Horst Boog (5 January 1928 – 8 January 2016)
was a German historian who specialised in the history 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 ...
and
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 ...
. He was the research director at the
Military History Research Office (MGFA). Boog was a contributor to several volumes of the seminal work ''
Germany and the Second World War'' from the MGFA. He was an expert on the
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
and the German side of the
aerial war in Europe during World War II.
Boog also wrote for the right-wing, nationalistic newspaper ''
Junge Freiheit'' and became politically active in the context of debates about the Allied
strategic bombing during World War II
World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military strategy is distinct both from close ...
. Since the early 1990s almost all of his work concentrated on arguing that Nazi Germany did not start bombing of civilians.
Education and career
Born in 1928 in
Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
, Horst Boog grew up in Germany. In 1944, he joined the
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...
and trained as a glider pilot. Towards the end of the war, he was drafted into the ''
Volkssturm
The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...
''. Unable to secure a placement for university studies in the difficult economic conditions of post-war Germany, he attended a foreign-language school in
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
. Subsequently, Boog worked as a translator at the
International Military Tribunal
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
at
Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
. For the academic year 1949–50, he received a scholarship as an
exchange student at
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...
in the United States, where he earned the degree of
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 history and philosophy.
Returning from the U.S., Boog worked at the
Federal Intelligence Service. He attended evening classes at the
University of Stuttgart in 1950/51 and took unpaid time off to attend classes at the
University of Heidelberg
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...
. In 1965 he earned his
PhD
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 graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
under the guidance of at Heidelbeg; the topic of his dissertation was the career of
Ernst Graf zu Reventlow (1869–1943), a German naval officer, journalist and
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
politician.
[ He died on 8 January 2016 in ]Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
.
Military historian of Nazi Germany
Boog joined the Military History Research Office (MGFA) at Freiburg, where he became a senior research director. While at MGFA, Boog initiated the first scientific conference on the German air war of World War II. Boog contributed to several volumes of the seminal work '' Germany and the Second World War''. Since the 1980s, he had been an internationally recognized expert on the Luftwaffe and on the laws of war, such as the right to war (''jus ad bellum
' ( or ), literally "right to war" in Latin, refers to "the conditions under which States may resort to war or to the use of armed force in general". Jus ad bellum is one pillar of just war theory. Just war theory states that war should only be ...
'') and the law of war (''jus in bello
The law of war is a component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of hostilities (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, ...
''). In his works, Boog started to identify with the Luftwaffe and drew a distinction between the "brave Luftwaffe officers and their Nazi leaders", writing about "brave decisions and personal courage" of Wehrmacht General Staff in addition to strong condemnation of the Allies.
Benda-Beckmann
Bas von Benda-Beckmann is critical of Boog, criticising him for stating the bombings of Guernica, Rotterdam and Warsaw were "tactical" attacks compared to the Allied strategic bombing raids during World War II, which Boog described "terror bombings". Beckmann wrote further that Boog asserted that remained the case only until 1942.
Professor Richard Overy argues the same case as Boog with respect to the German side, and the attacks on Warsaw, Rotterdam and Guernica. Overy notes that airmen were ordered to avoid civilians leaving the Polish capital. Another airpower scholar, James Corum argues the rules of warfare in 1937 permitted the attack on Guernica and that the town was a legitimate target in supporting ground forces. Corum argues that the Luftwaffe did not have a policy of so-called "terror bombing", where civilians and civilian infrastructure were targeted.
In his writings Benda-Beckmann claimed Boog aimed at portraying Allied bombings of Nazi Germany as equal to Nazi crimes. Boog also wrote for the right-wing, nationalistic newspaper '' Junge Freiheit'' and became politically active in the context of debates about the Allied strategic bombing during World War II
World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military strategy is distinct both from close ...
.
In his later writings starting from mid-90s, Benda-Beckmann claimed Boog engaged in criticism of German guilt for Second World War, which he accused of "hypersensitivity" and claimed that just because Hitler was presented as "villain" not everything done in his name was presented as "wrong". Benda-Beckmann also claimed Boog asserted that it was Germany that was "victim" during Second World War air war and not everything done in Nazi Germany was "wrong" or "evil". In doing so he continued a narrative that presented Germans as suffering in Second World War and majority of Germans as "respectable".
Works
In English
*'' Germany and the Second World War'':
**Vol. IV: ''The Attack on the Soviet Union'', with Joachim Hoffmann, Ernst Klink, Rolf-Dieter Müller and Gerd R. Ueberschär
**Vol. VI: ''The Global War 1941–1943'', with Werner Rahn, and Bernd Wegner
** Vol. VII: ''The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and East Asia 1943–1944/5'', with and Detlef Vogel
In German
* ''Graf Ernst zu Reventlow (1869–1943). Eine Studie zur Krise der deutschen Geschichte seit dem Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts''. Dissertation, Universität Heidelberg, 1965.
* ''Die deutsche Luftwaffenführung 1935–1945. Führungsprobleme. Spitzengliederung. Generalstabsausbildung''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1982, .
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boog, Horst
1928 births
2016 deaths
German military historians
German historians of World War II
German male non-fiction writers
Military History Research Office (Germany) personnel
20th-century German historians
Heidelberg University alumni
Hitler Youth child soldiers
Volkssturm personnel