Benjamin Ziemann (born 1964 in Berlin) is a German historian who lectures at the
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth C ...
. Since 2011, he has been Professor of Modern German History at the Department of History, University of Sheffield.
Career
After working as an apprentice on a farm in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, Ziemann studied history and philosophy at Free University Berlin, graduating with a master's degree in 1991.
From 1992 to 1995, he was a member of the Graduate School on Social History at the
University of Bielefeld
Bielefeld University (german: Universität Bielefeld) is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization a ...
, gaining his PhD in 1996. From 1996 to 2004, Ziemann worked as an assistant professor at the Institute for Social Movements at
Ruhr University Bochum
The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in ...
. In 2004–2005, he was visiting lecturer at
International University Bremen
Constructor University is an international, private, residential research university located in Vegesack, Bremen, Germany. It offers study programs in engineering, humanities, natural and social sciences, in which students can acquire bach ...
(now Jacobs University Bremen). In 2005, Ziemann joined the Department of History at the
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth C ...
as a lecturer.
In 2010–2011, he was a visiting professor at the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...
(Germany). Ziemann has been a visiting scholar at the Forum for Contemporary History at Oslo University, at the
University of Bielefeld
Bielefeld University (german: Universität Bielefeld) is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization a ...
and from 2013 to 2015 a
Humboldt UniversityBerlin, funded by the
Gerda Henkel Foundation
Gerda is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:
A
*Gerda Ahlm (1869–1956), Swedish-born American painter and art conservator
*Gerda Alexander (1908–1994), Danish teacher and therapist
*Gerda Antti (born 1929), Swedish ...
.
Research
Ziemann's main field of expertise is German history from the 1880s to the 1980s. He has published books and articles on military history and the history of violence particularly during and after the First World War. He is also a specialist on the social and political history of the
Weimar Republic
The German Reich, commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic,, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also r ...
. Another area of expertise is the history of religion in modern Germany, particularly during the twentieth century. In addition, Ziemann has published widely on the comparative history of
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...
and
peace movements
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...
especially during the
Cold War.
Honours
Two of Ziemann's books have been awarded the prize Geisteswissenschaften International, a joint initiative of the German Booksellers Association, the Collecting society VG Wort and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation to facilitate the translation of German academic books into foreign language
In 2000, Ziemann was awarded the Bennigsen-Foerder Prize by the Ministry of School, Continuing Education and Science in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He used the prize money of 100.000 Deutsche Mark to conduct a research project on the impact of opinion -polling on the political system in the Federal Republic from 1949 to 199
In 2003, Ziemann was the recipient of a Feodor Lynen Fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, allowing him to spend the academic year 2003–2004 as a visiting scholar at the University of York (UK).
In 2007, Ziemann was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Selected publications
Books
* Gewalt im Ersten Weltkrieg. Töten – Überleben – Verweigern, Essen: Klartext, 2013.
* Veteranen der Republik. Kriegserinnerung und demokratische Politik 1918–1933, Bonn: J.H.W.Dietz Nachf., 2014.
* Contested Commemorations: Republican War Veterans and Weimar Political Culture, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
* Sozialgeschichte der Religion. Von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart, Frankfurt/Main: Campus, 2009.
* Encounters with Modernity: The Catholic Church in West Germany, 1945–1975, New York. Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2014.
* Katholische Kirche und Sozialwissenschaften 1945–1975, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2007
* War Experiences in Rural Germany, 1914–1923, Oxford; New York: Berg, 2007.
* Front und Heimat. Ländliche Kriegserfahrungen im südlichen Bayern 1914–1923, Essen: Klartext, 1997
Edited collections
* (with
Kerstin Brückweh
Kerstin Brückweh (born in Hannover, Germany) is a historian with a focus on German and British modern and contemporary history. She is a professor in economic and social history at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences and Technology in Be ...
/Dirk Schumann/
Richard Wetzell
Richard Friedrich Wetzell (born 5 August 1961) is an American historian specializing in German criminology and research fellow at the German Historical Institute.
He graduated from Swarthmore College and specialized in European history at Columb ...
), Engineering Society. The Role of the Human and Social Sciences in Modern Societies, 1880–1980, Basingstoke: Palgrave
* (with Bernd Ulrich), The German Soldiers of the Great War. Letters and Eyewitness Accounts, Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2010.
* (with Miriam Dobson), Reading Primary Sources. The Interpretation of Texts from Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century History, London: Routledge, 2008.
* (with Thomas Mergel), European Political History 1870–1913, Aldershot: Ashgate 2007.
* Peace Movements in Western Europe, Japan and the USA during the Cold War, Essen: Klartext 2007.
* Perspektiven der Historischen Friedensforschung, Essen: Klartext 2002
* (with Bernd Ulrich and Jakob Vogel), Untertan in Uniform. Militär und Militarismus im Kaiserreich 1871–1914, Frankfurt/Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag 2001
* (with Thomas Kühne), Was ist Militärgeschichte?, Paderborn: Schöningh 2000
* (with Bernd Ulrich), Krieg im Frieden. Die umkämpfte Erinnerung an den Ersten Weltkrieg, Frankfurt/Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag 1997
External links
List of Publications by Benjamin Ziemann*Interview on the religious history of the Great War
video on Youtube*Interview with Le Monde on the centenary of the Great War
contre-les-civils-est-un-trait-essentiel-de-la-premiere-guerre_4502610_3448834
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziemann, Benjamin
20th-century German historians
German military historians
People associated with the University of Sheffield
Living people
1964 births
Academics of the University of Sheffield