Brenda Gaydosh

Professor of History

Office Location: 409 Main Hall
Phone: 610-436-2972
Email: bgaydosh@wcupa.edu

Current Vita

Teaching Interests:

Modern Germany; 19th- and 20th-Century Europe; Nazi Germany; Renaissance and Reformation; Religion in Modern Europe; Jews in Modern Europe; The Holocaust; and Genocide.

Current Research:

Dr. Gaydosh's research interests lie in the history of the Catholic Church in 20th-century Germany. She is preparing to publish a biography of Father Bernhard Lichtenberg, a Catholic martyr of the Nazi era, with Catholic University Press. In addition, she is researching the life of Cardinal Alfred Bengsch, as he ministered to a split Berlin during the Cold War.

Brief Biography:

This is Brenda Gaydosh's second career. She earned a B.S. degree in mathematics in 1980 and worked as an actuarial analyst for 15 years. In her late 30s, Brenda returned to school, earning her M.A. in history from West Chester University (1999) and Ph.D. in history from American University. She has taught as a fulltime adjunct at West Chester University since 2005 and was named Who's Who among American Teachers three times. Dr. Gaydosh has presented numerous papers including two in Europe. She enjoys traveling and she was the group leader for an EF College Tours trip, "The Holocaust in Europe," in summer 2012. She plans to take more groups to Europe – WWII trips covering England, France, and Germany; History of Poland trip; Martin Luther trip in 2017, 500th anniversary year of Ninety-Five Theses.