Theodore Hamerow

Theodore S. Hamerow served as the G. P. Gooch Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, joining the faculty in 1958 and retiring in 1991 after over three decades of distinguished service. During his tenure, he chaired the History Department from 1973 to 1976 and directed a prominent doctoral program in modern German history, earning acclaim as a compelling undergraduate lecturer who delivered dynamic presentations without relying on detailed notes. Before arriving at UW-Madison, Hamerow held positions at the University of Illinois (1952-1958), the University of Maryland's European Division in Germany, and Wellesley College. His academic journey began with a B.A. from the City College of New York in 1942, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, followed by an M.A. from Columbia University in 1947 and a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1951 under the supervision of Hajo Holborn in modern German history. Earlier, he served in the U.S. Army in Europe from 1943 to 1946 as an infantryman and military police translator.

Hamerow was a pioneering scholar of the social and economic dimensions of German unification and broader modern German history, particularly in nineteenth-century Central Europe. His seminal works include Restoration, Revolution, Reaction: Economics and Politics in Germany, 1815-1871 (1958); the two-volume Social Foundations of German Unification, 1858-1871 (1969, 1972); The Birth of a New Europe: State and Society in the Nineteenth Century (1983); Reflections on History and Historians (1987); From the Finland Station: The Graying of Revolution in the Twentieth Century (1990); On the Road to the Wolf's Lair: German Resistance to Hitler (1997); Why We Watched: Europe, America, and the Holocaust (2008); and his memoir Remembering a Vanished World: A Jewish Childhood in Interwar Poland (2001). Over his career, he authored ten works comprising eleven volumes, co-authored a textbook, edited or co-edited four books, and published numerous articles. Hamerow held prestigious roles such as Fulbright Research Scholar (1962-63), chair of the American Historical Association's Modern European History Section (1978), and member of the National Endowment for the Humanities Council (1992-2000). He founded the Wisconsin Association of Scholars and co-founded The Historical Society, which honors the best European history dissertation annually in his name. A staunch advocate for free speech, objective standards, and engaging broader audiences, Hamerow left an enduring impact on historiography and the profession.