Biography
His family comes from Upper Silesia. After their expulsion, they came to Aschaffenburg, where Knopp grew up. After graduating from the Friedrich-Alexander-Gymnasium Neustadt an der Aisch, he studied history, politics and journalism in Frankfurt am Main, Amsterdam and Würzburg. After studying history, which he completed with a doctorate, Guido Knopp worked as an editor for the "Frankfurter Rundschau". He then moved to "Welt am Sonntag" to work as head of international affairs. In 1978, Knopp worked for the Second German Television ZDF, where he set up the ZDF editorial team "Zeitgeschichte". He also held a teaching position in journalism at the Gustav Siewerth Academy in Weilheim-Bierbronnen.
The historian became known to a wide audience particularly through his series of broadcasts about the Third Reich. He was responsible for broadcast titles such as "Decision Stalingrad" (1993), "Hitler's Helpers" (1996), "Holocaust" (2000), "Hitler's Women" (2001) and "The SS - a warning from history" (2002) . The programs were created as multiple parts and accompanying books are also published for them. Knopp thus established historical documentaries at prime time and thus achieved great popularity. He particularly wanted to bring historical topics closer to viewers from the social lower and middle classes in an entertaining way. His critics accused him of a sensational presentation, a perverted infotainment with the Nazi atrocities created through the cinematic medium of action, and the banalization of the highly sensitive material of the recent German past.
However, many of his works occupy top positions in numerous bestseller lists and are successful as long sellers. For example, numerous of Knopp's works topped the bestseller list of the news magazine "Der Spiegel". Knopp has received many awards for his work and achievements. He was awarded, among other things, the Jakob Kaiser Prize, the European Television Prize, the Telestar, the Golden Lion, the Bavarian Television Prize and the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2002, the revised companion book "Chancellor. The Mighty of the Republic" was published for the seven-part ZDF series of the same name. In February 2004, Guido Knopp was awarded the Golden Camera for the best TV documentary.
In October 2004, at a conference in Weimar, international historians criticized the current preoccupation of film and television with the topics of National Socialism and the GDR dictatorship: They pointed out the danger that the preoccupation with and discussion of contemporary German history would become mere infotainment.
