Robert Nigel Gildea FBA FRHistS (born 12 September 1952) is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford and is the author of several influential books on 20th century French history.
Before being appointed Fellow in Modern History at Merton in 1979, he was a lecturer at King's College, London.
For his 2002 book Marianne in Chains,[1] a study of life in provincial France during the German occupation, Gildea won the prestigious Wolfson History Prize.
The book, however, outraged members of the French academic elite[citation needed] through its documented claims that life in France had not been as adversely affected by the Nazi occupation because many French people had co-operated with the German invaders – far more so than previously believed[verification needed].
[3][4] On 10 June 2021 in a BBC Radio 4 interview he declared he was joining other concerned academics in boycotting Oriel College for its refusal to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes from the façade of the building, erected using money donated by Rhodes.