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Jörg Baberowski (born 24 March 1961) is a German historian and Professor of Eastern European History at the
Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
. He studies the history of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and
Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...
violence. Baberowski earlier served as Director of the Historical Institute and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy I at the
Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...
in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
.


Background

Baberowski was born in Radolfzell am Bodensee,
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. He grew up in a Catholic working class and social democratic family. His grandfather was Polish; the Baberowski family thus belonged to the Ruhr Polish minority, Polish immigrants to the rapidly industrializing areas of the Ruhr Valley.Diese radikalen Studenten
/ref> Baberowski's wife is Iranian-born and fled to Germany following the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
.


Academic career

He studied history and philosophy at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
between 1982 and 1988 As a student Baberowski learned Russian, and he wrote his master's thesis on "political justice" in the last years of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. While working as a student Baberowski advocated for the views of historian Ernst Nolte, who had launched 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 histor ...
controversy by arguing that the Germans did not deserve special culpability for
The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. Beginning in 1989, Baberowski worked as a researcher in eastern European history at the
Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...
and earned his doctorate there in 1993 with a dissertation titled ''Autokratie und Justiz im Zarenreich'' ("Autocracy and Justice in Czarist Russia"). He joined the Institute of Eastern European History at Tübingen in 1993, and earned his
Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
in 2000 with the dissertation ''Auf der Suche nach Eindeutigkeit'', which was published as a book titled ''Der Feind ist überall. Stalinismus im Kaukasus''. Baberowski went on to conduct archival studies in
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and other countries. Baberowski was appointed to a chair in Eastern European history at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
in 2001, before joining the Humboldt University as a professor of Eastern European History in 2002. He was also the director of its Institute of History.


Distinction

At the
Leipzig Book Fair The Leipzig Book Fair () is the second largest book fair in Germany after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair takes place annually over four days at the Leipzig Trade Fairground in the northern part of Leipzig, Saxony. It is the first large trad ...
in 2012, he won the Leipzig Book Prize in the category of nonfiction/essay writing for his book ''Verbrannte Erde. Stalins Herrschaft der Gewalt'' (
Scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...
. Stalin's rule of violence).


Academic criticism

Benno Ennker, who teaches Eastern European history in
Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, 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 (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
and St. Gallen, criticized Baberowski's book ''Verbrannte Erde'' for its "implicit exoneration of the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
" in World War II during the war against the Soviet Union. Historian Christoph Dieckmann of the Fritz Bauer Institute, a center on the history and impact of the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, accused Baberowski of failing to recognize the "general state of research, which proves a far-reaching consensus of the German leadership and the upper echelons of the Wehrmacht, prior to the assault on the Soviet Union, to subject many millions of Soviet citizens to death by starvation within a few months". Martin Wagner, a research fellow at Humboldt, noted that Baberowski's critics accuse him of falling behind modern historical research on totalitarianism.


Political views and disputes

As a student Baberowski joined the Communist League of West Germany, which was aligned with
Maoism Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...
, even raising money for
Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...
, though he later distanced himself from these views. In a 2014 interview with ''
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'', Baberowski reiterated his support for Ernst Nolte, saying, Baberowski clarified his remarks by noting that while "Stalin enjoyed violence, Hitler did not." Baberowski added that this did not make Hitler's actions morally better, but worse. In response to the refugee crisis in Europe in 2015, Baberowski called for a more restrictive policy toward immigrants in Germany and criticized German Chancellor
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
's approach in a number of articles and interviews. In 2016, Baberowski sued the general students' committee (AStA) of the
University of Bremen The University of Bremen () is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 18,400 students from 117 countries. Its 12 faculties offer more than 100 degree programs. The University of Bremen has been among the top 50 European rese ...
for distributing a leaflet that called him " radical right-wing" and "
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
" and accused him of theses that were "glorifying
violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
" and "frighteningly brutal". The Cologne district court ruled it illegal to label him as "racist", but permissible, under the freedom of speech, to claim that Baberowski advocated "radical right-wing positions". According to the court it does not matter, whether this rating is correct or wrong. When the AStA appealed against this decision, Baberowski withdrew his complaint, after the Cologne court of appeal hinted that it would reject it. In June 2017, law professor Andreas Fischer-Lescano, head of the Center for European Law and Politics at Bremen University, wrote in the ''
Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (''FR'') is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. The ''Rundschaus editorial stance is social liberal. It holds that "independence, social justice and fairness" underlie its journalism. In Post-wa ...
'' supporting the students. He stated that Baberowski's "academic oeuvre and short-term political remarks" blended into "an amalgam of radical right-wing criticism that is interspersed with historical revisionist and
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
motifs". The
Neue Zürcher Zeitung The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record ...
described Lescano's article as an attempt to establish an opinion police force (″Meinungspolizei″).


Conflict with Trotskyists

Baberowski has been in a conflict with the
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
Socialist Equality Party (SGP) and its student wing since 2014. The ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...
'' wrote that the conflict may have begun after he invited British historian Robert Service, who has written critically about Trotsky, as a guest lecturer at his institute. The ''
Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
'' reported in 2015 that according to Baberowski, he has been harassed by left-wing students. The conservative newspaper ''
Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...
'' wrote in 2017 that "Baberowski is regarded as Germany's leading expert on Stalinism. This makes him a hate figure of leftist groups."Linksextremisten wollen nichts verstehen, sondern denunzieren
" ''
Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...
'', 10 April 2017
Karl Schlögel Karl Schlögel (born 7 March 1948 in Hawangen, Bavaria, Germany) is a noted German historian of Eastern Europe who specialises in modern Russia, the history of Stalinism, the Russian diaspora and dissident movements, Eastern European cultural hi ...
, Professor of Eastern European History, called the campaign of the Trotskyists a targeted
calumny Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
. In November 2017, Baberowski lost a defamation lawsuit against the SGP: the Hamburg district court ruled that the party's right to freedom of speech allowed them to accuse Baberowski of a "distortion of history". The court also ruled that the SGP was able to defend their characterization of Baberowski by referencing his statements about
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
. The Presidium and Dean's Office of the Faculty of Philosophy I at the Humboldt University stood behind Jörg Baberowski after the judgment in the first instance and again after the hearing at the Higher Regional Court (''Oberlandesgericht''). They published a statement saying that Baberowski's integrity is beyond doubt; his scientific statements are controversial, but not radical right wing. A number of professors from the Humboldt University and one professor from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich agreed with this statement. Press release, updated in June 2017


Selected works

* ''Autokratie und Justiz. Zum Verhältnis von Rechtsstaatlichkeit und Rückständigkeit im ausgehenden Zarenreich 1864–1914'', Frankfurt am Main (Klostermann) 1996, . * ''Zivilisation der Gewalt. Die kulturellen Ursprünge des Stalinismus'', Berlin 2003, . * ''Der Feind ist überall. Stalinismus im Kaukasus'', Munich (DVA) 2003, . * ''Der rote Terror. Die Geschichte des Stalinismus'', Munich (DVA) 2003, . * ''Der Sinn der Geschichte. Geschichtstheorien von Hegel bis Foucault'', Munich (C.H. Beck) 2005, . * Jörg Baberowski und Anselm Doering-Manteuffel: ''Ordnung durch Terror''. Bonn (Dietz) 2006, . * ''Moderne Zeiten? Krieg, Revolution und Gewalt im 20. Jahrhundert'', Göttingen 2006, . * ''Verbrannte Erde. Stalins Herrschaft der Gewalt'', Munich (C.H. Beck) 2012, . * ''Räume der Gewalt''. Frankfurt am Main (S. Fischer) 2015, . ; Edited volumes * ''Moderne Zeiten?. Krieg, Revolution und Gewalt im 20. Jahrhundert. Mit 5 Tabellen''. Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung 2006). * with Hartmut Kaelble, Jürgen Schriewer: ''Selbstbilder und Fremdbilder. Repräsentation sozialer Ordnungen im Wandel''. Campus, Frankfurt 2008, . * with David Feest, Maike Lehmann: ''Dem Anderen begegnen. Eigene und fremde Repräsentationen in sozialen Gemeinschaften''. Campus, Frankfurt 2008, . * with David Feest, Christoph Gumb: ''Imperiale Herrschaft in der Provinz. Repräsentationen politischer Macht im späten Zarenreich''. Campus, Frankfurt 2008, . * ''Arbeit an der Geschichte. Wie viel Theorie braucht die Geschichtswissenschaft?'' Campus, Frankfurt 2010, . * with Gabriele Metzler: ''Gewalträume. soziale Ordnungen im Ausnahmezustand''. Campus, Frankfurt 2012, . * ''Was ist Vertrauen?. Ein interdisziplinäres Gespräch''. Campus, Frankfurt 2014, . * with Robert Kindler: ''Macht ohne Grenzen. Herrschaft und Terror im Stalinismus''. Campus, Frankfurt 2014, .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baberowski, Jorg 21st-century German historians Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Goethe University Frankfurt alumni University of Göttingen alumni German people of Polish descent 1961 births Living people People from Radolfzell 20th-century German historians Historians of communism