Helena Schrader
Encyclopedia
Helena Page Schrader is an American historian
and novelist, currently serving in the U.S. Foreign Service
. She is the world's leading authority on Friedrich Olbricht
, a key figure in the German Resistance
to Hitler.
at the University of Michigan
, accepted positions as visiting professor to the University of Waseda in Tokyo, the Instituto Technologica de Aeronautica in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil and at the University of Portsmouth
, then Portsmouth Polytechnic. Consequently, Helena lived for two years each in Japan, Brazil and the UK while growing up.
Helena Page obtained a BA in History with Honors and High Distinction from the University of Michigan
in 1975. Two years latter she earned her MA from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce
.
with a dissertation on Friedrich Olbricht
in 1991. She interviewed over 60 persons who had personally known Olbricht, including the would-be assassin Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche, Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager, and the widows of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
, Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg, and Adam von Trott zu Solz. Her research challenged previous assumptions about Olbricht's role in the German Resistance and on July 20, 1944. Based on her doctoral research, Schrader published the first, and to date only, full-length biography of Olbricht, General Olbricht: Ein Mann des 20. Juli, Bouvier Verlag, Bonn, 1992 (http://www.helena-schrader.com/exolbricht.html). The book was very postiviely reviewed in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
, the Süddeutsche Zeitung
, and Neues Deutschland
, causing the first, small edition to sell out within weeks. A second edition followed in 1993. In 2009, Schrader published an English language biography of General Olbricht under the title: "Codename Valkyrie: General Friedrich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler."An Obsolete Honor.
. She has since served in Norway and Nigeria.
Schrader has also published the following novels:
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and novelist, currently serving in the U.S. Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
. She is the world's leading authority on Friedrich Olbricht
Friedrich Olbricht
General Friedrich Olbricht was a German general and one of the plotters involved in the attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze in East Prussia on 20 July 1944.-Early life:...
, a key figure in the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
to Hitler.
Early life and education
Helena Page Schrader is the daughter of Professor Edward Page and Carla Preuthun. While Helena was still a child, her father, a professor of Industrial EngineeringIndustrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, accepted positions as visiting professor to the University of Waseda in Tokyo, the Instituto Technologica de Aeronautica in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil and at the University of Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, then Portsmouth Polytechnic. Consequently, Helena lived for two years each in Japan, Brazil and the UK while growing up.
Helena Page obtained a BA in History with Honors and High Distinction from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1975. Two years latter she earned her MA from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce
Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce
The Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce is a graduate program devoted to the study of diplomacy, international affairs and commerce. The school is small and select, admitting only 35 students a year to pursue full-time study toward a master’s degree...
.
Academic Work on the German Resistance
Schrader (then still Page) earned her PhD with Honors from the University of HamburgUniversity of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
with a dissertation on Friedrich Olbricht
Friedrich Olbricht
General Friedrich Olbricht was a German general and one of the plotters involved in the attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze in East Prussia on 20 July 1944.-Early life:...
in 1991. She interviewed over 60 persons who had personally known Olbricht, including the would-be assassin Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche, Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager, and the widows of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg commonly referred to as Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer and Catholic aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from...
, Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg, and Adam von Trott zu Solz. Her research challenged previous assumptions about Olbricht's role in the German Resistance and on July 20, 1944. Based on her doctoral research, Schrader published the first, and to date only, full-length biography of Olbricht, General Olbricht: Ein Mann des 20. Juli, Bouvier Verlag, Bonn, 1992 (http://www.helena-schrader.com/exolbricht.html). The book was very postiviely reviewed in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , short F.A.Z., also known as the FAZ, is a national German newspaper, founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt am Main. The Sunday edition is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung .F.A.Z...
, the Süddeutsche Zeitung
Süddeutsche Zeitung
The Süddeutsche Zeitung , published in Munich, is the largest German national subscription daily newspaper.-Profile:The title literally translates as "South German Newspaper". It is read throughout Germany by 1.1 million readers daily and boasts a relatively high circulation abroad...
, and Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , which governed the German Democratic Republic , and as such served as one of the party's most important organs...
, causing the first, small edition to sell out within weeks. A second edition followed in 1993. In 2009, Schrader published an English language biography of General Olbricht under the title: "Codename Valkyrie: General Friedrich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler."An Obsolete Honor.
Non-Academic Career
After earning her PhD, Schrader continued to live in Berlin, Germany where she met and married Herbert Schrader in July 1992. From 1992-1994 she worked at the German Privatization Agency, the Treuhandanstalt. From 1995-2005 she worked as an investor relations manager, primarily in the financial services sector. In 2005 she was commissioned in the U.S. Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
. She has since served in Norway and Nigeria.
Literary Awards
Schrader's novel "Chasing the Wind: A Story of British and German Pilots in the Battle of Britain," won first place in the ReaderViews "Global" Category 2008 Video Teaser of "Chasing the WInd". The same year "Spartan Slave, Spartan Queen" placed second in the "Historical Fiction" genre. In 2009, "An Obsolete Honor" placed first in ReaderViews "European" Category, and was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Awards in Historical Fiction Videa Teaser of "An Obsolete Honor.". "The Blockade Breakers" was a Runner-Up in the San Francisco Book Awards in the category "History."Publications
In addition to the biography of Friedrich Olbricht, Schrader has published the following non-fiction books:- 'Sisters in Arms,' Pen & Sword Books, Barnsley UK, 2006, a study of women pilots in the U.S. and U.K. during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. http://www.helena-schrader.com/exsisters.html - 'The Blockade Breakers,' The History Press, London, 2008, a study of the Berlin BlockadeBerlin BlockadeThe Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
and Airlift. - 'Codename Valkyrie: General Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler,' Haynes Publishing, Sparkford, 2009.
Schrader has also published the following novels:
- The Olympic Charioteer, New York, 2005. http://elysiumgates.com/~helena/index; Videa Teaser of "The Olympic Charioteer."
- Are They Singing in Sparta?, New York, 2006, http://www.readerviews.com/ReviewSchraderAreTheySinginginSparta.html
- Chasing the Wind, New York, 2007, winner of the ReaderViews literary award for Global Fiction in 2008, http://www.readerviews.com/ReviewSchraderChasingtheWind.html
- The Lady in the Spitfire, New York, 2006.
- Spartan Slave, Spartan Queen, New York, 2007, http://www.readerviews.com/ReviewSchraderSpartanSlave.html
- An Obsolete Honor, New York, 2008, http://www.readerviews.com/ReviewSchraderAnObsoleteHonor.html, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pU1Yw3Ue3s
- Leonidas of Sparta: A Boy of the Agoge," Wheatmark, Tucson, 2010, http://sparta-leonidas-gorgo.com
Sources
- http://www.helena-schrader.com
- http://www.readerviews.com/InterviewSchrader.html
- Page, Helena P, General Olbricht: Ein Mann des 20. Juli, Bouvier Verlag, Bonn, 1993.