Konrad Hugo Jarausch

Konrad H. Jarausch died on September 1, 2026 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was born on August 14, 1941 in Magdeburg, Germany, the only son of Charlotte Petri and Konrad Jarausch, who died in Russia without ever meeting his son. He grew up in Krefeld, West Germany and after completing his Abitur at the classical high school, he set out for Laramie, Wyoming, partly to escape the conformity of post-war Germany and mostly to experience the American West. There he decided to enroll at the University of Wyoming, where he played varsity soccer, became a member of the student senate, and received his BA in American Studies (1963). He continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focused on modern European history, receiving his MA (1964) and PhD (1969). It was there that he met the love of his life, Hannelore Flessa Jarausch, then in the PhD program in French at Wisconsin, thanks to a blind date arranged by a student.

His first faculty appointment was at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he taught from 1968 until 1983. During that time, he spent a year at the Shelby Cullom Davis Center at Princeton and a year and a half at the University of Saarbrücken in Germany. In 1983 he was appointed the Lurcy Professor of European Civilization in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he became a beloved teacher of modern Europe, modern Germany, and German studies until his retirement. In 1993 he co-founded the Center for European Studies at UNC. From 1998 to 2006 he was proud to serve as co-director of the Leibniz Center for Contemporary History in Potsdam, Germany, pioneering new approaches to GDR history and building ties to the US. Over the years he benefited from teaching, research, and writing opportunities at the Woodrow Wilson Center (Washington, DC), the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford), the University of Goettingen, Leipzig University, Bielefeld University, the Free University in Berlin, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study . Over the course of his long career, he enjoyed mentoring many graduate students, collaborating with colleagues across a wide range of fields, and building bridges to foster relationships between Germany and the US.

His over forty books and hundreds of articles demonstrate the breadth of his research and the variety of his methods and interests. Initially focusing more on diplomatic and political issues, he later expanded into quantitative methods and social and cultural history. His early work explored questions which are relevant today, such as the cultural and religious roots of the rise of fascism. In his later years he focused on what happened after the reunification of Germany and wrote a defense of modern Europe and the European Union (in Embattled Europe: A Progressive Alternative). His volume on Europe after World War Two, Out of Ashes, was awarded the Bronislaw Geremek Prize of the College of Europe in Warsaw, Poland, in 2016. This was also translated into Japanese. He reached broader audiences with the publication of the war letters of his father in Reluctant Accomplice, and with Broken Lives, his biographical study of Germans between 1900 and the postwar period. His part-personal, part-professional autobiography, The Burden of German History, appeared in 2023. Like many of his works, this was published in both English and German.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, Konrad always made time for family, friends and his passions. From his earliest days, sports and outdoor activities figured prominently in his sense of self. From a very young age he loved hiking and skiing; Konrad even worked as a ski instructor on the side while in graduate school. He later took up sailing, swimming, running, tennis, and biking. His active life outside of work provided an excellent counterbalance to hours of intellectual engagement. Fishing at the Outer Banks with Hannelore was a yearly adventuresome activity. Travel and cultural exploration, along with classical music, literature, and theatre were life-long engagements too. He loved to share these experiences with his family and friends, and many of his passions live on in his children and grandchildren.

Konrad lived an accomplished life. He leaves to mourn his passing his wife of 59 years, Hannelore Flessa Jarausch, his sons Konrad and Peter, his grandchildren Tyson, Anneliese, Charlotte, and Johanna, as well as his daughters-in-law, Melissa Ober and Shannon Tracey, his brother-in-law Karl Flessa and sister-in-law Mari Jensen.

A celebration of his life is planned for November 7. Details will follow.

• If you wish to honor his memory, the family suggests donations to the Konrad  H. Jarausch Essay Prize for Advanced Graduate Students in Central European History (104697). Please go to Carolina Giving (https://give.unc.edu/) and search for the Konrad Jarausch Prize or the fund number 104697.