Biography
Willeke Sandler is a historian of modern Germany. She graduated with a B.A. in History
from New York University and a M.A. in History with a Certificate in Historical Agencies
and Administration from Northeastern University, before receiving her Ph.D. in History
from Duke University. Her research interests include twentieth-century Germany, social
and cultural history, nationalism/national identity within and beyond Germany's borders,
imperialism in German/European culture, and visual culture. Her research has been
published in Central European History, Contemporary European History, First World War Studies,
and the Journal of Women鈥檚 History.
Her first book, (Oxford University Press, 2018), examines the public activities of colonial lobbying
organizations in Nazi Germany and their efforts to both keep alive the memory of Germany鈥檚
overseas empire (lost in 1919 through the Treaty of Versailles) and to agitate for
the reclamation of these territories. Empire in the Heimat tells the paradoxical story of colonialists鈥� construction of a German national character
driven by overseas imperialism despite the absence of a colonial reality.
Her current project investigates the (re)creation of a German community in the British Mandate of Tanganyika (former German East Africa) and its links back to Germany during the interwar period.
Dr. Sandler is the internship coordinator for the History Department. If you are interested in completing an internship for credit, see the criteria on the department website or send Dr. Sandler an email.
Courses
- HS 100 Encountering the Past
- HS 265 The First World War
- HS 317 Germans in Africa, Africans in Germany
- HS 318 Creation of Modern Germany, 1770-1992
- HS 319 Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
- HS 362 Introduction to Public History
- HS 474 Holocaust Memory in Germany and America
Areas of Specialization
- Modern Germany
- Modern Europe
- Imperialism
- Nationalism
- Public history