Karl Schlögel (born 7 March 1948 inHawangen, Bavaria, Germany) is a noted German historian of Eastern Europe who specialises in modern Russia, the history ofStalinism, the Russian diaspora and dissident movements, Eastern European cultural history and theoretical problems of historical narration.
Schlögel studied philosophy, sociology, East European History and Slavic Studies at theFree University of Berlin from 1969 to 1981; this choice was inspired by visits to Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union in 1965 and 1966 respectively. In these years he was actively involved in the left-wing student movement, publishing articles in various journals and articles. He reflected on this chapter in his life in the volume "Partei kaputt: Das Scheitern der KPD und die Krise der Linken" (Party kaputt: The failure of the West German Communist Party and the crisis of the Left.).[1] In 1982-1983 he went to the M. V. LomonosovMoscow State University on a research fellowship of theGerman Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). On his return he worked as freelance as translator and author, writing also for many German newspapers and journals.
From 1990 to 1994 he held the chair in East European History at theUniversity of Konstanz, and in October 1994 was appointed to the Chair of East European History at theEuropean University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder, (Emeritus Professor since 2013.)[2]
In 2005 Schlögel was awarded theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany,[3] and in July 2025 it was announced that he will receive theFriedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels at theFrankfurt Book Fair in October.[4]
He has been highly critical of Russian annexations of and attacks on Ukrainian territory from 2014 to the present.[5][6]
On 19 October 2025 Karl Schlögel was awarded theFriedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels.[7]
He is the author of numerous highly acclaimed monographs and the winner of theLeipzig Book Fair Prize for non-fiction in 2018 for his most recent work.[8][9] His earlier work appeared in English in 2012 asMoscow 1937.[10][11] For this work he received the Preis des Historischen Kollegs in 2016.
In English
