Lisa Pine talks to Rana Mitter about his life in history and the history of his life.

Professor Mitter studies the emergence of nationalism in modern China, both in the early twentieth century and in the contemporary era. He is particularly interested in the impact of China's war with Japan in the 1930s and 1940s on the development of Chinese politics, society, and culture. His publications include China's War with Japan, 1937-45: The Struggle for Survival (2013), Modern China: A Very Short Introduction (2008), and A Bitter Revolution: China's Struggle with the Modern World (2004, 2005).

The host of A Historian's Life, Lisa Pine, is an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Her main research interests are the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. She was educated at the London School of Economics and was awarded her PhD from the University of London in 1996. She is the author of 'Nazi Family Policy, 1933-1945' (1997), 'Hitler’s “National Community”: Society and Culture in Nazi Germany' (2007, 2017), 'Education in Nazi Germany' (2010), 'Debating Genocide' (2018) and (with Kees Boterbloem) 'Soviet and Nazi Posters: Propaganda and Policies' (2025). She is the editor of 'Life and Times in Nazi Germany' (2016), 'The Family in Modern Germany' (2020) and 'Dictatorship and Daily Life in Twentieth-Century Europe' (2022). She has also published numerous journal articles and chapters in books on her areas of expertise. She is currently editing a new book, 'Food and Food Policies in European Dictatorships,' for publication by Bloomsbury Academic. She is co-editor (with Peter C. Caldwell) of the book series 'German History in Focus' (Bloomsbury Academic).