Gerhard Fritz

Gerhard Fritz is Professor of History and its Didactics at Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Education since winter semester 2002/03. He holds a habilitation (2002) in Modern History and Regional History from the University of Stuttgart, where he previously taught (1997-2002). His career includes 22 years as a school teacher (1980-2002) and concurrent leadership of Backnang City Archives (1990-2002).

His academic foundation includes studies in History, Germanistics, Geography, and Political Science at Stuttgart University (1975-1980), followed by a doctorate (1983) and habilitation with research on public security in the Old Empire. International engagement features collaborations with Yekaterinburg University (1997), Besançon University (2001), and Kyiv University (2005-present) on WWII ego-documents.

Professor Fritz specializes in interdisciplinary historical research spanning Medieval to Modern eras, with deep regional focus on Southwest Germany. His work integrates urban/settlement studies with social structures, military evolution (16th-20th centuries), demographic patterns, and technological history—particularly hydropower systems. He pioneers analysis of ego-documents (diaries, autobiographies) to reconstruct 20th-century everyday life while advancing history didactics through practical teaching methodologies. Additional expertise includes epigraphy, crime history, and noble/monastic institutional studies.

He has organized 15+ major exhibitions including the 1693 Franzosenjahr commemoration (1993), Rems/Murr castles exhibition (1994), and annual regional history conferences for schools (2003-2009). His scholarly impact extends through publications on National Socialism in regional contexts (1999) and democratic revolutions of 1848/49.