Detlev Peukert

Who was Detlev Peukert?

Detlev Peukert was a German historian, noted for his studies of the relationship between what he called the "spirit of science" and the Holocaust and in social history and the Weimar Republic. Peukert taught modern history at the University of Essen and served as director of the Research Institute for the History of the Nazi Period. Peukert was a member of the German Communist Party until 1978, when he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

One of Peukert's first books was Ruhrarbeiter gegen den Faschismus, a study of anti-Nazi activities amongst the working class of the Ruhr during the Third Reich. Peukert was a leading expert in Alltagsgeschichte and his work often examined the effect of Nazi social policies on ordinary Germans and on persecuted groups such as Jews and Roma. In particular, Peukert looked at how in "everyday" life in Nazi Germany, aspects of both "normality" and "criminality" co-existed with another. Peukert was one of the first historians to make a detailed examination of the persecution of the Romani. Peukert often compared Nazi policies towards Roma with Nazi policies towards Jews.