Gordon A. Craig Obituary: Stanford Historian Of Germany
Gordon A. Craig, considered America's dean of German historians and a respected professor at Stanford University, has died. He was 91.
Craig, perhaps best known for his books "Germany" and "The Germans," died Oct. 30 of heart failure at the Sequoias, a nursing facility in Portola Valley, Calif., Stanford officials announced.
The prolific writer and educator was described as "the most distinguished historian of modern Germany in this country and possibly one of the greatest in the world" by his colleague Peter Stansky, also a retired Stanford professor of history, in a statement released by Stanford officials.
"He was among a handful of people in the late '50s and early '60s who ... helped elevate Stanford from a good local university to a great national university," added James Sheehan, the university's Dickason Professor in the Humanities.
Author of a dozen books on Germany and editor of many more, Craig concentrated on writing after retiring from Stanford and became a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. He was also consulted by politicians and the news media on changes in modern Germany, including the nation's reunification in 1990.
In reviewing Craig's "Germany: 1866-1945" for the Washington Post in 1979, UCLA history professor Peter Loewenberg said the book carried forward the "study of the integral relationship between military and political affairs and the fabric of German society that has been the hallmark and essential contribution of Craig's work."
Loewenberg praised Craig's "deft and intelligent handling" of historic material and concluded, "Altogether this is the best contemporary statement of modern German history in the classical mode."
Craig, perhaps best known for his books "Germany" and "The Germans," died Oct. 30 of heart failure at the Sequoias, a nursing facility in Portola Valley, Calif., Stanford officials announced.
The prolific writer and educator was described as "the most distinguished historian of modern Germany in this country and possibly one of the greatest in the world" by his colleague Peter Stansky, also a retired Stanford professor of history, in a statement released by Stanford officials.
"He was among a handful of people in the late '50s and early '60s who ... helped elevate Stanford from a good local university to a great national university," added James Sheehan, the university's Dickason Professor in the Humanities.
Author of a dozen books on Germany and editor of many more, Craig concentrated on writing after retiring from Stanford and became a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. He was also consulted by politicians and the news media on changes in modern Germany, including the nation's reunification in 1990.
In reviewing Craig's "Germany: 1866-1945" for the Washington Post in 1979, UCLA history professor Peter Loewenberg said the book carried forward the "study of the integral relationship between military and political affairs and the fabric of German society that has been the hallmark and essential contribution of Craig's work."
Loewenberg praised Craig's "deft and intelligent handling" of historic material and concluded, "Altogether this is the best contemporary statement of modern German history in the classical mode."