Joachim Häberlen is a historian and writer. He graduated with a PhD in Modern European History with Distinction from the University of Chicago in 2011, and then worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Centre for the History of Emotions in Berlin. Most recently, he held the position of Associate Professor of Modern Continental European History at the University of Warwick (2013 – 2022). He is currently retraining as an English and History teacher.

Dr Häberlen’s research into radical political and protest movements of the twentieth century is driven by a desire to understand how ordinary people have attempted to challenge and change existing social and political orders.  He has written monographs and co-edited books on subjects ranging from the mobilisation of the working-class to the politics of emotions within the alternative left, as well as articles on themes such as leftist children’s books, the politics of sexuality, communal living, and the turn to spirituality amongst leftists in the 1970s. His book Beauty Is In the Street, a major history of protests and countercultures in post-war Europe, was published by Penguin Press in 2023.

Dr Häberlen grew up in Heidelberg, Germany and now lives in Berlin. He is actively engaged in supporting people who fled from Afghanistan and Syria to Germany because of their political activism.

Praise for Beauty is in the Street:

‘Well written and informative. . . The stories of Provo and other groups, less mythologised than the brick-throwers of 1968 but equally important, illuminate the pages of this book, showing that their efforts ‘changed the society in which we live’ not merely by achieving things, but also by encouraging us to try it ourselves.’ – Financial Times

‘[Haeberlen’s] particular strength is in covering not just protests in the West, such as the 1968 movements, but on the other side of the Iron Curtain. . . intricate details. . . a rich and readable account of left-wing activism in the West and opposition to Soviet-style communism in the East.’ – The Spectator

‘An amiable history of countercultural agitators, from Amsterdam’s anti-car anarchists to Poland’s ‘revolution of dwarfs,’ shows the myriad faces of post-war dissent. . . A dream, perhaps, but one that still sounds worth fighting for, even beautiful.’ – The Observer

‘Although Europe had the uprisings in Paris and Prague in 1968, the revolutionary violence of the 1970s and theorists such as Herbert Marcuse and Guy Debord, the counter-culture it produced tends to take second place in the Anglophone world’s imagination. Joachim C. Häberlen’s wide-ranging book gives the continent its due. – Dorian Lynskey, Literary Review

‘An ambitious and masterly account of utopian protest in Europe from the 1950s to 1989 and beyond, ranging from political revolt to environmental and humanitarian movements and the sexual revolutions, lifestyle changes, music and laughter of the counterculture. Fast-paced, with an eye for telling detail and written with a light touch.’ – Robert Gildea

‘Vibrant. . . a book that pulses with colour and light. . . vividly demonstrates that the post-war impulse to build a better world was so much more than mere theory.’ – Marcus Colla, The Interpreter