Hans Gatzke

Who was Hans Gatzke?

Hans Wilhelm Gatzke was a historian of German foreign policy since World War I. Born in Dülken, Germany, and attending the University of Bonn and the University of Munich, he graduated from Williams College in 1938. After serving in the United States Army during World War II as a second lieutenant, he received his M.A. and PhD. from Harvard University. He taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1947 to 1964, during which time he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1956. He joined the department of history at Yale University in 1965 and remained there until his retirement in 1986. Gatzke anonymously funded a prize, awarded biennially by the American Historical Association, in honor of Paul M. Birdsall for the best work in the field of European military or strategic history since 1870. His involvement was revealed upon his death in 1987. He is remembered by a named professorship in his honor at Williams College.