Katja is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She is the author of the bestsellers Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918 and Beyond the Wall: East Germany 1949-1990, which have been translated into many languages. Her latest book is Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe.​

Katja is currently a columnist for the Berliner Zeitung and a regular contributor to Bloomberg, BBC programmes and other British, American and German media outlets, commenting on current political affairs in Germany and Europe as well as on historical topics and books. Katja has contributed to many TV and radio productions in on- and off-screen roles. She has advised public and private institutions on topical issues in Germany.

Research interests and PhD supervision

• East Germany 1945-1989
• German national history
• The Second Reich 1871-1918

Selected publications

• Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire, 1871-1918 (2021)
• Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990 (2023)
• Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe (2026)

Expertise and public engagement

Substack: ZEITGEIST

Contributing journalist at Bloomberg

Columnist at Berliner Zeitung

Articles for The Telegraph, UnHerd, The Guardian, The Spectator, The Times, The Washington Post, The FT, The TLS

Programmes for the BBC

Political commentary on radio and TV news channels