He studied art history and philosophy in Hamburg, Freiburg, Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Berlin.
[1] He was commissioned in 1968 at the University of Freiburg by Willibald Sauerländer with a thesis on the Charlemagne frescoes of Alfred Rethel doctorate.
During his time in Frankfurt, he was involved in the reorientation of the Historical Museum against strong resistance, in which the history of everyday life, women and workers was included and the exhibition didactics were redesigned.
His research focused in particular on the discussion of the medium as a historical document and on its function in the field of tension between reality and memory.
From 1974 to 1977 he was president of the International Playing-Card Society (IPCS), curator of numerous exhibitions and published more than 50 publications on playing cards.
Together with Jonathan Webber he led the EU project "Civil Society and Social Change after Auschwitz" in Oświęcim and Kraków.