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Karl Schlögel

カール・シュレーゲル

Karl Schloegel

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-03-07 （Hawangen, Bavaria, Germany）
Nationality
Germany
Languages
German
Residence History
Hawangen (birthplace) → Berlin (studies at Free University of Berlin) → Moscow (DAAD research fellowship) → Konstanz (University of Konstanz) → Frankfurt (Oder) (European University Viadrina)

Career

Occupations
historian, author, translator, university professor
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
University of Konstanz (Chair in East European History), European University Viadrina (Chair of East European History)

Education

Free University of Berlin
Faculty of Humanities / Philosophy, Sociology, East European History and Slavic Studies
Period: 1969–1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: Germany
Studied 1969–1981. Choice of studies influenced by visits to Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union in 1965–66.

Awards

Sigmund Freud Prize
2004
Organization: German Academy / awarding body
Result: 受賞
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
2005
Organization: Federal Republic of Germany
Result: 受賞
Franz Werfel Human Rights Award
2012
Organization: Franz Werfel Foundation (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Leipzig Book Fair Prize (non-fiction)
2018
Work: (for a recent non-fiction work; specific title not specified here)
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair)
Result: 受賞
Preis des Historischen Kollegs
2016
Work: for work including Moscow 1937
Organization: Historical Kolleg (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels
2025
Organization: Frankfurt Book Fair (awarding body)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Moscow, 1937

2008 historical nonfiction

A historical account centered on Moscow in 1937 that explores politics, terror, daily life and culture under Stalinism. Uses urban space and memory to reconstruct the period's complex social realities.

Stalinismurban spacememory and history
Translations
  • English translation (2012)

In Space We Read Time: On the History of Civilization and Geopolitics

2016 cultural history / geopolitics

An essayistic study reading the history of civilization and geopolitics through the perspective of space, focusing on intersections of time and place and the geographical aspects of historical experience.

spatial historygeopoliticscivilizational studies

Ukraine: A Nation on the Borderland

2018 history / national studies

A study of Ukrainian history and nation-building viewed from the perspective of a borderland, addressing the geographical and cultural complexities and modern political shifts.

nation-buildingborderlandsEastern European history

The Soviet Century: Archaeology of a Lost World

2023 historical and cultural analysis

A major work interrogating the Soviet system and its legacy from an 'archaeological' perspective, excavating traces in institutions, everyday life and memory to reconsider aspects of the twentieth century.

Soviet historymemoryinstitutions and everyday life

Bibliography

  • Moscow, 1937
  • In Space We Read Time: On the History of Civilization and Geopolitics
  • Ukraine: A Nation on the Borderland
  • The Soviet Century: Archaeology of a Lost World

Translations of Works

  • Moscow, 1937 — English translation (2012)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly yet narrative and accessible proseexpansive, spatially oriented historical description
Recurring Motifs
cities and spacememory and tracespower and everyday life

Legacy

A highly regarded historian of Eastern Europe, especially the Soviet era and Stalinism. Known both for academic monographs and public commentary; recipient of numerous major awards, including the 2025 Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels.

Trivia

  • Was involved in the left-wing student movement in the late 1960s and 1970s.
  • Professor at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder); emeritus since 2013.
  • Winner of the Leipzig Book Fair Prize (non-fiction) in 2018.
  • Has been critical of Russian annexations and attacks on Ukrainian territory since 2014.
  • Awarded the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels in 2025.