# Guido Knopp

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German journalist and author (born 1948)

Guido Knopp

**Guido Knopp** (born 29 January 1948 in [Treysa](/source/Treysa), [Hesse](/source/Hesse)) is a German journalist and author. He is well known in Germany, mainly because he has produced a great number of TV documentaries, predominantly about the "[Third Reich](/source/Third_Reich)" and [National Socialism](/source/National_Socialism), but also about other topics, such as [Stalinism](/source/Stalinism).

## Life and work

After earning his doctoral degree in [history](/source/History) and [political science](/source/Political_science), Knopp worked as a newspaper editor at the [Welt am Sonntag](/source/Welt_am_Sonntag) and the [Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung](/source/Frankfurter_Allgemeine_Zeitung). In 1978 he took up employment at the German TV station [ZDF](/source/ZDF). Since then, he has produced many documentaries about the Nazi dictatorship like *Hitlers Helfer* ("Hitler's Henchmen"), *Hitler-Eine Bilanz* ("Hitler-taking stock") or *Die SS: Eine Warnung der Geschichte* ("The SS: A warning from history"), but also, for example, *Vatikan* (about the power of the popes) or *Kanzler: Die Mächtigen der Republik* (about Germany's post-war federal chancellors).[1] Knopp hosts a weekly German television program, usually broadcast on Sundays, called *History*. In 1999, he produced a series called *100 Jahre – der Countdown*, which sums up the whole 20th century, year by year, and is still sometimes broadcast during holidays by the [Phoenix television station](/source/Phoenix_(German_TV_station)).[2] For the publication of his book *Top Spies – Traitors in the Secret War* (1994), Knopp worked with the German [Federal Intelligence Service](/source/Bundesnachrichtendienst) and several retired spies to present their personal story and explain their work to a broad public.[3]

Knopp's history films are often criticised for presenting the [Third Reich](/source/Third_Reich) too superficially and for "editing history" to play down the role of the German public in building and supporting [Hitler](/source/Hitler)'s regime.[4][5] He was condemned for rewriting history by leaving out the role of the [Wehrmacht](/source/Wehrmacht) (former German Army) in the cruelties of [World War II](/source/World_War_II).[6][7] In 2004, a group of international historians warned that documentaries like the ones produced by Knopp could reduce important historic facts to mere [infotainment](/source/Infotainment).[8] The idea that German dictator [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler) attended the funeral of [Kurt Eisner](/source/Kurt_Eisner) and supported the [Bavarian Soviet Republic](/source/Bavarian_Soviet_Republic) originates with Knopp[9] Sjoerd J. de Boer described this as a myth.[10][*[undue weight?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view#Due_and_undue_weight) – [discuss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Guido_Knopp#undue)*]

In 2003, Knopp pleaded for [Konrad Adenauer](/source/Konrad_Adenauer) to be featured in the *[Unsere Besten](/source/Unsere_Besten)* list of greatest Germans, compiled by ZDF-TV.[11] In 2004, he received the [Goldene Kamera](/source/Goldene_Kamera) and the [Bavarian](/source/Bavaria) and European TV award for his work. He teaches [journalism](/source/Journalism) at the Gustav-Siewerth-Akademie in Weilheim-Bierbronnen ([Baden-Württemberg](/source/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg)) and lives in [Mainz](/source/Mainz). His publishing house is the German [Random House](/source/Random_House) group ([Bertelsmann](/source/Bertelsmann) group).[12] In 2008 Knopp worked on a movie about failed Hitler assassin [Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg](/source/Berthold_Schenk_Graf_von_Stauffenberg).[13]

## Published books

- (1998) *Hitler's Henchmen*. Sutton Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7509-3781-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-3781-5)

- (2001) *Hitler's Holocaust*. Sutton Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7509-2700-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-2700-3)

- (2002) *Hitler's Hitmen*. Sutton Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7509-2602-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-2602-3)

- (2002) *Hitler's Children*. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7509-2732-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-2732-1)

- (2003) *Hitler's Women*. Routledge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-415-94730-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-94730-8)

- (2007) *Die Wehrmacht: Eine Bilanz*. [C. Bertelsmann Verlag](/source/C._Bertelsmann_Verlag). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-570-00975-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-570-00975-8)

- (2008) *[Hitler's Warriors](/source/Hitler's_Warriors)*. [The History Press](/source/The_History_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-750-9260-1-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-750-9260-1-0).

- (2002) In German *Die SS: Eine Warnung der Geschichte.* ("The SS: A historical warning") [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-570-00621-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-570-00621-2), In Swedish *SS - ondskans redskap* ("SS - the tool of evil") [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789185377244](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789185377244)

- (2007) In German *Göring – Eine Karriere* ("Göring - A career") [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-570-00891-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-570-00891-6)

## See also

- [List of Adolf Hitler books](/source/List_of_Adolf_Hitler_books)

## Footnotes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [MDR TV](http://www.mdr.de/riverboat/738077.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070630175121/http://www.mdr.de/riverboat/738077.html) 30 June 2007 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) "Knopp, Guido: Porträt" (Knopp, Guido: A Portrait), 2003.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Phoenix TV, 100 Jahre – der Countdown](http://www.phoenix.de/100_jahre_der_countdown/12742.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080125035710/http://www.phoenix.de/100_jahre_der_countdown/12742.htm) 25 January 2008 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Top Spione. Verräter im geheimen Krieg"](https://www.amazon.de/dp/3442127254), amazon.de; [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-442-12725-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-442-12725-4)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Der Tagesspiegel](http://www.tagesspiegel.de/magazin/wissen/gesundheit/;art300,2214451), tagesspiegel.de. 25 September 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Die Zeit](https://www.zeit.de/2004/10/Steam_Punk), zeit.de. October 2004. Accessed 5 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** "Alle waren Opfer" ("Everyone was a victim"). No. 48/2006, *[Die Zeit](/source/Die_Zeit)*, 23 November 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** "Unter Wölfen" ("Amongst Wolves"). *[Spiegel](/source/Der_Spiegel) Magazine*, 28 November 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [German Who is Who](http://www.whoswho.de/templ/te_bio.php?PID=1780&RID=1)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Hayman, Ronald (4 September 1999). [*Hitler and Geli*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hitler_and_Geli/BB3A_n2SzLcC?hl=en). Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 55. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-58234-036-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-58234-036-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Boer, Sjoerd J. de (7 July 2023). ["The Hitler Myths: Exposing the Truth Behind the Stories About the Führer"](https://books.google.com/books?id=pylsEAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT55&dq=hitler+deputy+battalion+othmar&hl=en&source=gb_mobile_entity&ovdme=1#v=onepage&q=hitler%20deputy%20battalion%20othmar&f=false). *Google books*. Frontline Books. Retrieved 22 October 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Die Botschaft von Hambach – Verpflichtung für heute!", speech of Guido Knopp.](https://archive.today/20120908095327/http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/94/1/year-2008/dokument_id-11578/index.html), quote: "Das ZDF, mein Sender, hat im Herbst des Jahres 2003 nach dem besten Deutschen der Geschichte gefragt. Ich habe für Konrad Adenauer gekämpft, weil er den geschlagenen demoralisierten Deutschen nach dem Krieg ein neues Selbstbewusstsein gegeben hat." ("The ZDF, my station, was asking in autumn 2003 for the best German in History. I fought for Konrad Adenauer, because he gave the defeated demoralized Germans new self-consciousness after the war.")

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [Short biography](http://www.randomhouse.de/author_new/author.jsp?per=3576), randomhouse.de. Accessed 5 May 2022. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080215200319/http://www.randomhouse.de/author_new/author.jsp?per=3576) 15 February 2008 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Marktschreier des Tages: Tom Cruise/Guido Knopp (Pitchman of the Day: Tom Cruise/Guido Knopp)](https://www.jungewelt.de/2008/01-21/048.php), JungeWelt.de. 21 January 2008.

## External links

- [Guido Knopp](https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn%3D115725229) in the [German National Library](/source/German_National_Library) catalogue

- [ZDF-History](https://web.archive.org/web/20110718040141/http://www.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/26/0,1872,1020218,00.html) (in German)

- [Guido Knopp](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0461368/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Guido Knopp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_Knopp) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_Knopp?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.