Professional Background
Gavin Wiens is an assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto, where he also received a PhD. His research interests include politics and the military in 19th and 20th century Germany; war and society from the French Revolution through World War II; and the role of the Wehrmacht in the Holocaust.
In addition to teaching courses on modern Europe, the Holocaust, and war and society at the University of Toronto, Dr. Wiens has served as an expert advisor to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) for the exhibition Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away. He has also worked with the Toronto Holocaust Museum, offering training workshops for educators who teach the Holocaust.
His first book, titled The Imperial German Army Between Kaiser and King: Monarchy, Nation-Building, and War, 1866-1918, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2023, explored the intersection of national integration, monarchical power, and military affairs in Germany between the Wars of Unification (1864-1871) and the end of World War I. He has also published articles in numerous academic journals and edited volumes.
His research has previously been funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); the German Historical Institute, Washington, DC; the Central European History Society; the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies; and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Fellowship Research
While at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a Broadening Academia Initiative Hybrid Fellow, Gavin Wiens will conduct research on the German army’s relationship with the franc-tireur, or partisan fighter, from the 18th century through World War II. His project aims to show that a range of factors, including the changing nature of warfare, political and social developments, geography, and ideological forces, combined to create an image of the franc-tireur as an omnipresent and ruthless foe. Dr. Wiens will demonstrate that this perception, in turn, shaped the behavior of German soldiers towards civilians–and in particular Jews–during the Holocaust.
Fellowship Period: November 1, 2025 – April 30, 2026