Shelby Sibert

M.A. Student

Contact
Department of History
Email: ssibert@clemson.edu

Education
B.A., Clemson University (2022)

Research Interests
Europe in the Era of the Two World Wars, 1914-45; German-speaking Central Europe, 1914-45; Military, Political, Genocide

Shelby Sibert is currently a student and teacher's assistant pursuing a Master's degree in Clemson's History department. His primary focus and concentration are on World War II, Weimar/Nazi Germany, Ancient Scandinavian History, and most recently, the history of Heavy Metal music. Shelby earned an Associate in Arts from Greenville Technical College (2019) and my Bachelor's in Arts with a History major and a Film minor from Clemson University (2022). He graduated from Clemson with Magna Cum Laude honors. Shelby is still in the early development of my thesis, but the two topics he is working on are the false narratives that the Nazis used to justify their actions during World War II and the Holocaust. Shelby's great-grandfather, Pvt. William Sibert, at the ripe age of 18, died on the beaches of Normandy doing his part to end the tyranny of the Nazis. After learning this, Shelby's interest in history was irrevocably sparked. The other contending topic for his thesis is a historiographical biography of one Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, front-man of the rock n' roll band Motörhead. Shelby met this man when he was around sixteen and had a wonderful conversation with him backstage at a concert. He devoutly believes it is essential to remember the darker aspects of history. Not so that mankind may not repeat them, but rather the lessons they teach about the human condition's darker motifs and the light that shines in the face of malevolence. Shelby's research tries to illuminate less known figures or historical facts so that they may be more common knowledge among the public instead of stowed away in academia. He believes, above all, that all history should be public history; otherwise, how should people be expected to know their own?