Ian Kershaw

Sir Ian Kershaw, FBA is a British historian and author whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the worlds leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is particularly noted for his monumental biographies of Hitler.

Kershaw was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England, to Joseph Kershaw and Alice Robinson. He was educated at Counthill Grammar School, St Bedes College, Manchester, the University of Liverpool and Merton College, Oxford . He was originally trained as a medievalist but turned to the study of modern German social history in the 1970s. At first, he was mainly concerned with the economic history of Bolton Abbey. As a lecturer in medieval history at Manchester, Kershaw learnt German to study the German peasantry in the Middle Ages. In 1972, he visited Bavaria and was shocked to hear the views of an old man he met in a Munich caf who told him You English were so foolish. If only you had sided with us. Together we could have defeated Bolshevism and ruled the earth!adding in for good measure that The Jew is a louse! As a result of this incident, Kershaw became keen to learn how and why ordinary people in Germany could support the Nazi ideology .

Source: Wikipedia