Russian Studies Workshop

Jochen Hellbeck teaches Russian and European history at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. His research over the past two decades has centered on individual life stories and the shaping of the self in modern Europe, with a primary focus on the Soviet Union. He is the author of Revolution on My Mind: Writing a Diary under Stalin (Harvard University Press, 2006), and Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich (PublicAffairs, 2015). Currently he is working on two book projects: “Soviet Suffering under Nazi Rule” explores the first testimonies provided by Soviet survivors and other witnesses in the immediate aftermath of German occupation. A monograph with the provisional title, "Total War,” presents a new reading of the Second World War centering on the elephant in the room - the Soviet Union.  In 2009 and 2010 he visited former soldiers who had fought at Stalingrad in their homes in Russia and Germany.  His website, facingstalingrad.com, features their portraits and voices.