's Secretary'', Christa Schroeder, (Frontline Books, 2009), Introduction * ''With Hitler to the End: The Memoir of Hitler's Valet'',

Heinz Linge Heinz Linge (23 March 1913 – 9 March 1980) was a German SS officer who served as a valet for the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, and became known for his close personal proximity to historical events. Linge was present in the ''Füh ...

, (Frontline Books, 2009), Introduction * ''The Celebrated Pedestrian and Other Historical Curiosities'', (BBC History, 2009), Contributions * ''I was Hitler's Chauffeur: The Memoirs of Erich Kempka'',

Erich Kempka Erich Kempka (16 September 1910 – 24 January 1975) was a member of the SS in Nazi Germany who served as Adolf Hitler's primary chauffeur from 1936 to April 1945. He was present in the area of the Reich Chancellery on 30 April 1945, when ...

, (Frontline Books, 2010), Introduction * ''The Hitler I Knew'', Otto Dietrich, (Skyhorse Publishing, 2010), Introduction * ''The Hand of History: An Anthology of Quotes and Commentaries'', Michael Leventhal (ed.), (Frontline Books, 2011), Contribution * ''While Berlin Burns'', Hans-Georg von Studnitz, (Pen & Sword Books, 2012), Introduction * ''The Sniper Anthology'', Martin Pegler (Ed.), (Frontline Books, 2012), Chapter on

Simo Häyhä Simo Häyhä (; 17December 1905 1April 2002), often referred to by his nickname, The White Death ( fi, Valkoinen kuolema; russian: Белая смерть, Belaya smert’), was a Finnish military sniper in World War II during the 1939–1940 Wi ...

* ''Hitler was My Friend: The Memoirs of Hitler's Photographer'', Heinrich Hoffmann, (Frontline Books, 2012), Introduction () *''Ship of Fate: The Story of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff'' (2016) * ''The Third Reich in 100 Objects'', (Greenhill Books, 2017)

Awards and honours

* Shortlisted for the

for history for ''Berlin at War'' (2010). * Shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History 2020 for ''First to Fight'' (2019). * Shortlisted for the British Army Military Book of the Year 2020 for ''First to Fight'' (2019). * Awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident a ...

(2020). * Winner of the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize for ''First to Fight'' (2019).

Personal life

Moorhouse is married with two children and lives in

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...

, Hertfordshire.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorhouse, Roger 1968 births Living people British historians Historians of Nazism British writers Alumni of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies People from Stockport Knights of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland