In Memoriam

Kapitän zur See Dr. Jörg Hillmann

26 June 1963 – 21 October 2023

The field of German naval history suffered a tremendous loss on Saturday, 21 October, with the passing of KptzS Dr. Jörg Hillmann. Author and co-author of several classic books on German naval history, KptzS Dr. Hillmann was Commander of the Center for Military History and Social Science of the Bundeswehr (Zentrum für Militärgeschichte und Sozialwissenschaften der Bundeswehr or ZMSBW) in Potsdam from 2017-2021.

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

I had the very good fortune to have worked for about a year and a half with KptzS Dr. Hillmann on the naval faculty at the Führungsakademie der Bunderwehr (German Command and General Staff College) in Hamburg. We co-taught lectures on the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrakschlacht) and the Falklands War to a group of mid-grade officers. It was an absolute joy to watch Jörg teach. He had a relaxed way of talking about the battles that not only allowed the students to focus on his lecture and not on his rank, but it also drew the students into the subject. I watched them listening to him with rapt attention. You could have heard a pin drop. It was amazing to see. He was also a superb mentor. I had been teaching the seminar for about two years before he arrived, and while I felt comfortable with the position, I still had a lot I could learn. He had the unique ability to make solid recommendations about ways I could improve my teaching without ever making me feel like an amateur. He was a good friend, and I will miss him. Rest in peace.

Dr. Sarandis “Randy” Papadopoulos

I first joined Captain Hillmann at a meeting of government historians in 2007, as the U.S. Naval Academy began hosting its biennial McMullen Naval History Symposia. From the start I appreciated his willingness to support my work as a German naval historian and personal accessibility. At meetings in Bulgaria, Germany, Israel and the United States, I again and again saw him absolutely committed to the principles of sound research and writing, while seeking to sharpen the work of others and make it better. When he chaired our session in Sofia, where I addressed German naval history, he unsurprisingly balanced an expert leading of our panel with helpful criticism. My fondest memory of Captain Hillmann is of his Pentagon talk on Germany’s role in European security. Then he ably informed, and with dry wit entertained, an audience of officers and civilians, making his subject accessible to all. As one who mixed the high standards historians expect with being a genuine colleague, I will always see him as a “shipmate.”

Dr. Keith W. Bird

I first met Captain Hillmann at a 2004 program at the Military History Research Office (Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, predecessor to the ZMSBw) in Potsdam where he was one of the presenters, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and learning more about his research. A great scholar, he leaves behind a substantial and lasting corpus of work that has brought important new perspectives into the study of German and military history. He established a new standard for critically studying the “Subsystem-Kriegsmarine“ in the wider context of its relationship to its history and utilizing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the navy’s interaction with its history, incorporating culture, mentalité, and collective and individual memory to his skillful reconstruction of the navy’s role in peace and war. His scholarship will continue to shape the writing of naval history. He will be sadly missed by all of those who will always remember him as a colleague, friend and mentor.