Work

German History 33 (4), 2015, pp. 570-87. Winner of German History journal's "Best Article of 2015" prize.

This paper considers the experiences of one particular, rarely-discussed group of 'war children': former pupils of the Napolas – the most prominent type of Nazi elite-school. Drawing upon a variety of original testimonies, the paper explores the hardships and dilemmas which Napola-pupils faced as World War II drew to a close, and the ways in which former pupils have constructed this aspect of their past.Read more...

The Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten (National-Political Education Institutes), known as Napolas for short, were the most prominent type of elite school in Nazi Germany. Founded in 1933 as a birthday present for Hitler, these boarding-schools, which educated pupils from the age of 10 upwards, were intended to train the future elite of the Third Reich in all walks of life.

A monograph based on this research project, entitled The Third Reich's Elite Schools: A History of the Napolas, has now been published by Oxford University Press.Read more...

Ancient Sparta was particularly prized as a paradigm for Prusso-German military elite-education during the 19th and 20th centuries. Analysis of two case-studies, the Royal Prussian Cadet-Corps and the Napolas, has demonstrated that generations of future German officers and putative Nazi leaders were trained to see a 'Spartan' way of life as their ultimate aspiration.

A monograph based on this research project, entitled 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 by the Classical Press of Wales.Read more...

On 7 July 2015, Helen gave a lunchtime lecture to the Rotary Club of Cambridge, entitled 'Nazis at the Leys: British public school exchange programmes with the Third Reich'. The lecture explored the exchanges which took place between the National Political Education Institutes (Napolas) and a number of British public schools during the 1930s, including The Leys School in Cambridge.

The talk was one in a series of general-interest lectures hosted by the Club throughout the year, and was well attended by local Rotarians.Read more...

Guest lecture, presented to the Rotary Club of Cambridge, 7 July 2015.Read more...

Guest lecture, presented to the Forschungskolloquium der Abteilung Historische Bildungsforschung, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 4 June 2015.Read more...

Presented at a conference entitled 'ExpertInnen Workshop: Die Klosterkammer in der NS-Zeit - Relevante Fragen, Quellenlage, vorläufige Thesen', Institut für Didaktik der Demokratie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 17 April 2015.Read more...

Presented at an international conference on Challenges in the History of Childhood, Queen Mary, University of London, 16 January 2015.Read more...

From 27th September 2014 to 18th January 2015, a selection of editions from Helen's comprehensive collection of Prussian cadet-school literature were recently displayed as part of an exhibition at Durham University's Palace Green Library, entitled 'Books for Boys: Heroism, Adventure and Empire at the Dawn of the First World War'.Read more...

On 18 November 2014, Helen gave a lecture, entitled 'When the Nazis came to Dauntsey's', to the 4th and 5th Form History Society and other interested members of the school community at Dauntsey's School, West Lavington, Wiltshire.

Dick Hargreaves, a ninety-five-year-old former pupil who participated in the exchange programme, was also present.Read more...