From 1981 to 1992 he was editor of the Journal of German and International Politics [de] (Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik); since 1992 he was the co-editor of this magazine.
[1] Naumann's research focuses on modern European history, including on the post-war period in West Germany.
The last chapter of the volume, contributed by Naumann, focused on the myth of the clean Wehrmacht and its impact on the German collective memory of the war.
According to a review in German Politics and Society, Naumann finds that dated interpretations still remained, such as "'defenses of the 'honour' of the 'clean' Wehrmacht, lack of empathy for 'other' victims, as well as the persistence of an undifferentiated and mythical collective self."
The review finds that "although the self-centered memory of [German] victimization and suffering continued, this interpretation was much more complicated, ambivalent, and ambiguous than ever before".