German, European & Jewish History

Research on German, European, and Jewish history has long been a core research field at the GHI, shaped by the early and enduring involvement of prominent German-Jewish émigré historians in the institute’s establishment. Today, this research field continues to evolve as scholars at the GHI increasingly explore the transnational and global dimensions of German, Central European, and Jewish history. Our digital history projects, such as German History in Documents and Images and German History Intersections, provide key resources that reflect this transnational approach and serve as fundamental, continually updated resources for scholars in the German and North American academic communities and beyond.

Image Credit: Franz Wilhelm Seiwert, "Demonstration," 1925. Oil on Canvas. A leading exponent of what he called "figurative constructivism," Seiwert (1894-1933) was part of the Cologne "Group of Progressive Artists" (Gruppe Progressiver Kuenstler) and frequently created art dealing with proletarian and revolutionary themes.

Team


Projects


Events & Conferences


Apr 23, 2026

Rebuild or Retreat? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Migration and Mobility in the Global North

Conference at GHI Washington | Conveners: Jana Dunz-Keck (GHI Washington) and Sarah Beringer (GHI Washington), Simon Richter (University of Pennsylvania), Andreas Hübner (Kiel University), Max Gruenig (POCACITO Network and Georgetown University, BMW Center for German and European Studies), and Brendan O’Donnell (POCACITO Network and Heinrich Böll Foundation)

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Apr 29, 2026

Research Seminar

Speaker: Alice Weinreb (Loyola University Chicago)

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May 06, 2026

Research Seminar

Marie Huber (National Air and Space Museum)

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May 13, 2026

The Beautiful Game – Globalizing Soccer

Fireside Chat at GHI Washington | Speakers: Dee Kundra (FC Bayern Americas) and Steven Goff (Yahoo Sports). Moderator: Samuel Jackisch (ARD German Radio and Television)

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May 21, 2026

Telling Stories: History, Narrative and the German Peasants' War 1524-1526

17th Gerald D. Feldman Memorial Lecture at the German Historical Institute Washington | Speaker: Lyndal Roper (University of Oxford)

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May 28, 2026

Imperial Legacies? (Dis)continuities and Comparisons between Colonialism and Nazi Rule

International Conference at the German Historical Institute Washington | Conveners: Ulrike von Hirschhausen (GHI Washington) and Robert Gerwarth (University College Dublin)

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Jun 04, 2026

The Beautiful Game – Paying for Soccer

Lecture at the GHI Washington | Speaker: Stefan Szymanski (University of Michigan). Moderator: Arpad von Klimó (The Catholic University of America)

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Jun 10, 2026

Research Seminar

Zoom | Ofer Ashkenazi (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

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Jun 16, 2026

31st Transatlantic Doctoral Seminar: German History from the 18th Century to the Present

Seminar at UC Berkeley | Conveners: Anna von der Goltz (Georgetown University) and Richard Wetzell (GHI Washington)

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Sep 17, 2026

The Moralization of Science

Conference at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria) | Conveners: Daniel Brewing, Moritz Fischer, Elke Seefried (RWTH Aachen), Alexander Bogner (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Axel Jansen (GHI Washington)

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Oct 08, 2026

Flight, Exile and Emigration in Germany’s Age of Extremes: Biographical Perspectives

International workshop at Georgetown University | Conveners: Frank Biess (UC San Diego), Anna von der Goltz (Georgetown University), Simone Lässig (TU Braunschweig) and Richard Wetzell (GHI Washington)

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Nov 16, 2026

Environments and Societies at the Crossroads: Socio-Environmental Justice in Europe and the Americas in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Workshop at UC Berkeley | Convener: Simone M. Müller (University of Augsburg), Isabel Richter (German Historical Institute Washington, Pacific Office)

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Publications


Claudia Kreklau

The Making of Modern Eating: How the German Middle Class Forged the Way We Eat, 1780-1910

Studies in German History. Vol. 32. New York: Berghahn Books, 2026.

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Stephan H. Lindner

A History of the I.G. Farben Trial: Armament, Exploitation, Auschwitz

Studies in German History. Vol. 31. New York: Berghahn Books, 2025.

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Bulletin 75 (Spring 2025)

Forum: Concrete Dreams: The Built Environment and Human Behavior in Europe’s Twentieth Century

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Christina Brauner, Renate Dürr, Philip Hahn, Anne Sophie Overkamp, Simon Siemianowski, eds.

Encountering the Global in Early Modern Germany: Microhistories of Mobility, Materiality, and Belonging

Studies in German History. Vol. 30. New York: Berghahn Books, 2025.

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Bulletin 74 (Fall 2024)

Forum: European and Global Perspectives on Social Democracy and State Violence

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Michelle Lynn Kahn

Foreign in Two Homelands: Racism, Return Migration, and Turkish-German History

Publications of the German Historical Institute. Cambridge University Press, 2024.

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Bulletin 73 (Spring 2024)

Forum: Antisemitism and Sexualities

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Latest News

Opportunities

Intern at the German Historical Institute

Deadline: July 31, 2026 | The GHI Internship Program gives students of history, political science, public relations, and public administration at…

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Video

Watch recording of our event "The German Blues: A Historian’s Perspective on the Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Eastern Germany"

If you were unable to watch our event The German Blues: A Historian’s Perspective on the Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Eastern Germany" live, it is…

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Event Report

Universities and the Public Good: Research, Education, and Democracy since 1945

Conference report by Jonathan Holst (University of Gießen)

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New Publication

Fall 2025 Bulletin (76) issue published and available for download

The latest issue of the Bulletin is now available online for download.

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Press Release

Dorothee Brantz to Deliver 11th Gerda Henkel Lecture Tour

The Pacific Office of the German Historical Institute Washington is pleased to announce the 11th Gerda Henkel Lecture Tour, organized in partnership…

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