Christopher Knowles studied history as an undergraduate at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge from 1971-74. After a career in electronic publishing and computer software, he resumed his academic studies in October 2005 at the Centre for Contemporary British History, Institute of Historical Research and subsequently at Kings College London. His PhD thesis was awarded the annual prize of the German Historical Institute, London in 2014. He was Archives By-Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge for the Easter term, before returning to Kings in July 2018.

He is currently joint convenor of the Occupation Studies Research Network  and principal editor of the Network blog.

Research

My research focuses on military occupation as a dynamic power relationship: a form of government and system of rule.My first book, Winning the Peace: The British in occupied Germany, 1945-1948, was published by Bloomsbury Academic in January 2017. My second book, Transforming Occupation in the Western Zones of Germany: Politics, Everyday Life and Social Interactions, 1945-1955, an edited collection with chapters by sixteen international scholars, was published in August 2018.

The Occupation Studies Research Network was founded in September 2021 and acts as an on-line hub for a global community of over 200 scholars actively researching the phenomenon of military occupation. The Network facilitates the exchange of ideas and encourages a more systematic, comprehensive and interdisciplinary conceptual understanding of the subject.

Expertise and public engagement 

I have a particular interest in the relevance of the past to the present and how a better understanding of history can contribute towards improving the quality of public debate on contemporary issues. I researched and wrote a series of case studies for History & Policy (H&P), published on the H&P web site, which provide examples of best practice and showcase a wide range of H&P activities and impacts. A further two case studies on the use of history in two UK Government Departments - The Foreign Office and HM Treasury - present the perspective of the policy maker, not only that of the historian.

Publications

Transforming Occupation in the Western Zones of Germany: Politics, Everyday Life and Social Interactions, 1945-1955, edited jointly with Camilo Erlichman, Bloomsbury Academic, August 2018.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/transforming-occupation-in-the-western-zones-of-germany-9781350049222/

Twelve case studies, published on the History & Policy web site.

http://www.historyandpolicy.org/case-studies

Winning the Peace: The British in Occupied Germany, 1945-1948, Bloomsbury Academic, January 2017.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/winning-the-peace-9781474267434/

The British post-war occupation of Germany and the relevance of the past to the present: Archives By-Fellowship report, July 2018.

https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/news/2018/jul/13/british-post-war-occupation-germany-and-relevance-/

‘Four Illustrated News Magazines: A Comparative Study of Cultural Interactions in Post-War Germany’, Christopher Knowles and Julia Vossen, German Life and Letters, April 2018.

‘Germany 1945-1949: a case study in post-conflict reconstruction’, History & Policy, January 2014

www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/germany-1945-1949-a-case-study-in-post-conflict-reconstruction

‘The British occupation of Germany, 1945-49: A case study in post-conflict reconstruction’, The RUSI Journal, Vol. 158, No. 6 (Dec. 2013), pp. 78-85.

Fourteen case studies, published on the History & Policy site.