Joachim Radkau

Joachim Radkau (born October 4, 1943) is a German historian.

Life

Radkau was born in Oberlübbe, now Hille, Landkreis Minden. Son of a Protestant priest, he studied history in Münster, Berlin (Freie Universität) and Hamburg from 1963 to 1968. He was influenced e.g. by Fritz Fischer. His doctorate, which he earned in 1970, treated the role of German immigrants 1933-45 on Franklin D. Roosevelt. From 1971 on he started to teach at Bielefeld University.

1972 till 1974 Radkau wrote together with George W. F. Hallgarten a synopsis of German industry and politics. His views about the role of Hermann Josef Abs in German negotiations with Israel led to legal claim of Deutsche Bank.

In 1980 Radkau received the venia legendi for his study of the rise and crisis of the German nuclear industry. History of technology and Environmental history are favorite topics of Radkau. Besides forestry and the role of environmental protection in the German history, including the Third Reich, Radkau researched as well the relation between Nervosität (Anxiety) and technical development in the German Empire, adding biographical studies about Thomas Mann and Max Weber.

Awards and honors 2009: World History Association Book Prize, Nature and Power