• 2025 to 2027 (together with Dennis Hormuth from the University Archives Hamburg) Implementation of the archival research project "Rechtebewehrtes Kleinschrifttum in Archiven. Archival cataloguing, rights clearance and provision of (partially) anonymous, out-of-print and non-commercial works using the example of small publications from the student context" as part of the DFG pilot funding phase "Digitisation and provision of (still) rights-protected objects"
  
• since Oct. 2023 Master's programme in Archival Science at the Department of Information Sciences at the FH Potsdam
  
• since Apr. 2023 Member of the Board of the Friends and Sponsors of the Oldenburg City Museum
  
• since Dec. 2022 Head of the University Archive at the University of Oldenburg
  
• since Oct. 2022 Lecturer at the Institute of History at the University of Oldenburg
  
• 2022 to 2024 Editor of the essay section of the journal of the Association for Hamburg History
  
• 2021/22 Research assistant in the oral history project "Remembered Oldenburg University History - Contemporary Witnesses Report on the Early Decades of the Carl von Ossietzky University" on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the University of Oldenburg (2023/24), University Archives at BIS
  
• 2021 to 2025 Deputy Chair of the Historical Club of the Friends of the Department of History at the University of Hamburg
  
• Nov./Dec. 2020 Publication project for the 100th anniversary of the Hamburg Constitution of 1921, Hamburg State Centre for Political Education
  
• 2020 to 2024 Associate research assistant and co-editor in the research and publication project "100 Years of the University of Hamburg", University of Hamburg, Centre for University History
  
• 2020 to 2023 Editorial support for the thematic focus "Contemporary History of the Right" on zeitgeschichte-online.de
  
• Jan. 2018 Doctorate in Medieval and Modern History at the University of Hamburg (magna cum laude); dissertation on "Bürgerliche Geschichtswelten in einer modernen Metropole. The Association for Hamburg History in the Years 1912 to 1974" (Supervision: Prof. Dr Dr Rainer Hering and Prof. Dr Franklin Kopitzsch)
  
• 2017 to 2020 Research assistant and co-editor in the research and publication project "100 Years of the University of Hamburg", University of Hamburg, Centre for University History
  
• 2017 to 2019 Coordination of the five-semester lecture series "100 Years of the University of Hamburg", University of Hamburg, Centre for University History
  
• 2017 to 2021 Lecturer at the Hamburg branch of Smith College (Northampton/USA)
  
• 2017 to 2022 Organisation of the lecture programme of the Association for Hamburg History
  
• 2016 Research assistant in the editing project of the letters of the historian Erich Marcks to Hamburg's Senator for Science and Mayor Werner von Melle from 1899 to 1933, University of Hamburg, Centre for Hamburg History
  
• 2015 to 2025 Member of the board of the Association for Hamburg History
  
• 2011 to 2019 Coordination of the lecture series "Junge Hamburger Geschichtswissenschaft"
  
• 2010 to 2012 Research assistant in the research and publication project "Hamburgische Biografie. Personenlexikon", University of Hamburg, Centre for Hamburg History
  
• 2006 to 2017 Multimedia assistant, tagesschau.de editorial team, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Hamburg

Research focus:

• Educational, academic and university history of the 20th century (with a focus on historiography and student history as well as university history from the 1960s onwards)
• Cultures of memory and remembrance
• Social and cultural history of the middle classes
• Urban history of Hamburg in the modern era

Ongoing projects:

Remembered Oldenburg university history - contemporary witnesses report on the early decades of the University of Oldenburg

Edition of the letters of the historian Erich Marcks to Hamburg's Senator for Science and Mayor Werner von Melle from the years 1899 to 1933

Completed projects:

100 years of the University of Hamburg (1919-2019)

Monographs

Bourgeois Historical Worlds under National Socialism. The Association for Hamburg History between Perseverance and Self-Mobilisation (Contributions to the History of Hamburg, Vol. 67). Göttingen 2019.

Bourgeois Historical Worlds in a Modern Metropolis. The Association for Hamburg History from 1912 to 1974. Hamburg 2018; ediss.sub.uni-hamburg.de/voll-texte/2018/9224.

Editors

(Edited with Rainer Nicolaysen and Eckart Krause) 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of the University and Science in Hamburg in four volumes. Vol. 4: Mathematics, Computing Science, Natural Sciences, Medicine. Göttingen 2024.

(Edited with Karen Bruhn) University Culture(s) Beyond the History of Disciplines – Contemporary Historical Reflections on the Kiel Department of History (Kiel Studies in the History of Universities and Science, Vol. 3). Kiel 2023. [Link]

(Edited with Rainer Nicolaysen and Eckart Krause) 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of the University and Science in Hamburg in Four Volumes. Vol. 3: Education, Social Sciences, Economics, Law. Göttingen 2022.

The Constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg of 7 January 1921. Introduced and annotated by Gunnar B. Zimmermann and Franklin Kopitzsch. Hamburg 2021.

(Edited with Rainer Nicolaysen and Eckart Krause) 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of the University and Science in Hamburg in Four Volumes. Vol. 2: Humanities, Theology, Psychology. Göttingen 2021.

(Edited with Rainer Nicolaysen and Eckart Krause) 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of the University and Science in Hamburg in four volumes. Vol. 1: General Aspects and Developments. Göttingen 2020.

Essays and shorter contributions

(with Dennis Hormuth) Small-scale student publications in the formation of archival heritage and the shifting boundaries of their usability. In: ARCHIV. theorie & praxis 78 (2025), 3, pp. 241–243.

(with Dennis Hormuth) Student micro-publications in the formation of archival heritage. Project funding by the German Research Foundation. On: Universities – History – Sources (18 February 2025). URL: https://uniquellen.hypotheses.org/1052 (last accessed 18 February 2025).

(with Karolin Bubke) Content rather than metadata: Students from Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts as ‘Science to the public’ bloggers for the Oldenburg University Archives. In: Archive News Lower Saxony. Communications from Lower Saxony’s Archives 28 (2024), pp. 105–109.

German historical societies during the Nazi era and in the early post-war years. An exploratory study using the Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte as a case study. In: Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte 158 (2023), pp. 321–340.

(with Martin Göllnitz) In the Shadow of University History. An Outline of Research on the Historiography of Students in the Interwar Period. In: University Registers. University Enrolment Records in Archival Collections and Digital Presentation (Publication Series of the University Archives of Hamburg, Vol. 1). Edited by Dennis Hormuth. Stuttgart 2023, pp. 23–55.

The Hamburg Workers’ A-Level Courses of 1923 and 1927. An educational policy initiative with long-term effects. In: Education and Democracy in the Weimar Republic (Weimar Writings on the Republic, Vol. 19). Edited by Andreas Braune, Sebastian Elsbach and Ronny Noack. Stuttgart 2022, pp. 3–15.

(with Rainer Nicolaysen and Eckart Krause) Introduction. In: 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of the University and Science in Hamburg. Vol. 3: Education, Social Sciences, Economics, Law. Edited by Rainer Nicolaysen, Eckart Krause and Gunnar B. Zimmermann. Göttingen 2022, pp. 7–18.

In the Service of Nazi Cultural Policy. The Museum of Hamburg History from 1933 to 1945. In: 100 Years of the Museum of Hamburg History. 1922 to 2022. Edited by Hans-Jörg Czech and Bettina Probst. Hamburg/Dresden 2022, pp. 94–101.

(with Franklin Kopitzsch) How the people of Hamburg experienced the Revolution of 1918–19. Individual interpretations in personal accounts. In: Hamburg in the November Revolution 1918–19. Dynamics of Political and Social Transformation in the Urban Metropolis (Gender, Diversity and Culture in History and Politics, Vol. 2). Edited by Johanna Meyer-Lenz, Franklin Kopitzsch and Markus Hedrich. Bielefeld 2022, pp. 375–392.

(with Franklin Kopitzsch) The Hamburg Constitution of 1921. Democratic renewal and a new spirit in the Weimar Republic. In: The Constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg of 7 January 1921. Introduced and annotated by Gunnar B. Zimmermann and Franklin Kopitzsch. Hamburg 2021, pp. 6–19.

(with Rainer Nicolaysen and Eckart Krause) Introduction. In: 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of Hamburg’s University and Academia. Vol. 2: Humanities, Theology, Psychology. Edited by Rainer Nicolaysen, Eckart Krause and Gunnar B. Zimmermann. Göttingen 2021, pp. 9–20.

Counter-commemorative publications marking West German university anniversaries from the 1960s to the 1990s as alternative forms of remembrance between protest and academic rigour In: Staged History. Mediality and Politics of European University Anniversaries from 1850 to the Present (Media of History, Vol. 5). Edited by Anton F. Guhl and Gisela Hürlimann. Berlin/Boston 2021, pp. 223–244. [peer-reviewed]

Intrigue, Suspension and Compulsory Administration. Reactions of the Hamburg Student Body to the Higher Education Act of 1921. In: Journal of the Society for Hamburg History 107 (2021), pp. 85–109.

Traditional areas of activity for historical societies as paths to the future. In: *Sächsische Heimatblätter*, Issue 1, 2021, pp. 101–103.

(with Rainer Nicolaysen and Eckart Krause) Introduction. In: 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of Hamburg’s University and Academia. Vol. 1: General Aspects and Developments. Edited by the authors. Göttingen 2020, pp. 9–30.

Between the ‘Greater German’ mission and grassroots democratic resistance. Approaches to a history of student life at the University of Hamburg from its foundation in 1919 to 1994. In: 100 Years of the University of Hamburg. Studies on the History of the University and Science in Hamburg. Vol. 1: General Aspects and Developments. Edited by Rainer Nicolaysen, Eckart Krause and Gunnar B. Zimmermann. Göttingen 2020, pp. 252–306.

The Dual Founding Ideology. On the Origins of the University of Hamburg between Bourgeois-Academic Elite Consciousness and the Demand for Democratic Reform. In: A University for All? On the Founding History of the University of Hamburg. Edited by Nils Steffen and Benjamin Roers. Hamburg 2019, pp. 11–17.

(with Franklin Kopitzsch) The Revolution of 1918–19 in Hamburg Eyewitness Accounts. In: Revolution! Revolution? Hamburg 1918–19. Edited by Hans-Jörg Czech, Olaf Matthes and Ortwin Pelc. In collaboration with the Association for Hamburg History. Kiel/Hamburg 2018, pp. 310–317.

The potential influence of academic networks on the organisation of scholarship under National Socialism. Paul Johansen’s appointment to the Department of History at the Hansische University in 1940–41. In: University History in Practice. Findings from Recent Research. In Honour of Eckart Krause on his 70th Birthday (Hamburg Contributions to the History of Science, Special Issue). Edited by Anton F. Guhl, Malte Habscheidt and Alexandra Jaeger. Berlin/Hamburg 2013, pp. 145–161.

(with Claudia Kemper and Thorsten Logge, amongst others) The ‘Geschichtsbureau’ – a skills workshop for the History Department at the University of Hamburg. In: Competence-Oriented University Teaching. Subject-Specific and Interdisciplinary Teaching Innovations (PAradigma. Contributions from Research and Teaching from the Centre for Teacher Training, Subject and Higher Education Didactics 2011/2012). Edited by Ulrike Senger. Passau 2012, pp. 272–293.

‘The obligation to serve the national community is becoming increasingly recognised’. The exhibition practice of the Hamburg State and University Library during the Nazi era. In: Auskunft. Journal for Libraries, Archives and Information in Northern Germany 31 (2011), pp. 53–72.

Complementary Spaces of Identity – Regional Historical Landscapes in Hamburg’s Bourgeois Culture of Remembrance from 1918 to 1933. In: The Memory of City and Region. Historical Narratives in Northern Germany (Hamburger Zeitspuren, Vol. 7). Edited by Janina Fuge, Rainer Hering and Harald Schmid. Hamburg/Munich 2010 (2nd ed. 2011), pp. 15–38, 150–161.

Creative protest for the University of Oldenburg: The 1976 bicycle demonstration
Historical evening at the Oldenburg Regional Association, 19 March 2026.

The Association for Hamburg History under National Socialism: between perseverance and self-mobilisation
Conference ‘Urban History in Society. The Vienna Historical Society 1853–2003’, Association for the History of Vienna/Institute of History/Vienna City and Provincial Archives, 21 November 2025.

Different audio formats and their use. A brief overview
Annual meeting of the Oral History Working Group, German Emigration Centre, Bremerhaven, 15 November 2024.

Beilstein’s “Uni-Köpfe” in the context of Oldenburg’s university history
Opening event for the exhibition ‘A Chair Tells University History. Klaus Beilstein’s “Uni-Köpfe” in the Oldenburg University Archives’, Oldenburg University Archives, University of Oldenburg, 4 November 2024.

(in collaboration with Heiko Garrelts) Oral History – Experiences from the interview projects of the University Archives of Bremen and Oldenburg
Spring conference of VdA Section 8 at the Oldenburg University Archives, 14 March 2024.

(in collaboration with Norbert Henzel) Collection preservation, preventative conservation and contingency planning – measures to protect university collections
Series of lectures ‘Curatorial Practice in University Collections’, Institute of Material Culture/Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 19 October 2023.

A gem of bourgeois cultural history – The library of the Association for Hamburg History in the 20th century until its destruction during Operation Gomorrah
Association for Hamburg History, Hamburg, 18 October 2023.

University Archive Holdings in Teaching. Impressions from three co-operation projects
Annual Conference of the Working Group of North German University Archives in Oldenburg, 29 June 2023

(together with Karen Bruhn) Presentation of the publication “University Culture(s) Beyond the History of Disciplines”
Research Centre of Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, 17 February 2023.

Historical Societies in the Weimar Republic and the ‘Third Reich’ – Opportunities and Perspectives for Critical Research
Colloquium marking the 150th anniversary of the Chemnitz Historical Society, 16 November 2022

Institutional history as oral history: the history of the University of Oldenburg since the 1970s
Conference ‘Writing the history of academies: a comparison of historiographical perspectives’ at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, 12 October 2022

German Historical Societies during the Nazi era and the early post-war years – an exploratory study using the example of the Society for Hamburg History
State History Day 2021 in Lübeck, organised by the Federation of German Historical and Archaeological Societies in collaboration with the Society for Lübeck History and Archaeology, 30 October 2021.

The Myth of Liberal Hamburg – Deconstructing a Bourgeois Narrative
RingVL ‘Hamburg Myths in the 19th and 20th Centuries’ (Andocken 19), General Lecture Series of the University of Hamburg, 26 January 2021.

Historical Societies and German Historical Scholarship – Insights into a Turbulent Relationship with Potential
Keynote address for the workshop ‘Formats – Networking – Perspectives. Historical Societies in Saxony in the 21st Century’ in Dresden, Association for Saxon Regional History, 18 September 2020.

The Hamburg Workers’ A-Level Courses in 1923 and 1927 – an educational innovation with long-term effects
Conference ‘Education and Democracy in the Weimar Republic’, Weimar Republic e. V. and the Weimar Republic Research Centre at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 26–28 August 2020.

‘Counter-commemorative publications’ marking university anniversaries as alternative forms of remembrance, straddling the line between protest and academic rigour
Workshop ‘University Anniversaries: Between History, the Present and the Future’, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of History/Institute for the Future of Technology, 19 June 2020.

Historical societies as actors in regional historical research and as subjects of the history of science
Workshop organised by the Regional History Working Group of the Association of German Historians on the topic ‘Methods of Regional History’, Stuttgart, 13 December 2019.

Paul Trummer (1862–1915) – bourgeois collecting practices as a cultural technique and contribution to scholarship
Keynote address at the opening of the student exhibition ‘100 Years of the Trummer Collection at the State Archives’, Hamburg State Archives, 13 June 2019.

Civic Historical Worlds under National Socialism ( book launch)
Association for Hamburg History, Hamburg, 24 April 2019.

How the People of Hamburg Experienced the Revolution of 1918/19. Individual Interpretations in Personal Accounts
RingVL ‘November Revolution 1918/19’ (Part 2), University of Hamburg, 13 February 2019.

Ten Editions of ‘Young Hamburg Historiography (JHG)’ – The Origins and Development of a Lecture Series
JHG lecture series, University of Hamburg, 7 January 2019.

Mass University, Study Reform and the ‘Muff’ Campaign
‘Schnöde Neue Welt’ lecture series as part of the Social Sciences Orientation Programme, University of Hamburg, 9 October 2018.

Students at the University of Hamburg between welfare provision, co-determination and political mandate (1919–1994)
RingVL ‘(Almost) 100 Years of the University of Hamburg’ (Part 3), University of Hamburg, 10 July 2018.

Co-determination, self-governance and political mandate. The student body’s scope for democracy in Hamburg between the university’s foundation and 1968
RingVL ‘And every beginning has its own magic …’, University of Hamburg, 31 May 2018.

“It is only with a heavy heart that I could sever the ties that bind me to Hamburg”. The historian Erich Marcks (1891–1938) as a ‘homo academicus’ and champion of the university project
RingVL ‘(Almost) 100 Years of the University of Hamburg’ (Part 2), University of Hamburg, 12 December 2017.

The 1918–19 Revolution in Hamburg Eyewitness Accounts
Symposium ‘The 1918–19 Revolution in Hamburg: Events, Comparisons and Assessments’ in Hamburg, Research Centre for Contemporary History in Hamburg and Museum of Hamburg History, 30 June 2017.