Longerich studied at the
University of Munich and received a Ph.D. in history and an M.A. in history and sociology. In 2002–03, Longerich was the third holder of the Visiting Chair at the
Fritz Bauer Institute in
Frankfurt. In 2003–04, he was J.B. and Maurice Shapiro Senior Scholar in Residence at the Centre for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington DC, where he worked on a
biography of
Heinrich Himmler. In 2005–06, he was a Fellow at the Wissenschaftszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen. and has published, in 2001, a book documenting Hitler's pivotal role in the Holocaust entitled
The Unwritten Order. The book arose from his expert testimony at the
David Irving trial. Reviewing Longerich's work, Timothy Snyder declared
Holocaust "profound" and
Heinrich Himmler: A Life "magnificent". ==Published works==