Biography
is Associate Professor in Modern European Cultural History at Durham University. Her second book, a history of the Napolas, is forthcoming with Oxford University Press.
Her first book, Sparta’s German Children: The ideal of ancient Sparta in the Royal Prussian Cadet Corps, 1818-1920, and in National Socialist elite schools (the Napolas), 1933-1945, was published in 2013, and has subsequently received critical acclaim from reviewers in several disciplines, including Classics, intellectual history, and the history of education. Her article ‘Surviving Stunde Null‘ was also awarded German History journal’s “Best Article of 2015” prize. Previously, Helen held Research Fellowships at UCL Institute of Advanced Studies and the University of Cambridge, having completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. Her research has been funded by (among others) the AHRC, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
Other research interests include:
- humanistic education in Nazi Germany
- history and memory in post-war Germany
- youth exchange during the 20th century; Anglo-German relations
- Greco-German relations and philhellenism from the 18th century to the present
- Austrian history in the inter-war period; comparative study of 20th-century fascist regimes