# Jens Westemeier

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jens_Westemeier
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jens_Westemeier.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Westemeier
> Source revision: 1334594045
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Jens Westemeier** (born 1966) is a German historian and author who specialises in military history and the history of the [Nazi era](/source/Nazi_era). He has published several books on topics relating to the [Waffen-SS](/source/Waffen-SS) and its personnel and commanders.

In 2014, Westemeier researched the Waffen-SS past of the German romanist and academic [Hans Robert Jauß](/source/Hans_Robert_Jau%C3%9F) leading to the re-evaluation of the latter's past. Westemeir's research also includes the representation of the German war effort in popular culture.

## Education and career

Westemeier was born in 1966 in [Bad Berleburg](/source/Bad_Berleburg), [West Germany](/source/West_Germany).[1] After graduating from high school (*Gymnasium*), he served in the German Armed Forces ([Bundeswehr](/source/Bundeswehr)) attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the [German Special Forces](/source/German_Special_Forces). Westemeier served as a [United Nations Military Observer](/source/United_Nations_Military_Observer), including in Yugoslavia, [Kosovo](/source/Kosovo) and Afghanistan in the 1990s and 2000s.[2]

Westemeier studied history and political sciences at the [University of Regensburg](/source/University_of_Regensburg), graduating in 1997. He then worked at the [Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr](/source/Center_for_Military_History_and_Social_Sciences_of_the_Bundeswehr) ([MGFA](/source/MGFA) at that time), where he undertook research on [Joachim Peiper](/source/Joachim_Peiper), the former adjutant of [Heinrich Himmler](/source/Heinrich_Himmler).[3] In 2009, Westermeier received his Ph.D. at the Department of Military History / Cultural History of Violence at the Faculty of Philosophy at the [University of Potsdam](/source/University_of_Potsdam) with his thesis *Himmlers Krieger* ("Himmler's Warrior"), a biography of Peiper. In 2012, Westermeier was awarded the [Werner Hahlweg Prize](/source/Werner_Hahlweg_Prize), the award for achievements in military history. In 2014 Westemeier became a lecturer at the Historical Institute at the University of Potsdam.[4]

## Historian of Nazi Germany

Reviewing *Himmlers Krieger*, historian and journalist [Sven Felix Kellerhoff](/source/Sven_Felix_Kellerhoff) described *Himmlers Krieger* as a "brilliant biographical study".[5] Historian Bastian Hein suggested that the book would "provide immunity against any myths about [Peiper's] Waffen-SS career."[6] Westemeier has also conducted research on the *[SS-Junkerschule](/source/SS-Junkerschule)*. He rejects the notion that the graduates of the SS schools were a military elite. According to Westemeier, the close networking among the graduates enabled them to successfully obtain positions in close proximity to Himmler and Hitler. Ideologically homogeneous, this group produced a number of later war criminals such as Peiper, [Walter Reder](/source/Walter_Reder), and [Fritz Knoechlein](/source/Fritz_Knoechlein). The network survived the end of the war and contributed to the creation of [HIAG](/source/HIAG), the Waffen-SS lobby group which had a considerable impact on the image of the [Waffen-SS in popular culture](/source/Waffen-SS_in_popular_culture).[7] Westemeir's research on the topic appeared in the 2014 collection of essays *Die Waffen-SS. Neue Forschungen* ("The Waffen-SS: New Research") edited by [Bernd Wegner](/source/Bernd_Wegner) and [Peter Lieb](/source/Peter_Lieb).[8]

In 2014, the [University of Konstanz](/source/University_of_Konstanz) commissioned Westemeir to examine the political past of the novelist [Hans Robert Jauß](/source/Hans_Robert_Jau%C3%9F). Westemeier's research demonstrated that Jauß was likely involved in war crimes (as a company commander in 1943 in a unit that later became known as the [33rd Waffen Grenadier Division](/source/33rd_Waffen_Grenadier_Division_of_the_SS_Charlemagne_(1st_French))) and that Jauß falsified documents and glossed over his autobiography. Westemeier expanded on his work to later publish the monograph *Hans Robert Jauß. Jugend, Krieg und Internierung* ("Hans Robert Jauss. Youth, war and internment").[9]

Westemeier is a contributor to the [Military History Working Group](/source/Military_History_Working_Group), the German association for interdisciplinary war studies and military history. In this capacity, he organised the 2016 conference "The Image of the German *Landser* in Popular Culture and Popular Science" (*So war der deutsche Landser*), supported by the [Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr](/source/Center_for_Military_History_and_Social_Sciences_of_the_Bundeswehr) and the publishing house [Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh](/source/Verlag_Ferdinand_Sch%C3%B6ningh). The conference presented new research on the representation of the German war effort in film, television, and popular literature, including by such authors as [Franz Kurowski](/source/Franz_Kurowski) and [Trevor James Constable](/source/Trevor_James_Constable). According to the recap of the conference in *[H-Soz-Kult](/source/H-Soz-Kult)*, the conference has "impressively showed that even after 20 years following the controversial [Wehrmacht Exhibition](/source/Wehrmachtsausstellung), it's still necessary to dispel the traditional myths". The reviewer also finds that the event "offered insights into new research approaches that counteract the spread of popular representations of the Wehrmacht".[10]

## Books and monographs

### In German

- *Joachim Peiper (1915–1976). SS-Standartenführer. Eine Biographie* (*Soldatenschicksale des 20. Jahrhunderts als Geschichtsquelle*. Bd. 14). Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1996, ISBN 3-7648-2499-9. (2. veränderte Auflage 2004; 2. durchgesehene und veränderte Auflage 2006.
- *Himmlers Krieger. Joachim Peiper und die Waffen-SS in Krieg und Nachkriegszeit* (*[War in History (book series)](/source/War_in_History_(book_series))*. Bd. 71). Hrsg. mit Unterstützung des [Zentrums für Militärgeschichte und Sozialwissenschaften der Bundeswehr](/source/Zentrum_f%C3%BCr_Milit%C3%A4rgeschichte_und_Sozialwissenschaften_der_Bundeswehr), Schöningh, Paderborn u.a. 2014, ISBN 978-3-506-77241-1.
- *Jugend, Krieg und Internierung. Hans Robert Jauß, 12.12.1921 Göppingen – 01.03.1997 Konstanz. Wissenschaftliche Dokumentation*. Online-Resource, Bibliothek der Universität Konstanz, Konstanz 2015 ([online](http://kops.uni-konstanz.de/handle/123456789/30994)).
- *Hans Robert Jauß. Jugend, Krieg und Internierung*. Konstanz University Press, Konstanz 2016, ISBN 978-3-86253-082-3.
- As editor: *"So war der deutsche Landser...": Das populäre Bild der Wehrmacht*. [Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh](/source/Verlag_Ferdinand_Sch%C3%B6ningh), 2019. ISBN 978-3-506-78770-5.

### In English

- *Joachim Peiper: A Biography of Himmler's SS Commander*, [Schiffer Publishing](/source/Schiffer_Publishing), 2007, ISBN 978-0764326592.

### Contributions

- *Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 1re SS-Panzerdivision*. In: [Jean-François Muracciole](/source/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Muracciole), [Guillaume Piketty](/source/Guillaume_Piketty) (Eds.): *Encyclopédie de la Seconde Guerre mondiale*. Electronic Resource, Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris 2015, ISBN 978-2-221-19175-0.
- *Die Junkerschulgeneration*. In: [Jan Erik Schulte](/source/Jan_Erik_Schulte), [Peter Lieb](/source/Peter_Lieb), [Bernd Wegner](/source/Bernd_Wegner) (Eds.): *Die Waffen-SS. Neue Forschungen* (*Krieg in der Geschichte*. Bd. 74). Schöningh, Paderborn 2014, ISBN 978-3-506-77383-8, S. 269–285.

## References

1. [CV of Jens Westemeier](https://www.ukaachen.de/fileadmin/files/institute/geschichte-theorie-ethik-medizin/CV_Jens_Westemeier_02.2017.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171021112034/https://www.ukaachen.de/fileadmin/files/institute/geschichte-theorie-ethik-medizin/CV_Jens_Westemeier_02.2017.pdf) October 21, 2017 at the Wayback Machine, the [RWTH Aachen University](/source/RWTH_Aachen_University) web site

1. [Jens Westemeier](http://www.berlinercolloquien.de/en/guests/v-z/#!h805), *Berliner Colloquien*, a project of the [Hamburg Institute for Social Research](/source/Hamburg_Institute_for_Social_Research) in cooperation with the [Einstein Forum](/source/Einstein_Forum), Potsdam

1. [Gerhard Köbler](/source/Gerhard_K%C3%B6bler): [*Westemeier, Jens, Himmlers Krieger. Joachim Peiper und die Waffen-SS in Krieg und Nachkriegszeit*](http://www.koeblergerhard.de/ZIER-HP/ZIER-HP-04-2014/WestemeierJens-HimmlersKrieger.htm), koeblergerhard.de, retrieved 29 December 2016; Niels Weise: *Ein Nazi bis zuletzt*. In: *Einsicht* 14 (2015), S. 67.

1. [Statement by the University of Konstanz](https://www.uni-konstanz.de/testordner/news/stellungnahme-der-universitaet-konstanz-zu-hans-robert-jauss/)

1. [Sven Felix Kellerhoff](/source/Sven_Felix_Kellerhoff): [*80 GIs wurden von der SS bei Malmedy ermordet*](https://www.welt.de/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/article135478120/80-GIs-wurden-von-der-SS-bei-Malmedy-ermordet.html), [Welt Online](/source/Welt_Online), 17 December 2014.

1. Bastian Hein: *Jens Westemeier, Himmlers Krieger. Joachim Peiper und die Waffen-SS in Krieg und Nachkriegszeit*. In: *[Historische Zeitschrift](/source/Historische_Zeitschrift)* 299 (2014) 2, S. 557–559, hier: S. 559.

1. Stephan Dehn: ["Communitization and exclusion. New research on the history of the Waffen-SS"](http://www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/tagungsberichte-3573?language=en), *[H-Soz-Kult](/source/H-Soz-Kult)*, 11 March 2011.

1. Henning Pieper: "Book Reviews". *[The German Quarterly](/source/The_German_Quarterly)*. Summer2015, Vol. 88 Issue 3, p378-419. 42p. DOI: 10.1111/gequ.10242.

1. Ahlrich Meyer: ["Fake documents, beautifully colored biography"](https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/buecher/die-vergangenheit-des-romanisten-hans-robert-jauss-gefaelschte-dokumente-schoengefaerbte-biografie-ld.124152), *[Neue Zürcher Zeitung](/source/Neue_Z%C3%BCrcher_Zeitung)*, 26 October 2016.

1. Laura Notheisen: ["So was the German landser. The popular culture and popular science representation of the Wehrmacht"](http://www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/tagungsberichte-6959?language=en), *[H-Soz-Kult](/source/H-Soz-Kult)*, 31 January 2017.

## External links

- ["Hans Robert Jauß is not an individual case for historian Westemeier"](http://www.suedkurier.de/nachrichten/kultur/Fuer-den-Historiker-Westemeier-ist-Hans-Robert-Jauss-kein-Einzelfall;art10399,7887491): interview with Westemeier (in German).

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