IWM Institute Masterclasses:
The End of the War in Europe

Reader in International History at Queen Mary University of London.  James Ellison is a specialist on the post-war history of Britain's relationship with Europe and the United States and the Cold War and European Integration.  These subjects have featured in his books, Threatening Europe: Britain and the Creation of the European Community 1955-58 and The United States, Britain and the Transatlantic Crisis: Rising to the Gaullist Challenge 1963-68. 

James has also explored the question of why Britain has had such a troubled relationship with European unity in academic journal articles and the popular press, as well as as a commentator on BBC radio and television and for the international media.

Dan Todman is a Professor of Modern History at Queen Mary University of London. His research focuses on how twentieth century wars were fought and how they were remembered.  Dan is the author of the prize-winning two-volume history Britain's War, 1938 - 1941: Into Battle and 1942 - 1947: A New World.

Sarah Paterson joined IWM as a Librarian in 1988 and is currently a Curator in the First World War team. For many years she had responsibility for family history research at IWM.  She has written and spoken widely on this subject and has a detailed knowledge of the structure and organisation of the British Armed Forces.  

She has extensive lived experience of the British Army of the Rhine, having spent most of her early life on RAF Gatow in Berlin, and in Rheindahlen. This has been furthered by research into the post-First and Second World War occupations of Germany, with a particular interest in military social history and military families. 

James Bulgin is Head of Public History at IWM. In his previous role as Head of Content for IWM's Holocaust Galleries, James oversaw the historical interpretation and creative approach for the Galleries and authored the IWM book The Holocaust.  On behalf of IWM, he has acted as a consultant to a range of Holocaust organisations and has spoken at conferences in the UK, USA, Germany, Bosnia, Poland and Israel. 

James regularly appears in the media discussing different aspects of the Holocaust and 20th century history and has written on the subject for The Guardian and Radio Times.  He presented the 2023 BBC Documentary How the Holocaust Began and has also appeared in the BBC series Rise of the Nazis, for which he is a historical advisor, and D-Day: The Unheard Tapes. He will next be seen in a major new series on the Second World War for the History Channel. 

Dr Natalya Chernyshova is a Senior Lecturer in modern European History at Queen Mary University of London. Her work focuses on Belarussian history, Soviet nationalities politics, material culture and everyday life during late socialism.  She has recently explored the contemporary politics of remembering the Second World War in the context of the 2024 D-day commemorations.