Katja Hoyer
German-British historian (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katja Hoyer (born 1985)[1] is a German-British[2] historian, journalist and writer.[3][4]
Katja Hoyer | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Hoyer, 2024 | |
| Born | 1985 (age 40–41) |
| Occupations | Historian, journalist, writer |
| Known for | Work on East Germany |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Jena (MA) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History |
Sub-discipline | History of modern Germany |
| Institutions | King's College London |
Notable works | Beyond the Wall |
| Website | katjahoyer |
Life and career
Hoyer was born in Wilhelm-Pieck-Stadt Guben, Bezirk Cottbus, German Democratic Republic (GDR),[5] where her mother was a teacher and her father an officer of the National People's Army.[6] She received a Master's degree from the University of Jena[3] and moved to the United Kingdom in about 2010.[7]
Hoyer is a visiting research fellow at King's College London and has published two books about the history of Germany.[8] She is also a journalist for The Spectator,[9] The Washington Post,[10] Times Literary Supplement,[11] UnHerd,[12] and Die Welt.[3]
Her first book, Blood and Iron, about the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, was well reviewed,[13][14] even though some reviewers suggested that she had played down the negative aspects of the period and of Otto von Bismarck's legacy.[15][16] Her second book, Beyond the Wall, about the history of the GDR from 1949 to 1990, was well reviewed in the United Kingdom,[1][17][18][19][20] but less well received in Germany.[6]
Hoyer is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.[3]
Works
Books
- Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871–1918 (The History Press, 2021) ISBN 9780750996228
- Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949–1990 (Random House, 2023) [21][22][23]
- Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe (Allen Lane, 2026) ISBN 9781541605794
Articles
Film
- Hoyer served as Lead Historical Adviser and Technical Consultant for the 2025 BIFA-qualifying Cold War-set short film Whispers of Freedom, based on the true story of Chris Gueffroy.[27][28][29]. The film had its German Premiere at the DDR Museum in Berlin, and regularly screens at the Museum's exhibition cinema - including on the 5th February in commemoration of Gueffroy's death.[30]