Elena Marie Elisabeth Kiesel, M.A.

Elena M.E. Kiesel is a historian for modern and contemporary history at the University of Erfurt.

As a fellow of the Stiftung Bildung und Wissenschaft, she recently completed her dissertation on voluntariness as a strategy for self- and external leadership in authoritarian systems, using the GDR's "Neuererbewegung" as a case study. In doing so, she collaborated closely with the Oral History Research Center at the University of Erfurt and the research network "Diktaturerfahrung und Transformation." 

In November 2020, she joined the DFG research group "Voluntariness" in Erfurt as a research associate, working on the subproject "Voluntariness in Authoritarian Regimes." In addition, she worked at the Scientific Coordination Office for Thuringia's "Colonial Legacy" from March to December 2024.

While studying cultural studies and European cultural history at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, she had already assisted with research projects and gained experience in provenance research. After graduating, she helped prepare a provenance research project for the German Library Association. From 2018 to 2020, thanks to generous funding from the Foundation Kulturgutverluste, she conducted research into nazi-looted books in libraries in Saxony-Anhalt. To date, she has published primarily on the findings of provenance research, social welfare work under National Socialism, and voluntariness in dictatorships. 

She is also actively involved in the civil society organization "Blinde Flecken Erfurt," which works to address right-wing violence, amplify the voices of those affected, and engage critically with German remembrance culture.

Research Interests:

• Everyday History in the GDR
• Protestantism under National Socialism
• Provenance Research
• Oral History
• Coloniality and Colonialism

CV (German)