Wikipedia's first sentence called it “historian of german history and historiography”. Today it says “german-born american historian of german history”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Fritz Stern (1926- ) Fritz Stern is a historian of German history and historiography. The focus of much of his work is attempting to track the development of the rise of National Socialism in Germany and its charecteristics. He was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland). In 1938 his family fled Germany and eventually came to the the United States. He was educated at Columbia University where he received his bachelors, masters, and PhD. From 1953 to 1997 he served as a Professor at Columbia. He is recognized in the United States and in Germany as an eminent historian. Among his most notable works are, The Politics of Cultural Despair (1963) It was his dissertation. It focused on three major figures in the rise of illiberalism, Paul de Lagarde, Julius Langbehn, and Moeller van den Bruck. The Varieties of History: From Voltaire to the Present (1970) A collection of writings from various people, gathered together and edited by Stern, to give a survey of historiography from the eighteenth century to the twentieth. Gold and Iron, (1977) A book centered around Gerson Bleichröder, the personal banker and friend of the other subject of the book, Otto von Bismarck. Through the two men Stern tracks the development of the uneasy relationship between Jews and Gentiles in late nineteenth century Germany. The Failure of Illiberalism (1973) and Dreams and Delusions (1987) Both books are collections of essays and transcribed speeches concerning nineteenth and twentieth century Germany.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17564556.
The opening as it stood in 2010 13 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Fritz Richard Stern (born February 2, 1926) is a German -born American historian of German history , Jewish history , and historiography .He is a University Professor Emeritus and a former provost at New York's Columbia University .His work focuses on the complex relationships between Germans and Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries and on the rise of National Socialism in Germany during the first half of the 20th century.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 363447007.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Fritz Stern Fritz Richard Stern (born February 2, 1926) is a German -born American historian of German history , Jewish history , and historiography . He is a University Professor Emeritus and a former provost at New York's Columbia University . His work focuses on the complex relationships between Germans and Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries and on the rise of National Socialism in Germany during the first half of the 20th century.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666664958.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Fritz Richard Stern (February 2, 1926 – May 18, 2016) was a German-born American historian of German history , Jewish history and historiography .He was a University Professor Emeritus and a provost at New York's Columbia University . His work focused on the complex relationships between Germans and Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries and on the rise of National Socialism in Germany during the first half of the 20th century.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963068879.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
American historian Fritz Richard Stern (February 2, 1926 – May 18, 2016) was a German-born American historian of German history , Jewish history and historiography . He was a University Professor and a provost at New York's Columbia University . His work focused on the complex relationships between Germans and Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries and on the rise of National Socialism in Germany during the first half of the 20th century. The Second Generation: Émigrés from Nazi Germany as Historians.With a Biobibliographic Guide .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1155955058. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “historian of german history and historiography”. Today it says “german-born american historian of german history”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
historian of german history and historiography
Now
german-born american historian of german history
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
