Gerhard Hirschfeld, born in Plettenberg, Germany, in 1946. Ph.D. from the Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf. Director of the Bibliothek für Zeitgeschicht and Professor of Modern History at Universität Stuttgart.
Fellow (1 September 2006 – 30 June 2007)
HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS FROM 1890 TO 2000
The manuscript of the book I intended to write has grown considerably in shape and in content. I was able to finish three of the five major chapters, bringing “The history of the Netherlands in the 20th century (1890-2002)” up to the mid-1950, and add two sub-chapters to be included in later parts of the narration. I had valuable opportunities to discuss parts of the manuscript with my Dutch colleagues and to present ideas in the context of a NIAS seminar series as well as at other academic venues. My previous work and publications on the history of the First World War have also triggered considerable interest in the Netherlands. This resulted in a number of public and keynote lectures and contributions to academic conferences. In addition, I wrote two large chapters for edited volumes on themes related to the cultural history of the “Great War” and its aftermath.