Staff profile

Kay Schiller is a historian of 20th-century Germany. He has published articles and books on German cultural and sports history, including on the history of football, on modern German-Jewish history and on the history of the Federal Republic and the GDR.

He has co-edited volumes on German sport history and the history of the FIFA World Cup, co-authored a monograph on the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, the award-winning The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany, and written a monograph on the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany. His most recent book (2022) is a biography of the 1920s Jewish-German sprinter, antifascist activist, emigre to Britain and post-war journalist and writer Alex Natan (1906-71).

He is currently researching the history of German Zionist athletics, including (with Udi Carmi) the influence of German sports models on sports in Palestine and Israel, with a special focus on the activities of the Zionist sports functionary Emanuel Ernst Simon (1898-1988). He is also a Co-I on the British Academy funded project Expanding the History of Sport: Leisure, Health and the Body in Africa.

In 2010-11 he was a Senior Research Fellow at Humboldt University in Berlin and during 2012-13 DAAD Visiting Professor in Contemporary History at Technical University Dresden. In 2018-19 he led the Durham IAS sponsored project Masculinities in Martial Sports: West, East and Global South. In 2018-19 he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich and Honorary Fellow at Historisches Kolleg Munich. In 2019-20 he was a Research Fellow of the Gerda Henkel Foundation.

From 2018 to 2023 he was editor-in-chief of Sport in History (Taylor & Francis). He is a member of the international editorial boards of Stadion. International Journal of the History of Sport, Sport und Gesellschaft - Sport and Society and Sport in History.

He is also a keen runner and England Athletics qualified running coach and used to officiate amateur football games as a FA qualified referee.

Doctoral Supervision

Kay Schiller welcomes inquiries from potential postgraduate students in modern German history and modern European sport history.

• Sports history, especially the history of football and athletics
• Post-1945 Germany
• Modern German cultural and intellectual history
• German-Jewish history

Authored book

• Der schnellste Jude Deutschlands“. Alex Natan (1906-1971). Eine Biografie
  Schiller, K. (2022). Der schnellste Jude Deutschlands“. Alex Natan (1906-1971). Eine Biografie. Wallstein Verlag
• WM 1974: Als der Fußball modern wurde
  Schiller, K. (2014). WM 1974: Als der Fußball modern wurde. Rotbuch Verlag
• München 1972. Olympische Spiele im Zeichen des modernen Deutschland
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2012). München 1972. Olympische Spiele im Zeichen des modernen Deutschland. Wallstein Verlag
• The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany.
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2010). The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany. University of California Press
• Gelehrte Gegenwelten. Über humanistische Leitbilder im 20. Jahrhundert
  Schiller, K. (2000). Gelehrte Gegenwelten. Über humanistische Leitbilder im 20. Jahrhundert. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag

Chapter in book

• Willy Meisl’s “German Football Nation”: Internationalism, Austrian Patriotism, and Jewish Pride in Interwar Sports Writing
  Schiller, K. (2022). Willy Meisl’s “German Football Nation”: Internationalism, Austrian Patriotism, and Jewish Pride in Interwar Sports Writing. In R. Dawson, B. Heinsohn, O. Knabe, & A. McDougall (Eds.), Football Nation: the Playing Fields of German Culture, History, and Society (83-101). Berghahn Journals. https://doi.org/10.3167/9781800736818
• The Sport in History Journal
  Day, D., & Schiller, K. (2022). The Sport in History Journal. In M. Phillips, D. Booth, & C. Adams (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Sport History (353-359). Routedge
• Landscape, Architecture, and Democracy: Planning, Appropriating, and Experiencing the Munich Olympic Park and Village
  Schiller, K. (2022). Landscape, Architecture, and Democracy: Planning, Appropriating, and Experiencing the Munich Olympic Park and Village. In S. Dümpelmann (Ed.), Landscapes for Sport: Histories of Physical Exercise, Sport, and Health (367-391). Harvard University Press
• Social Climbing, Cultural Experimentation and Trailblazing Metrosexual: Franz Beckenbauer in the 1960s and 1970s
  Schiller, K. (2017). Social Climbing, Cultural Experimentation and Trailblazing Metrosexual: Franz Beckenbauer in the 1960s and 1970s. In Football and the Boundaries of History. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95006-5_11
• Material, Cultural and Political Consequences of the 1972 Olympics
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2015). Material, Cultural and Political Consequences of the 1972 Olympics. In R. Holt, & D. Ruta (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Legacy (351-362). Routledge
• The 1974 World Cup in West Germany: A Non-Event?
  Schiller, K. (2014). The 1974 World Cup in West Germany: A Non-Event?. In S. Rinke, & K. Schiller (Eds.), The FIFA World Cup 1930-2010 : politics, commerce, spectacle and identities (220-239). Wallstein Verlag
• Fußball und Politik im Münchner Olympiastadion
  Schiller, K. (2014). Fußball und Politik im Münchner Olympiastadion. In S. Rinke, & C. Peters (Eds.), Global play : football between region, nation and the world in Latin American, African, and European history (85-108). Heinz Verlag
• Bundesligakrise und Fußballweltmeisterschaft 1974
  Schiller, K. (2013). Bundesligakrise und Fußballweltmeisterschaft 1974. In W. Pyta (Ed.), Geschichte des Fußballs in Deutschland und Europa seit 1954 (139-155). Kohlhammer
• Communism, Youth and Sport: the 1973 World Youth Festival in East Berlin.
  Schiller, K. (2011). Communism, Youth and Sport: the 1973 World Youth Festival in East Berlin. In A. Tomlinson, C. Young, & R. Holt (Eds.), Sport and the Transformation of Modern Europe : States, Media and Markets 1950-2010 (50-66). Routledge
• Death in Munich. The 1972 Olympics
  Schiller, K. (2008). Death in Munich. The 1972 Olympics. In A. Confino, P. Betts, & D. Schumann (Eds.), Between Mass Death and Individual Loss. The Place of the Dead in Twentieth-Century Germany: The Place of the Dead in Twentieth-Century Germany (129-50). Berghahn Journals
• Historismuskrise und 'Dritter Humanismus': Werner Jaegers Beiträge zum Humanitätsdiskurs
  Schiller, K. (2006). Historismuskrise und 'Dritter Humanismus': Werner Jaegers Beiträge zum Humanitätsdiskurs. In G. Hartung, & K. Schiller (Eds.), Weltoffener Humanismus : Philosophie, Geschichte und Literaturwissenschaft in der deutsch-jüdischen Emigration (71-89). transcript Verlag
• Paul Oskar Kristeller, Ernst Cassirer and the 'humanistic turn' in American emigration
  Schiller, K. (2005). Paul Oskar Kristeller, Ernst Cassirer and the 'humanistic turn' in American emigration. In D. Kettler, & G. Lauer (Eds.), Exile, science and bildung : the contested legacies of German intellectual figures (125-138). Palgrave Macmillan
• Made 'fit for America': the Renaissance historian Hans Baron in London exile 1936-1938
  Schiller, K. (2003). Made 'fit for America': the Renaissance historian Hans Baron in London exile 1936-1938. In S. Berger, P. Lambert, & P. Schumann (Eds.), Historikerdialoge : Geschichte, Mythos und Gedächtnis im deutsch-britischen kulturellen Austausch 1750-2000 (345-359). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Edited book

• The FIFA World Cup 1930 - 2010: Politics, Commerce, Spectacle and Identities
  Schiller, K., & Rinke, S. (Eds.). (2014). The FIFA World Cup 1930 - 2010: Politics, Commerce, Spectacle and Identities. Wallstein Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1080/17460263.2015.1093381
• Sport in German History
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (Eds.). (2009). Sport in German History. German History Society
• Weltoffener Humanismus. Philosophie, Geschichte und Literaturwissenschaft in der deutsch-jüdischen Emigration
  Hartung, G., & Schiller, K. (Eds.). (2006). Weltoffener Humanismus. Philosophie, Geschichte und Literaturwissenschaft in der deutsch-jüdischen Emigration. transcript

Journal Article

• Der schnellste Jude Deutschlands“ – Sport, Moderne und (Körper-)politik im bewegten Leben Alex Natans (1906–1971)
  Schiller, K. (2019). Der schnellste Jude Deutschlands“ – Sport, Moderne und (Körper-)politik im bewegten Leben Alex Natans (1906–1971). Stadion, 43(2), 185-218. https://doi.org/10.5771/0172-4029-2019-2-185
• ‘When Saturday Comes’: New Books on German and International Sports History
  Schiller, K. (2015). ‘When Saturday Comes’: New Books on German and International Sports History. Bulletin - German Historical Institute London, 37(1), 57-72
• Siegen für Deutschland? Patriotism, Nationalism and the German National Football Team, 1954-2014
  Schiller, K. (2015). Siegen für Deutschland? Patriotism, Nationalism and the German National Football Team, 1954-2014. Historical social research. Supplement (Köln), 40(4), 176-196. https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.40.2015.4.176-196
• Munich '72: Selling the Games to Foreign Audiences and at Home
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2013). Munich '72: Selling the Games to Foreign Audiences and at Home. Sport in History, 33(3), 373-392. https://doi.org/10.1080/17460263.2013.822411
• Fanmeile im Grünen. Zur Ästhetik von Münchens Olympiapark als Public Viewing-Kulisse
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2012). Fanmeile im Grünen. Zur Ästhetik von Münchens Olympiapark als Public Viewing-Kulisse. Forum Stadt, 39(2), 121-132
• Motion and landscape: Otl Aicher, Günther Grzimek and the graphic and garden designs of the 1972 Munich Olympics
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2010). Motion and landscape: Otl Aicher, Günther Grzimek and the graphic and garden designs of the 1972 Munich Olympics. Urban History, 37(2), 272-288. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0963926810000350
• The history and historiography of sport in Germany: social, cultural and political perspectives.
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2009). The history and historiography of sport in Germany: social, cultural and political perspectives. German History, 27(3), 313-330. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerhis/ghp029
• Palimpsests of memory
  Schiller, K. (2006). Palimpsests of memory
• The presence of the Nazi past in the early decades of the Bonn Republic
  Schiller, K. (2004). The presence of the Nazi past in the early decades of the Bonn Republic. Journal of Contemporary History, 39, 285-294
• Political militancy and generation conflict in West Germany during the 'red decade'
  Schiller, K. (2003). Political militancy and generation conflict in West Germany during the 'red decade'. Debatte (London. Online), 11(1), 19-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965156032000104044
• The refugee historian Hans Baron and the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning
  Schiller, K. (2000). The refugee historian Hans Baron and the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning
• Hans Baron's humanism
  Schiller, K. (1998). Hans Baron's humanism. Storia della storiografia (Testo stampato), 34, 151-199
• Dante and Kantorowicz: medieval history as art and autobiography.
  Schiller, K. (1990). Dante and Kantorowicz: medieval history as art and autobiography. Annali d'italianistica, 8, 396-411

Other (Print)

• The Olympic Park in Munich as a Planned and Lived Utopia
  Schiller, K. (2023). The Olympic Park in Munich as a Planned and Lived Utopia. Berlin
• Rezensionsessay: Scharfe Kontraste. Eine Rückschau auf das Olympia-Jubiläum München 1972 / 2022
  Schiller, K. (2023). Rezensionsessay: Scharfe Kontraste. Eine Rückschau auf das Olympia-Jubiläum München 1972 / 2022
• ALEX NATAN’S PHOTO PRINT OF THE 1929 4X100 METER RELAY SQUAD OF SC CHARLOTTENBURG (BERLIN, GERMANY)
  Schiller, K. (2023). ALEX NATAN’S PHOTO PRINT OF THE 1929 4X100 METER RELAY SQUAD OF SC CHARLOTTENBURG (BERLIN, GERMANY)
• Werner Ruhnau and the “Avenue of the Games” (Spielstraße) at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games
  Schiller, K., & Young, C. (2020). Werner Ruhnau and the “Avenue of the Games” (Spielstraße) at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games