Paul Hanebrink

Paul Hanebrink serves as Professor of History at Rutgers University, where he has been teaching since 2001. Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (2000), his academic career has focused on the complex intersections of religion, nationalism, and political ideology in modern European history.

His research centers on Modern East Central Europe with particular emphasis on Hungarian history. Hanebrink investigates how religious identity, particularly the concept of 'Christian Hungary,' shaped national consciousness and contributed to antisemitic political movements during the interwar period. His work examines the transnational circulation of political ideas, especially the Judeo-Bolshevik myth that linked Jewish identity with communist revolution across national boundaries.

Hanebrink's publications reveal a consistent focus on the relationship between religious identity and political ideology in twentieth-century Europe. His work demonstrates how religious concepts were deployed to define national boundaries and justify exclusionary politics. The trajectory of his scholarship shows increasing attention to transnational connections in European intellectual history, tracing how ideas about religion, nationalism, and Jewish identity crossed borders and adapted to local contexts.

Hanebrink has authored two major monographs: In Defense of Christian Hungary: Religion, Nationalism, and Antisemitism, 1890-1944 (Cornell University Press, 2006) and A Specter Haunting Europe: The Myth of Judeo-Bolshevism (Harvard University Press, 2018), which has received significant scholarly attention for its comprehensive analysis of this dangerous political myth.

At Rutgers, Hanebrink teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including History of the Holocaust, Eastern Europe (1800-1948), Jews of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and specialized seminars on religion and secularization in modern Europe. His teaching reflects his research interests in European history, religious studies, and the history of political ideologies.