Geoffrey P. Megargee (November 4, 1959 – August 1, 2020) was an American historian and author who specialized in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

military history and the history 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 ...

. He served as the project director and editor-in-chief for the ''

Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945 ''Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945'' is a seven-part encyclopedia series that explores the history of the concentration camps, ghettos, forced-labor camps, and other sites of detention, persecution, or state-sponsored murder ru ...

'' produced by the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

. Megargee's work on the German High Command (the

OKW The (; abbreviated OKW ː kaːˈveArmed Forces High Command) was the supreme military command and control staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf Hitler. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Re ...

) won the 2001 Distinguished Book Award from the

Society for Military History The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

Early life and education

Megargee was born in

Esopus, New York Esopus ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, Ulster County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 9,548 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town was named afte ...

in 1959 and graduated from

St. Lawrence University St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...

, St. Lawrence County, New York, with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1981. He then served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and worked in the private sector. He completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in European history at the

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

and then completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in military history at the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1998.

Academic career

Nazi military history

Megargee authored several books on the German military operations during

, including a 2006 work on

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the Germany invasion of the Soviet Union. Titled ''War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941'', the book focuses on the intermingling of military and genocidal aims of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during the invasion. Reviewing the book, historian Stephen G. Fritz of

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

notes that Megargee's intention was to remediate a "curious disconnect in the historical literature on the German-Soviet war between the campaign's military and criminal aspects". Fritz commends the author on this intention and that he has written "an excellent synthesis of the first six months of the Nazi-Soviet war that manages to be both concise and yet surprisingly substantive". According to Fritz, the book also focuses on the "recurring characteristic of the German war effort: considerable operational aptitude combined with strategic confusion". Megargee also authored the 2000 book ''Inside Hitler's High Command''. Published by the

University Press of Kansas The University Press of Kansas is a publisher located in Lawrence, Kansas. Operated by the University of Kansas, it represents the six state universities in the US state of Kansas: Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas ...

, the book received the 2001 Distinguished Book Award from the

. ''Inside Hitler's High Command'' looks at the inner workings of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces, the OKW (''Oberkommando der Wehrmacht''). Reviewing the work for ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'' magazine, the political scientist Eliot A. Cohen describes the book as a "well-executed history that demolishes self-exculpatory accounts" by Wehrmacht generals who subscribe to the " 'if the Führer had only listened to me' school of historiography". Cohen notes:

In a clear but scholarly analysis of the German high command, Megargee shows that the German general staff, despite flashes of real brilliance, had deep, long-term flaws in such areas as intelligence, logistics, and strategic planning. (...) His analysis reminds the reader that it is the drudgery of staff work that often wins and loses wars; it is a tribute to the author's abilities that he can make that fact not only clear but highly interesting.

''Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos''

Megargee served as the project director and editor-in-chief for the ''

'', a seven-part encyclopedia series that explores the history of the

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

ghettos A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

forced-labor camps ''Arbeitslager'' () is a German language word which means labor camp. Under Nazism, the German government (and its private-sector, Axis, and collaborator partners) used forced labor extensively, starting in the 1930s but most especially during ...

, and other sites of detention, persecution, or state-sponsored murder run by Nazi Germany and other

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

in Europe and Africa. The series is produced by the

(USHMM) and published by

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

. Research began in 2000; the first volume was published in 2009; the final volume is slated for publication in 2025. Along with entries on individual sites, the encyclopedias also contain scholarly overviews for historical context. The project attracted media attention when its editors announced in 2013 that the series would cover more than 42,500 sites, eight times more than expected. The first two volumes in the series, covering the Nazi German concentration camps and Nazi German ghettos, received a positive response from both scholars and survivors. Multiple scholars have described the encyclopedias as the most comprehensive reference on their given subjects. Volume I was awarded the 2009

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

in the

category.

Death

Megargee died peacefully at home in Arlington Virginia on August 1, 2020, after a nine-month illness.

Awards

* 2001 Distinguished Book Award from the

for ''Inside Hitler's High Command'' (2000) * 2009

for the ''

'', Volume I in the

category.IU Press encyclopedia wins a 2009 National Jewish Book Award
/ref>

Publications

* * * * *

References

* * *

External links

"Not the Stuff of Legend: The German High Command in World War II"
– lecture by Megargee via the YouTube channel of the

U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center The United States Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC), at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, is the U.S. Army's primary historical research facility. Formed in 1999 and reorganized in 2013, the center consists of the Military History Instit ...

"A Blind Eye and Dirty Hands: The Wehrmacht's Crimes"
– lecture by Megargee via the YouTube channel of the

Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide The Wiener Holocaust Library () is the world's oldest institution devoted to the study of the Holocaust, its causes and legacies. Founded in 1933 as an information bureau that informed Jewish communities and governments worldwide about the pers ...

Appearances on C-SPAN
via the official web site of

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Megargee, Geoffrey P 1959 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American historians of the Holocaust American historians of World War II American male non-fiction writers Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni San Jose State University alumni St. Lawrence University alumni