Caroline Sharples
About
Dr Caroline Sharples is a cultural historian specializing in memories of National Socialism, war crimes trials, perpetrator burials and representations of the Holocaust. Her work explores how the Nazi past has represented and remembered since 1945.
Passionate about making academic history accessible for wider audiences, Caroline regularly undertakes a range of public engagement activity, including talks for museums, schools and local communities.
Background
Caroline earned her PhD in History from the University of Southampton with a thesis entitled 'A Liberal Turn? War Crimes Trials and West German Public Opinion in the 1960s'. Since then, she has taught a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Modern European History at the Universities of Leicester, Sheffield, Liverpool and Central Lancashire. Since 2017, she has held the post of Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Roehampton in south west London.
Beyond Roehampton, Caroline is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Higher Education Academy, a member of the British and Irish Association for Holocaust Studies, and currently serves as Outreach Officer for the German History Society. She is also one of the co-editors for Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History and co-convenor of the Modern German History Seminar Series at the Institute of Historical Research.
Caroline's public engagement work has encompassed talks for institutions such as the National Army Museum in London and the Harris Museum in Preston; and contributions to various podcasts including the WW2Podcast and BBC HistoryExtra. In 2022, she served as historical consultant for the West End revival of CP Taylor's GOOD, directed by Dominic Cooke and starring David Tennant, Elliot Levey and Sharon Small.
Selected Highlights
- Broadcasting Contributor: appeared as a historical expert for the BBC World Service's coverage of the 80th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's death (2025).
- Holocaust Education: invited to hold an Isaacsohn and André Families’ Research Fellowship within The Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Sussex as part of The Sussex Digital Holocaust Education Project (2023-24).
- Historical Consultant: led workshop for cast and crew of the 2022 West End production of GOOD.
- Community Engagement: regularly delivers talks to schools on aspects of History.
- Author: published various research-informed books, essays and academic journal articles.
HISTORIAN, AUTHOR & LECTURER
Areas of Focus
Public-Facing Cultural History
Bridging the gap between specialized academic research and the wider public through accessible narratives and cultural projects.
Nazi Germany & Holocaust Memory
Investigating the complex legacies and cultural representations of twentieth-century German history and its resonance in modern memory.
Public Engagement & Community
Collaborating with schools, heritage sites, and local communities to bring history to life through workshops and storytelling.
Media & Public Talks
Providing expert historical commentary for television, radio, and festivals, making complex history approachable for all audiences.