Former Fellow

Norbert Frei

Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Director of the Jena Center for 20th Century History

Research project:
“Nobody wants to have been a Nazi”. The aftermath of the Third Reich
(“Nobody wants to have been a Nazi.” The Aftermath of the Third Reich)

Abstract
This monograph in progress is the final volume in the seven-volume series “The Germans and National Socialism”, which has been published by C.H. Beck Munich since 2015 under the editorship of Norbert Frei.

Events:
January 24, 2019, 6:30 p.m.
Public lecture
“Nobody wants to have been a Nazi.” Reflections on the post-history of the “Third Reich”

January 25, 2019, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Masterclass
Germans and the Nazi past since 1945 Refusal, commitment and fatigue in the “service of remembrance”

25 February 2019, 7.30 p.m.
Book presentation
Zur rechten Zeit: Wider die Rückkehr des Nationalismus
With Dr. Christina Morina (Friedrich Schiller University Jena), Dr. Franka Maubach (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) and Dr. Maik Tändler (Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

  • Biografische Angaben

    Prof. Dr. Norbert Frei is Chair of Modern and Contemporary History at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Director of the Jena Center History of the 20th Century. From 1979 to 1997, he was a research associate at the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich, and subsequently held the Chair of Modern and Contemporary History at the Ruhr University Bochum until 2005. Prof. Frei has held numerous fellowships and visiting professorships, including at Harvard University, the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the Hebrew University Jerusalem. In 2010/11 he was Theodor Heuss Professor at the New School for Social Research in New York. He was a member of several historical commissions, including the Independent Commission for Research into the History of Bertelsmann and the Commission on the History of the Federal Foreign Office appointed by Joschka Fischer in 2005.
  • Publikationen

    Der Führerstaat. Nationalsozialistische Herrschaft 1933 bis 1945. Zuerst erschienen 1987, in 13 Sprachen übersetzt, 8. Auflage München 2013 Vergangenheitspolitik. Die Anfänge der Bundesrepublik und die NS-Vergangenheit. (= Habilitationsschrift 1996) 4. Auflage München 2012 1945 und wir. Das Dritte Reich im Bewußtsein der Deutschen. München 2005, erweiterte 4. Auflage München 2009 1968. Jugendrevolte und globaler Protest. München 2008 (erweiterte und aktualisierte Neuausgabe 2017, 2. Auflage 2018)

News from the research center

News
30.06.2025

Article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich published in EJPT

The article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich has just been published open access in the European Journal of Political Theory (EJPT). Ulrich brings the perspective of radical realism into a productive dialog with Adorno's critical theory.

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News
30.06.2025

Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay awarded the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Prize 2025

Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay (Junior Professor of Ethnology with a focus on Political Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and former postdoctoral researcher at the Research Center Normative Orders at Goethe University) receives the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Award 2025 in the category Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Publication
25.06.2025 | Online article

Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?

Ulrich, Amadeus (2025): Ideology and suffering: What is realistic about critical theory? European Journal of Political Theory, 0(0).  https://doi.org/10.1177/14748851251351782

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News
24.06.2025

New series “Vertrauensfragen” in the Frankfurter Rundschau initiated by Hendrik Simon

Democracy thrives on debate - if it serves the joint search for solutions. There is often a problem with this cooperation. The new FR series “Vertrauensfragen”, initiated by Hendrik Simon (Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) Frankfurt location at Goethe University's Research Centre Normative Orders ), examines why this is the case and how we can do better.

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Publication
23.06.2025 | Working Paper

Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina

Moreno, Guadalupe (2025): “Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina”. Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies Discussion Paper 25/3.

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News
22.05.2025

Does deliberative democracy have a future in the age of oligarchs, autocrats and patriarchs?

On June 3, Prof. Simone Chambers will give a lecture on the value of democracies and the future of the form of government.

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Publication
19.05.2025 | Anthology

Klimaethik. Ein Reader

Sparenborg, Lukas; Moellendorf, Darrel (Hrsg.) (2025) : Klimaethik. Ein Reader. Suhrkamp.

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News
19.05.2025

What can a baroque tapestry tell us about colonial iconography?

Lecture by Cécile Fromone on May 21. The professor at the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, director of the Cooper Gallery at the Hutchins Center and author will talk about the long-forgotten African origins of iconography and its colonial dimension.

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News
05.05.2025

Normative Orders Newsletter 01/25 published

The newsletter from Research Centre Normative Orders collects information on current events, reports, news and publications several times a year. Read the first issue 2025 here.

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