Roger Moorhouse
Roger Moorhouse | |
|---|---|
Stockport, Cheshire, England | |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Alma mater | University of London |
| Subject | European history |
| Spouse | Melissa Smellie (m. 1995) |
| Children | 2 |
Roger Moorhouse (born 1968)[1] is a British historian and author.
Education
He was born in
Whilst a student, Moorhouse worked as a researcher for Professor Norman Davies, collaborating on many of the latter's best-known publications, including Europe: A History, The Isles: A History and Rising '44 and culminating in the publication in 2002 of a co-authored study of the history of the city of Wrocław (the former German Breslau) entitled Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City.
Main publications
In 2006, Moorhouse's first solo book, Killing Hitler, was published, which has since been translated a number of times. In a CNN news report of 3 September 2011, Killing Hitler was shown on Al-Saadi Gaddafi's desk after he had fled his office in the wake of the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in Libya. The reporter Nic Robertson suggested that Gaddafi had been reading the book prior to his flight.[3]
His next book,
In 2014, Moorhouse's The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941 was published. Despite praising the book for its "masterly" account of the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the historian Richard J. Evans took exception to the book's "unbalanced treatment" of the crimes of the Soviets over those of the Nazis and asserted that "for all its virtues this is a deeply problematic book".[6] Other reviewers of the book were more positive: The Wall Street Journal described it as "superb"[7] and The Daily Telegraph listed it among its Books of the Year for 2014.[8]
Moorhouse's more recent publication, First to Fight: The Polish War 1939 (2019 in the UK, 2020 in the US, as Poland 1939), on the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, was widely acclaimed ("fascinating" according to The Telegraph,[9] "deeply researched, very well written . . . standard work" in the words of Andrew Roberts,[10] "timely and authoritative" according to The Spectator[11]), named among books of the year for 2019 by BBC History Magazine and The Daily Telegraph and shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History 2020. However, praise was by no means universal. Writing in The Times Literary Supplement, Anita J. Prażmowska stated that "Moorhouse ignores the fact that Poland did conduct its own independent foreign policy during the whole of the interwar period", that "he is notably ungenerous in recognizing that we have good histories of the period" and that he "refuses to acknowledge France's role in the crisis of September 1939".[12]
Summary
A fluent German speaker, Moorhouse is a specialist in modern German history, particularly on
Moorhouse is a regular public speaker, and has appeared, among others, at the
Other publications
- Jak powstało Powstanie '44, Norman Davies, (Znak, Kraków, 2005), Chapter
- The Men Who Tried to Kill Hitler, Roger Manvell & Heinrich Fraenkel, (Frontline Books, 2008), Introduction
- He Was My Chief: The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler's Secretary, Christa Schroeder, (Frontline Books, 2009), Introduction
- With Hitler to the End: The Memoir of Hitler's Valet, Heinz Linge, (Frontline Books, 2009), Introduction
- The Celebrated Pedestrian and Other Historical Curiosities, (BBC History, 2009), Contributions
- I was Hitler's Chauffeur: The Memoirs of Erich Kempka, Erich Kempka, (Frontline Books, 2010), Introduction
- The Hitler I Knew, Otto Dietrich, (Skyhorse Publishing, 2010), Introduction
- The Hand of History: An Anthology of Quotes and Commentaries, Michael Leventhal (ed.), (Frontline Books, 2011), Contribution
- While Berlin Burns, Hans-Georg von Studnitz, (Pen & Sword Books, 2012), Introduction
- The Sniper Anthology, Martin Pegler (Ed.), (Frontline Books, 2012), Chapter on Simo Häyhä
- Hitler was My Friend: The Memoirs of Hitler's Photographer, ISBN 978-1-84832-608-8)
- Ship of Fate: The Story of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff (2016)
- The Third Reich in 100 Objects, (Greenhill Books, 2017)
- The Forgers: The Forgotten Story of the Holocaust's Most Audacious Rescue Operation. Basic Book. 2023. ISBN 9781541619845.
Awards and honours
- Shortlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for history for Berlin at War (2010).[13]
- Shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History 2020 for First to Fight (2019).[14]
- Shortlisted for the British Army Military Book of the Year 2020 for First to Fight (2019).[15]
- Awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2020).[16]
- Winner of the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize for First to Fight (2019).[17]
Personal life
Moorhouse is married with two children and lives in Tring, Hertfordshire.
References
- ^ Roger Moorhouse's website – "born 1968 Stockport, Cheshire
- ^ "Biography". Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "Video News". CNN.
- ^ Financial Times, 7 August 2010, Andrew Roberts, "Battle for Berlin"
- ^ "PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize". English PEN.
- ^ Evans, Richard J. (6 August 2014). "The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941 – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ^ Simms, Brendan (30 November 2014). "Comrades in Arms". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Rahim, Sameer (15 April 2015). "The best books of 2014". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ Malcolm, Noel (6 October 2019). "First to Fight: The Polish War, 1939 by Roger Moorhouse, review: the truth about Poland's doomed stand against Germany". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "First to Fight Book Reviews | Books in the Media". booksinthemedia.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Poland was no walkover for the Reich". The Spectator. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Prażmowska, Anita J. (29 November 2019). "Left to their fate? A generalizing approach to the invasion of Poland". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ "PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize". English PEN.
- ^ "Duke of Wellington Medal 2020".
- ^ "British Army Military Book of the Year 2020".
- ^ "Poland decorates British historian". Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Winners of Foreign Minister's History Competition".
External links
Media related to Roger Moorhouse at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
