In Memoriam

Dr. Stephan Huck, 1970 - 2024

The German naval history community suffered another loss this past month with the passing of Dr. Stephan Huck, Director of the Deutsche Marinemuseum.

Dr. Keith W. Bird

I join our colleagues in Germany in recognizing the passing of Stephan Huck whose legacy as the innovative director of the Deutsche Marinemuseum in Wilhelmshaven will continue to contribute to our understanding of the navy’s role in German history.  His creative exhibitions and programs introduced new research and themes to expand the study of Germany’s naval history within the broader context of political, social, and cultural history and new methodologies as he demonstrated in his own scholarship, particularly his articulate assessment of the current state of German naval historiography in the 2016 anthology Die Kriegsmarine: Eine Bestandsaufnahme.  Having met him first through his participation at the McMullen Naval History Symposium at the US Naval Academy and his hosting of a personal tour of the Museum this past June, I was impressed by achievements in presenting all aspects of Germany’s navies up to the present, including topics such as the 1917-1918 naval mutinies and the navy’s role in Germany’s colonization efforts, and his vision for the future.  One can read in the number of remembrances of Stephan that he has established a high standard for us and future historians to follow. He has set the compass.

CAPT Jason Hines, U.S. Navy (Ret)

While I cannot claim to have known Dr. Huck well, my respect for him was tremendous, both as a professional colleague and as a historian.  I first met Dr. Huck during a student outing to the Marinemuseum while teaching at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr.  His enthusiasm for the museum and the story it told about the historical progress of the German Navy was infectious, and the students warmed to him immediately.  He captured and kept their interest for the entire visit.  While I was interested in seeing the exhibits, I kept finding myself paying less attention to them and more to Dr. Huck and the discussion he was leading.  My next and final encounter with Dr. Huck was while serving on a panel with him at the 2019 McMullen Naval History Symposium.  He was brilliant and a joy to watch, and I deeply mourn his death.