Franz W. Seidler
Encyclopedia
Franz Wilhelm Seidler is a German historian, author and expert on German military history
. He is Professor Emeritus of Modern History
at the Bundeswehr University Munich.
His research focuses on issues concerning German military personnel, war crimes and guerrilla warfare
, as well as postwar disarmament
.
to West Germany, following the expulsion of Germans after World War II
by the Czechoslovak
government from his native Moravian Silesia.
Seidler studied History, German and English at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the University of Cambridge
and the Sorbonne University of Paris between 1951 and 1956. He was a civil servant (Studienreferendar and Studienassessor) of the state of Baden-Württemberg
from 1956 to 1959. From 1959 to 1963 he was Deputy Director of the Bundeswehrfachschule in Cologne
, and was subsequently employed by the Federal Ministry of Defence
, as an Adviser in the Department of Administration and Law, from 1963 to 1968. He was Scientific Director of the Heeresoffiziersschule München from 1968 to 1972, and attended the NATO Defence College Senior Course in Rome in 1972.
From 1973 until his retirement in 1998, he was Professor of Modern History, particularly social and military history, at the Bundeswehr University Munich. He has been active as an expert adviser for the CDU/CSU
faction in the Bundestag
in the 1990s.
Since his retirement Seidler has published books with the extreme right wing publisher Pour le Mérite Verlag of Dietmar Munier. A reviewer in the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
, writing on Seidler's book Phantom der Berge, stated that "Since his retirement he publishes one book after the other, with which he has distanced himself from serious historical research." His biography of Fritz Todt
has been described as offering too positive a picture of Todt and as reflecting a neo-conservative perspective.
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
. He is Professor Emeritus of Modern History
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
at the Bundeswehr University Munich.
His research focuses on issues concerning German military personnel, war crimes and guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, as well as postwar disarmament
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
.
Career
As a child, Seidler came as a refugeeRefugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
to West Germany, following the expulsion of Germans after World War II
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
by the Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
government from his native Moravian Silesia.
Seidler studied History, German and English at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and the Sorbonne University of Paris between 1951 and 1956. He was a civil servant (Studienreferendar and Studienassessor) of the state of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
from 1956 to 1959. From 1959 to 1963 he was Deputy Director of the Bundeswehrfachschule in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, and was subsequently employed by the Federal Ministry of Defence
Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Defence is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany...
, as an Adviser in the Department of Administration and Law, from 1963 to 1968. He was Scientific Director of the Heeresoffiziersschule München from 1968 to 1972, and attended the NATO Defence College Senior Course in Rome in 1972.
From 1973 until his retirement in 1998, he was Professor of Modern History, particularly social and military history, at the Bundeswehr University Munich. He has been active as an expert adviser for the CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
faction in the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
in the 1990s.
Since his retirement Seidler has published books with the extreme right wing publisher Pour le Mérite Verlag of Dietmar Munier. A reviewer in the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , short F.A.Z., also known as the FAZ, is a national German newspaper, founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt am Main. The Sunday edition is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung .F.A.Z...
, writing on Seidler's book Phantom der Berge, stated that "Since his retirement he publishes one book after the other, with which he has distanced himself from serious historical research." His biography of Fritz Todt
Fritz Todt
Fritz Todt was a German engineer and senior Nazi figure, the founder of Organisation Todt. He died in a plane crash during World War II.- Life :Todt was born in Pforzheim to a father who owned a small factory...
has been described as offering too positive a picture of Todt and as reflecting a neo-conservative perspective.
Honours
- Federal Cross of Merit, 1978
- Sudetendeutscher Kulturpreis, 2004
- Dr. Walter-Eckhardt-Ehrengabe für Zeitgeschichtsforschung
Publications
- Kriegsverbrechen in Europa und im Nahen Osten im 20. Jahrhundert, with Alfred-Maurice de ZayasAlfred-Maurice de ZayasAlfred-Maurice de Zayas is an American lawyer, writer, historian, a leading expert in the field of human rights, as well as a former high-ranking United Nations official...
. Mittler & Sohn, 2002. ISBN 3-8132-0702-1 and ISBN 978-3-8132-0702-6. - Die Militärgerichtsbarkeit der deutschen Wehrmacht 1939-1945, München: Herbig-Verlag 1991. TB 1999: ISBN 978-3-926584-60-1.
- Verbrechen an der Wehrmacht, Selent: Pour le Mérite Verlag, 1998 und 2000, 2 Bände, ISBN 3-932381-03-3 und ISBN 3-932381-05-X
- Die Wehrmacht im Partisanenkrieg - Militärische und völkerrechtliche Darlegungen zur Kriegsführung im Osten, Selent: Pour le Mérite Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-932381-04-1
- Prostitution, Homosexualität, Selbstverstümmelung. Probleme der deutschen Sanitätsführung 1939 - 1945. Vowinckel-Verlag, Neckargemünd 1977, ISBN 3-87879-122-4.
Articles
- Vergewaltigung des Rechts [Rape of Justice], in: Deutsche Militärzeitschrift, 8 December 2010.
External links
- Seidler's private website (German)
- Partial English translation of the Verbrechen an der Wehrmacht (Crimes against the Wehrmacht)