Doctoral Researcher in Modern History (m/f/d)

The Horizon Europe project BLOCKADE and the Department of History at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg are looking for Doctoral Researcher in Modern History (m/f/d)

• Application deadline: 17. January 2026
• Publication date: 31. October 2025
• Start-date: 1. May 2026
• Scope of work: Part-time position (65 %)
• Id no.: 00004617

Description

The Horizon Europe project BLOCKADE and the Department of History at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg are looking for

 

a Doctoral Researcher (m/f/d) in Modern History

 

The 4-year (65%) doctoral position will be located at the Juniorprofessur for Transatlantic and North American History (Jun.-Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Piller) and will be part of the European Research Council project, “The Hidden Weapon. Blockade in the Era of the Two World Wars (BLOCKADE)”.

 

The position is scheduled to start on or around 1 May 2026.

 

The project  

BLOCKADE (ERC Synergy Grant #101166983) explores the two blockades of the First and Second World Wars, and their aftermaths. In these total wars, the Allies imposed a global blockade on their enemies, and the Central and Axis powers responded with blockades of their own. Over a period of six years, the BLOCKADE team, based in Trondheim, Hamburg, Amsterdam and Freiburg, will analyse the impact of blockades on households, states, corporations and the international order; on the development of political and military strategy; on how the wars were prepared, experienced and remembered; and on how peace was made. BLOCKADE sets out to prove that these blockades are crucial to understanding not only the way the world wars were fought but also their globality and totality, their immediate effects and their long-term global repercussions. More information can be found on the project website www.blockades.eu

 

The position

The doctoral researcher will focus on the work package Transnational Narratives of the Hunger Blockade. The work package will use qualitative sources such as periodicals, stage plays, (dime) novels, diaries, medical reports and official records to assess the ‘hunger blockade’-discourse, that is, the accusation that the Allied blockade starved civilians, as it developed in Austria and Germany during and after the First World War. It will trace popular and official ‘myth narratives’ regarding the lethality of the Great War blockade and determine how they shaped popular perceptions and expectations of total warfare into the 1930s and 1940s. Despite the common assumption that the ‘hunger blockade’ impacted especially National Socialist thinking on total warfare, there is still no broader source-based study on the subject. The work package will make a notable contribution to understanding the workings of generational and transnational transmission of myth narratives as well as their political potency.

 

The work package is one of four positions across the four BLOCKADE locations that should speak to the theme of 'Learning/unlearning', exploring how blockade experiences inform institutional, societal, and individual learning and innovation across countries and war and post-war periods. Learning // Un-learning investigates the dynamics between learning and unlearning in creating, maintaining and experiencing the blockade and its (after)effects. It is to establish the impact of blockade on state and company preparation for war, the evolution of knowledge on nutrition, substitution, and free trade, and the formation of powerful myth narratives about hunger and victimhood. The team members will work together across locations to build a rich source base for BLOCKADE.

 

In Freiburg, the doctoral researcher will be supervised by and work closely with the PI of the Freiburg team, Elisabeth Piller.

 

Your Tasks

·       Contribute to the project by carrying out research of high ambition and excellent quality 

·       Research, write and submit a PhD thesis within the period of appointment;          

·       Present intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;

·       Contribute to scientific and financial reporting to the funding body

·       Actively participate in the project’s workshops, seminars and conferences as well as in organizing and hosting Freiburg-based events.

·       Contribute to data collection (qualitative and quantitative primary souces) for the central database located at the University of Amsterdam

 

Your Profile

·       You must have completed Master’s degree in history (or a closely related displine) or be able to show that the degree will be conferred shortly

·       Excellent oral and written presentation skills in English (equivalent to at least level B2)

·       Excellent reading skills in the languages of the countries (Germany, Austria) to be examined in the doctoral project (equivalent to level B2)

·       Experience in dealing with archival sources

·       Enthusiasm about the project and about working in a team

·       Prior knowledge of the historiography and primary sources related to the period of the World Wars is desirable

 

We offer

·       Experience in an exciting, multi-location international research project

·       Generous travel and conference funds and opportunity to invite guest scholars

·       Opportunity for intellectual growth and career advancement, including a wide variety of training, mentoring and professional development offerings available at the university

·       Open,  inclusive and supportive work environment with committed colleagues

·       Working in an attractive German university town, and in close proximity to the culinary and cultural delights of Switzerland, France and the Black Forest

·       Salary according to the levels set by the public sector agreements TV-L E13 (https://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/tv-l/allg) at 65%.

·       There is no teaching obligation associated with the position

 

Please Submit (in English)

·   a letter of motivation detailing your prior experience and your fit for the project (1-2 pages)

·   a research plan (2-4 pages; Calibri, 11 font size, 1.5 line space), including a provisional four-year work plan

·   a CV

·   Grade transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees

·   A writing sample (such as a term paper or Master’s thesis)

·   Name and contact information of two referees to be contacted for references (upon or after reaching the interview stage)

 

Please send your complete application documents – in one PDF file – to Elisabeth.piller@geschichte.uni-freiburg.de by 17 January 2026. Interviews with selected applicants will take place in February.

 

If you have questions, please contact Jun.-Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Piller via the above email address.

 

 

 

The position is limited to 30. April 2029. The salary will be determined in accordance with TV-L E 13.

We will be particularly pleased to receive applications from women for the position advertised here.

Application

Please send your application in English including supporting documents mentioned above citing the reference number 00004617, by 17. January 2026 at the latest. Please send your application to the following address in written or electronic form:

Elisabeth.piller@geschichte.uni-freiburg.de

For further information, please contact Dr. Elisabeth Marie Piller on the phone number +49 761 +49 761 203 or E-Mail elisabeth.piller@geschichte.uni-freiburg.de.