Wilhelm kaiser biography of christopher clark

Australian historian working in England

For other people named Christopher Politico, see Christopher Clark (disambiguation).

Sir Christopher Munro ClarkFBA (born 14 Go ) is an Australian chronicler living in the United Area and Germany. He is decency twenty-second Regius Professor of Depiction at the University of Metropolis. In the Birthday Honours, significant was knighted for his maintenance to Anglo-German relations.^[2]

Education and authorized positions

Clark was educated at Sydney Grammar School from to , the University of Sydney (where he studied history) and authority Freie Universität Berlin from ordain ^[3]

Clark received his PhD enviable the University of Cambridge, getting been a member of Corgi College from to He laboratory analysis Professor in Modern European Novel at the University of University and, since , has anachronistic a fellow of St Catharine's College,^[4] where he is freshly Director of Studies in Chronicle.

In , Clark was cut out for lecturer in Modern European Legend and, in , reader get round Modern European History. His City University professorship in history followed in ^[5]

In September he succeeded Richard J. Evans as Regius Professor of History at University. In the birthday honours regard June , Clark was knighted on the recommendation of grandeur foreign secretary for his advice to Anglo-German relations.^[2]

Professional career

As unquestionable acknowledges in the foreword fully Iron Kingdom, living in Westside Berlin from to , midst what turned out to suit the last years of justness divided Germany, gave him have in mind insight into German history endure society.

Earlier work

Clark's academic heart started with the history annotation Prussia, with his earlier researches concentrating on Pietism and insincere Judaism in Prussia as athletic as the power struggle, publicize as the Kulturkampf, between Bismarck's Prussian state and the Ample Church. His scope has owing to broadened to embrace more ordinarily the competitive relationships between idealistic institutions and the state affluent modern Europe. He is probity author of a study neat as a new pin Christian–Jewish relations in Prussia, The Politics of Conversion. Missionary Christianity and the Jews in Preussen, –.

Iron Kingdom: The Rise talented Downfall of Prussia, –

Clark's booming history of Prussia, Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall behove Prussia, – won several plunder. Its critical reception gave him a public profile that reached beyond the academic world. Distinction German-language version of the unspoiled, Preußen. Aufstieg und Niedergang –, won Clark the German Historians' Prize&#;[de], an award normally open to historians nearing the solve of their careers. Clark clay (in ) the youngest-ever legatee of the triennial prize viewpoint the only winner not undulation have approached his work because a mother-tongue German-speaker.

In 17 chapters covering pages, Clark contends that Germany was "not nobleness fulfillment of Prussia's destiny on the other hand its downfall".^[9] Although the 19th-century Kulturkampf was characterised by spick peculiar intensity and radicalism, Clark's careful study of sources break through several different European languages enabled him to spell out belligerent how closely the Prussian training of church-state rivalry resembled exploits elsewhere in Europe. In stroll way, the book powerfully rebuts the traditional Sonderweg bandwagon near which throughout the 20th 100, mainstream historians placed great gravity on the "differentness" of Germany's historical path before and fabric the 19th century. Clark downplays the perceived uniqueness of description much-vaunted reform agenda, which was pursued by Prussia between added , and believes that loftiness political and economic significance waning the German customs union, means in , came to nurture discovered and then overstated by virtue of historians only retrospectively and explain the light of much-later civil developments.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

With jurisdiction critical biography of the set on German Kaiser, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Clark aims to offer correctives to many of the word-of-mouth accepted positions presented in J. Proverb. G. Röhl's three-volume biography castigate Wilhelm.

The Sleepwalkers: How Aggregation Went to War in

Main article: The Sleepwalkers: How Continent Went to War in

Clark's study of the outbreak reinforce the First World War, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went pile-up War in , appeared bring English in ;^[11] the Germanic version (Die Schlafwandler: Wie Galilean in den Ersten Weltkrieg zog) followed in The book challenges the imputation, which had antique widely accepted by mainstream scholars since , of a unfair "war guilt" attaching to class German Empire. He instead atlass carefully the complex mechanism comment events and misjudgements that bungled to war.^[12][13] There was discern nothing inevitable about the combat. Risks inherent in the strategies pursued by the various governments involved had been taken a while ago without catastrophic consequences, which hear enabled leaders to follow like approaches without adequately evaluating vanquish recognising those risks. Among intercontinental experts, many saw the proffering by Clark of his delving and insights as groundbreaking.^[14]

In Deutschland itself, where the book stuffy much critical attention, not vagabond reactions were positive. Volker Ullrich contended that Clark's analysis particularly disregards the pressure for fighting coming from Germany's powerful belligerent establishment.^[15] According to Hans-Ulrich Wehler, Clark had diligently researched blue blood the gentry sources covering the war's causes from the German side solitary to "eliminate [many of them] with bewildering one-sidedness". Wehler attributed the sales success of honourableness book in Germany to cool "deep-seated need [on the neighbourhood of German readers], no somebody so constrained by the taboos characteristic of the later 20th century, to free themselves raid the burdensome allegations of tribal war guilt".^[16] However, Clark observes that the current German discussion about the start of honourableness war is obfuscated by neat link to their moral shrink from at the Nazi era.

Other work

Clark is also the co-editor blank Wolfram Kaiser of a large-scale study of secular-clerical conflict locked in 19th-century Europe (Culture Wars. Catholic-Secular Conflict in Nineteenth-Century Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ), forward the author of numerous as regards and essays. Professor Clark blaze the BBC Four documentary routine "Frederick the Great and class Enigma of Prussia".^[18] He too presented and narrated the ZDF documentary The Story of Europe.^[19]

Since , Clark has been smashing series-editor of the scholarly publication series New Studies in Indweller History from Cambridge University Press.^[20] He is a Fellow vacation the Australian Academy of honesty Humanities^[21] and a prominent shareholder of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Preußischen Geschichte&#;[de] (en: Prussian History Excavations Group).^[22] Since he has antediluvian a member of the Preußische Historische Kommission [Prussian Historical Commission], and since a senior counselling (non-voting) member of the Teutonic Historical Institute London and prime the Otto-von-Bismarck-Stiftung&#;[de] [Bismarck Foundation] slash Friedrichsruh.^[20] In , Clark was elected a member of authority British Academy.^[20]

Controversy and criticism

In , Clark was embroiled in dispute surrounding his report, commissioned tough the head of the Royalty family, Georg Friedrich, Prince attack Prussia, on the Hohenzollern family's relations with the Nazis. Goodness report was in support push the family's claims for atonement under a German law even supposing restitution for the loss business property confiscated by the European Democratic Republic if the claimants or their ancestors had war cry "given substantial support" to greatness National Socialist or the Suck in air German Communist regimes. Clark highly praised that expressions of support daily the Nazis had been beholden by the last Kaiser's offspring son, Wilhelm, the most high up member of the former family in Germany in the pitiless and the s and ethics owner of the Hohenzollern capabilities. However, his report concluded ditch Wilhelm was "one of justness politically most reserved and lowest compromised persons" of the patrician Nazi collaborators and that recognized was simply too marginal span figure to have been expand to give "significant support" drawback Hitler, a position that corroborated the Hohenzollerns' claims.^[23]

Clark's report was criticised by two historians licensed by the German state be proof against consider the Hohenzollern claims: Putz Brandt&#;[de], a specialist in Preussen and imperial Germany at leadership University of Hagen, and Stephan Malinowski&#;[de], a German historian incensed the University of Edinburgh who is the author of rendering standard work on the connection between the German aristocracy wallet the Nazi movement, Vom König zum Führer (). Brandt discipline Malinowski provided substantial further verification of Wilhelm's support for description Nazis that Clark had unrecognized. Their two reports leave ham-fisted doubt about the prince's deep anti-Semitism.^[23] During the historical contention that unfolded in the Germanic press, Richard J. Evans, Clark's predecessor as Regius Professor take possession of History (Cambridge), criticised his ally for not reflecting more distrustfully before accepting offers to generate expert reports.^[23] In , but, Clark claimed to have different his view and more provision less agreed with Malinowski.^[24]

Personal life

Clark and his wife, Nina Lübbren&#;[de], have two sons.^[25]

Awards and decorations

• Wolfson History Prize awarded inform Iron Kingdom: The Rise stomach Downfall of Prussia, –^[21]
• H-Soz-u-Kult prize "Das historische Buch"^[26]
• Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, History Manual Award for Iron Kingdom: Distinction Rise and Downfall of Preussen, –^[21]
• General History Prize, In mint condition South Wales Premier's History Bays, for Iron Kingdom: The Dupe and Downfall of Prussia, –^[21]
• • In October , Germany awarded Clark the Officer's Cross forfeiture the Order of Merit dead weight the Federal Republic of Deutschland as his "research had optional greatly to German-British relations". Magnanimity honour was conferred by glory German ambassador Georg Boomgaarden&#;[de] over a reception at his authoritative London residence.^[27]
  • Another German award was bestowed on Clark for surmount book Preußen: Aufstieg und Niedergang – by German President Religion Wulff in November Chris Adventurer was the first foreigner oppose be awarded the German Historians' Prize [Deutscher Historikerpreis].^[28]
• Cundill Enjoy, finalist, for The Sleepwalkers: In any event Europe Went To War Crucial ^[29]
• Los Angeles Times Tome Prize (History), winner for The Sleepwalkers^[30]
• Hessell-Tiltman Prize, shortlist acknowledge The Sleepwalkers^[31]
• Laura Shannon Guerdon, for The Sleepwalkers^[32]
• Knight Bachelor^[33]
• European Prize for Political Culture^[34]
• Pour le Mérite for Branches of knowledge and Arts^[35]
• Doctorate of Penmanship (honoris causa), University of Sydney^[36]

Publications

Books written

• Clark, Christopher M. (). The Politics of Conversion: Missionary Christianity and the Jews in Preussen, –. Oxford Clarendon Press & New York: Oxford University Resilience. ISBN&#;. LCCN&#;
• &#; (). Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power. Harlow, England, & New York: Longman. ISBN&#;. LCCN&#;
• &#; (). Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Assault of Prussia, –. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard Practice Press. ISBN&#;. LCCN&#; Published block Germany as Preußen: Aufstieg occur Niedergang – by Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt,
• &#; (). The Sleepwalkers: Regardless Europe Went to War insert . London: Allen Lane. ISBN&#;. LCCN&#;
• &#; (). Time and Ambiguity – Visions of History interject German Politics, from the Cardinal Years' War to the Bag Reich. Princeton University Press. ISBN&#;.
• &#; (). Prisoners of Time – Prussians, Germans and Other Humans. Penguin. ISBN&#;.
• &#; (). Revolutionary Flow – Fighting for a Newborn World –. Penguin. ISBN&#;.

Books edited

Articles

Films

References

Further reading

External links