His research interests include the modern history of Russia and Eastern Europe, especially Poland and the Ukraine. He earned his PhD at the University of Tübingen and has authored numerous articles and several books in German. In 2012, he received an award from the Börsenhandel des Deutschen Buchhandels to cover the cost of translating Kriegserfahrungen in einer multiethnischen Stadt: Lemberg 1914?1947 into English. The book was shortlisted for the Prize ?Pro Historia Polonorum? of the Senate of the Republic of Poland for the best book on Polish history published in a foreign language between 2007 and 2011.