Werner Rahn (born June 9, 1939 in

Ilsenburg Ilsenburg () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilse valley with its little river, the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker, about six north ...

- died November 19, 2022 in Potsdam) was a naval historian and former German naval officer.

Career

Werner Rahn entered the

Naval Academy Mürwik A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

and served at sea and ashore in a variety of appointments, reaching the rank of captain. He studied history at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...

under Professor Dr. Moltmann and received his PhD in 1974 with a thesis entitled '. He served as lecturer in military history at the

, and later Docent for military history at the

Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr ) , established = 15 May 1957(15 October 1810 as ''Prussian Military Academy'') , type = Staff college and senior military academy of the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr , endowment = , staff = , faculty = , president = , provost = , principal ...

at Hamburg. From 1980 to 1997, he served at the

German Armed Forces Military History Research Office The Military History Research Office (german: Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, MGFA) is an office of the ''Bundeswehr'' located at Potsdam, Germany. Following a reorganisation in 2013, MGFA was consolidated with the to become the Center ...

in Freiburg im Breisgau as head of the naval history section and deputy director, and later after that office moved to Potsdam, as Director from 1995 to 1997. He retired from active service in the German Navy in 1997. In September 2016, he was awarded the

Hattendorf Prize The Hattendorf Prize for Distinguished Original Research in Maritime History is awarded by the United States Naval War College for distinguished academic achievement in publishing original research that contributes to a deeper historical understan ...

for Distinguished Original Research in Maritime History. Werner Rahn died on 19 November 2022 at the age of 83, in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany.

Published works

Rahn has published many books and articles on German naval history: *''Reichsmarine und Landesverteidigung, 1919-1928,'' (1976) *''Die Deutsche Flotte im Spannungsfeld der Politik 1848 - 1985 : Vorträge u. Diskussionen d. 25. histor.-takt. Tagung d. Flotte 1985'' edited by Werner Rahn (1985). *''Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg,'' vol. 6 (1990) *''Kriegstagebuches der Seekriegsleitung, 1939-1945,'' senior editor of the 68-volume facsimile edition, im Auftr. des Militärgeschichtlichen Forschungsamtes in Verbindung mit dem Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv und der Marine-Offizier-Vereinigung hrsg. von Werner Rahn und Gerhard Schreiber unter Mitw. von Hansjoseph Maierhöfer (1988–1997). *''Deutsche Marinerüstung 1919 - 1942: die Gefahren der Tirpitz-Tradition,'' edited by Wilhelm Treue, Eberhard Möller, Werner Rahn (1992). *''Vom Kaiserreich zur Bundesrepublik: aus den Schriften eines engagierten Offiziers und Staatsbürgers,'' by Siegfried Sorge edited by Werner Rahn (1993). *''Die deutsche Kriegsmarine: 1935 - 1945'' by François-Emmanuel Brézet with a Foreword by Werner Rahn (2003). *''Deutsche Marinen im Wandel: vom Symbol nationaler Einheit zum Instrument internationaler Sicherheit'' edited by Wener Rahn (2005). *''Der Krieg in der Nordsee,'' im Auftrag des Militärgeschichtlichen Forschungsamtes bearbeitet und neu herausgegeben von Gerhard P. Gross unter Mitarbeit von Werner Rahn.

References

External links

Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt

U.S. Navy Video of Hattendorf Prize ceremony, 22 October 2016, including reamrks by Werner Rahn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahn, Werner 1939 births Living people People from Ilsenburg German military writers German naval historians German Navy personnel University of Hamburg alumni German male non-fiction writers