Raffael Scheck

Raffael Scheck is the John J. and Cornelia V. Gibson Professor of History and Associate Chair of the History Department at Colby College. Since 1994, he has taught modern European and German history, served as department chair (2000-2003, 2005-2008, 2014-15), and directed the Jewish Studies Program (2011-14, 2016-17, 2024-25). He holds a habilitation degree in Modern History from the University of Basel (2003), a Ph.D. in Comparative European History from Brandeis University (1993), and a Lizentiat from the University of Zürich (1988).

• Education: Habilitation (2003), Ph.D. (1993), Lizentiat (1988), and musical training as a cello student in Zürich (1980-81).

His research focuses on World War II, particularly French Black African soldiers' massacres (1940), German political history (1914-1945), and civilian internees in Nazi Germany. He also explores intersections of German history and literature, modern European politics, and postwar decolonization. His work on POWs and colonial soldiers has influenced documentaries and public discourse.

Recent publications examine Western prisoners’ interactions with German women, the 1940 Western European War through diaries, and ongoing research on civilian internees. His books include analysis of French colonial soldiers' captivity (2014), forbidden love relations during WWII (2020), and a 2024 German-language work on 1940’s defeat of France via first-person accounts.