24 Nov 2025
LMU historian Isabel Heinemann recently became director of the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ). Her research focuses on the history of National Socialism, gender history, and the history of democracy.
“If a party like the AfD becomes part of the government, then we have a real problem on our hands.” For Professor Isabel Heinemann, this scenario would constitute a worst case. She foresees grave risks to academic freedom should the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) enter government – particularly for her own field. “Contemporary history is always hard on the heels of politics and current societal developments,” she observes. Social and political extremes have long been a central concern of her research.
Professor Isabel Heinemann has been Chair of Contemporary History at LMU and Director of the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ) since October of this year.
© Johanna WeberHow democracies can maintain resilience in the face of challenges from the right and left, from within and without – this is one of the key research questions that Heinemann and her colleagues at the IfZ will be investigating. “The democracy research setup at the IfZ is already strong,” she notes. “However, we’re adding a further dimension by examining democracies and their resilience over the course of history – and from a transnational perspective.” For Germany, this means not limiting ourselves to the Weimar Republic and the rise of National Socialism, for example, but also analyzing how the federal republic has dealt with anti-constitutional movements such as the NPD, the Republicans, and the AfD.
Another item on Heinemann’s scholarly agenda is a history of violence – research that can, she argues, help provide “meaningful historical orientation” amid today’s many global conflicts and crises.
At the heart of a planned project to explore this subject, for which LMU will hire a researcher to prepare an initial funding application, is a comparative analysis of the Nazi occupation regimes in the various regions. The research will contrast regions such as Poland, Serbia, and the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, where German policies were exceptionally brutal, with France, where only the north was subject to a true occupation regime, while the south retained a measure of autonomy under German oversight. The project aims to show how these occupation regimes shaped postwar societies across the affected regions in the long term.
Another main research interest of Heinemann’s is the history of gender in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic after 1945 – a topic she is also currently exploring in a book project. “I don’t want to treat the two German states separately, but examine them in context,” she says. She has also been able to secure support at LMU to pursue this line of research.
At its core is the relationship between public and private spheres, particularly against the background of traditional gendered assumptions that view public life as a male domain and private life as a female/family domain. In this context, protection against domestic violence is a crucial question: “When violence is directed at women or children, the state intervenes in private life. But the really interesting question is: When does it intervene?” This question will be explored in depth in a doctoral project, for which Heinemann has also secured funding at LMU.
Heinemann’s research topics focus primarily on the 20th century. “It’s the era of the world wars and unprecedented crimes against humanity like the Holocaust and the genocidal policies of the Nazis. And then after 1945, we see dramatic social transformations, processes of modernization and globalization, and their consequences – it’s an utterly compelling period,” she explains.
When violence is directed at women or children, the state intervenes in private life. But the really interesting question is: When does it intervene?Professor Isabel Heinemann
Her habilitation degree at Trier University looked at the United States of the 20th century, investigating the history of family and gender in American society. While the prevailing scholarly narrative has emphasized the increasing liberalization of American society in the second half of the century, Heinemann found that liberal and progressive values do not advance in linear fashion.
“I see more of a wave-like pattern,” she says. “Phases of liberalization have repeatedly been followed by conservative backlashes.” One example is abortion politics: In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court strengthened women’s rights to bodily autonomy with its Roe v. Wade decision, which shaped liberal abortion practice for five decades. This progress, she argues, is being rolled back, driven by consistent political pressure from the religious right and the erratic nature of the Trump administration. In June 2024, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturned Roe, once again sending strong international signals.
She sees similar dynamics at play in Germany: “The history of the federal republic has often been framed as a story of steady progress. But when you look closely, you see recurring episodes of extreme retrenchment and conservative pushback.” This, she says, also helps explain the current popularity of the AfD.
Although her dissertation and habilitation at first seem unrelated, she identifies an underlying commonality: “In both cases, racism – as expressed through things like eugenics, biologistic exclusionary policies, and fictional notions of community – and processes of social segregation act in concert as structuring forces in society.”
Heinemann is passionate about teaching: “I emphatically do not want to be just an institute director; I place great value on being embedded within the university,” she stresses. “First of all, LMU, with its strong research profile and broad disciplinary base as a university of excellence, offers outstanding opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and new research projects.” Yet teaching remains essential to her work, as engaging with students and doctoral candidates provides fresh inspiration for her research.
At LMU, she gives lectures and seminars on contemporary history, particularly National Socialism and German-German history. Although she is new to the university, her lecture this semester “has gotten off to an excellent start – even though I’m not yet well known. Usually it takes two semesters before students know who you are and what to expect.” In addition to her teaching work, she supervises a research colloquium jointly organized by LMU and the IfZ, where theses and dissertation projects are presented.
We live in a society where we can no longer assume that people are willing to read lengthy books. As such, we need to communicate our expertise in contemporary historical issues – issues of major relevance to the present – to people in ways they can access, understand, and use.Professor Isabel Heinemann
“Leading the IfZ is a tremendous privilege,” Heinemann says. Her strategic agenda for the coming years is correspondingly ambitious. She intends to strengthen synergies between the IfZ’s sites in Munich, Berlin, and Obersalzberg Documentation Center. Communication, digitalization, and internationalization will also be expanded – “naturally, without losing sight of our core mission to write contemporary German history.”
A central priority is research transfer. “We live in a society where we can no longer assume that people are willing to read lengthy books. As such, we need to communicate our expertise in contemporary historical issues – issues of major relevance to the present – to people in ways they can access, understand, and use.”
Although the IfZ already maintains a substantial digital repository of publications that are free to download, it plans to expand its digital offerings further. The institute has secured additional funding for a new Contemporary History Transfer department as of 2027. This department will strengthen the institute’s research transfer and, in particular, supply decision-makers and influential multipliers in politics and society with foundational knowledge of contemporary history in a more targeted fashion.
In an era in which extreme views and parties are increasingly attracting support, contemporary-historical research plays a vital role. It provides guidance founded in rigorous scholarship, historically contextualizes current developments, and strengthens democratic discourse – in short, it is hard on the heels of politics.