Lionel Kochan

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Lionel Edmond Kochan (20 August 1922 – 25 September 2005) was a British historian, journalist and publisher. He is best known for his work in Jewish history, having become an academic historian in his 30s and formerly specialising in European history.

Background[edit]

Kochan was a doctoral student of Sir Charles Webster. Before moving into academia, he worked as a publisher and journalist.[1]

Career[edit]

His first academic post was as a lecturer in European history at the University of Edinburgh from 1959 to 1964.[2] He then moved to the University of East Anglia, where he was Reader in European History from 1965 to 1969.[2] He was Bearsted Reader in Jewish History at University of Warwick from 1969 until his retirement in 1987.[2]

Kochan was born in London into a secular Jewish family. His scholarly writing became increasingly concerned with Jewish history. In the 1970s onwards, he became more involved in his Jewish heritage.[2] His wife Miriam Kochlan (c.1935-2023) was a writer and translator and she popularised the ceremony of batmitzvah for girls aged 12 in Oxford.[3]

Selected works[edit]

  • Acton on History (1954)
  • Russia and the Weimar Republic (1954)
  • Pogrom: 10 November 1938 (1957)
  • The Making of Modern Russia (1962)
  • The Struggle for Germany 1914–45 (1963)
  • Russia in Revolution 1890–1918 (1966)
  • The Jews in Soviet Russia since 1917 (1970) editor
  • The Russian Revolution (1970)
  • The Jewish Family Album: The Life of a People in Photographs (1974) editor with Miriam Kochan
  • The Jew and His History (1977)
  • The Scapegoats: the Exodus of the Remnants of Polish Jewry (1979) with Josef Banas
  • Jews, Idols and Messiahs: The Challenge from History (1990)
  • The Jewish Renaissance and Some of Its Discontents (1992)
  • Beyond the Graven Image: A Jewish View (1997)
  • The Making of Western Jewry, 1600–1819 (2004)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pinto-Duschinsky, Michael (26 October 2005). "Lionel Kochan". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Joffe, Lawrence (1 November 2005). "Obituary: Lionel Kochan". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2018.

External links[edit]