This is the first comprehensive study on the life and works of Erich Maschke, an NS historian who had a second career following World War II. This life and works of the historian Erich Maschke (1900-1982) were marked by many of the wars, crises, changes and schisms that Germany itself experienced in the 20th century. Maschke was a researcher of Eastern Europe and a historian for the Nazi regime in Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Jena and Leipzig. After returning from a long time in captivity as a POW in the USSR, he moved to Heidelberg where he became one of the pioneers of the social history of that medieval city. This volume illuminates the relationship between history and politics as one of the constants in Maschke´s works and influence. The author describes one of rare cases of a successful second career in the field of history.