His research interests focus mainly on the history of Nazi Germany and on post-war anti-terrorism policy.
In 1992 he received his doctorate from the University of Mainz, his thesis was on Wilhelm Groener, the Reich Minister of Defence of the Weimar Republic.
In 2005, Hürter completed his habilitation with his book Hitler's Heerfuhrer, which was created as part of the Institute of Contemporary History project, The Wehrmacht during the Nazi Dictatorship.
The book was rated as a groundbreaking work in historical review journals such as H-Soz-u-Kult and Sehepunkte.
From 1992 to 1995 Hürter was a postdoctoral fellow of the German Research Foundation and a member of the historical commission at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.