The article examines the life and scientific work of the famous German historian Gunther Franz (1902—1992). The focus is on one of his main works, The Peasant War in Germany, which was first published in 1933. To what extent were the historian's views influenced by the contemporary socio-political and scientific situation? To what extent did the era of National Socialism influence his research concepts? A detailed analysis is given of the general state of German historical science before 1933 and the formation of the scientific interest of the young Günther Franz. After the National Socialists came to power, the historian made a very active career in the academic and military-political structures of Germany. The main ideological postulates of the Nazi Party in the field of history were directly reflected in his scientific work. In the 1930s, Günther Franz can rightfully be considered one of the most prominent protagonists of the historical views of German Nazism. His views on the history and social structure of the German peasantry were reflected in numerous reports, articles and speeches of those years. In addition, Günther Franz also partially influenced the Nazis’ personnel policy in the scientific and academic sphere. Nevertheless, Franz’s very large contribution to the study of the peasant question and the events of the Peasant War of 1524—1525 is obvious. His best work was reflected in the first edition of his monograph in 1933. It is this publication that must be distinguished from his subsequent works from the Nazi period. In it, Franz appears as one of the pioneers of “social history” among his German colleagues.