Lothar Höbelt


Lothar Höbelt is an Austrian historian and adjunct professor of Modern History at the University of Vienna, known for his right-wing and nationalist viewpoints. His research areas are political and constitutional history of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the Thirty Years' War. He also lectures at the Theresian Military Academy.
He studied history at the University of Vienna from 1974 to 1981, earning his doctorate Sub auspiciis Praesidentis. He was affiliated with universities in the United Kingdom and the United States, including the University of Chicago, until he was appointed adjunct Professor of Modern History at the University of Vienna in 1997. He once sympathized with the Freedom Party of Austria, including contributing to their 1997 manifesto. In the 2000s he sympathized more with the Austrian People's Party under the chancellorship of Wolfgang Schüssel. However, he supported the presidential candidacy of Freedom Party politician Barbara Rosenkranz in 2010 and was the head of her supporting committee.

Controversies

He has received some criticism for his right wing views, in particular for choosing to contribute to a Festschrift book for Holocaust denier David Irving, whose works he has characteristed as "historical discussions". In 2019, the Students' Union of the University of Vienna condemned his participation in a conference organised by far-right groups, and there were some calls from left-wing student factions for his dismissal.

Selected publications