Moritz Föllmer studied history, philosophy and constitutional law in Bonn, Göttingen and Paris. After completing his doctorate at Humboldt University in Berlin, he was a research assistant there, followed by a Feodor Lynen Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Chicago and a lecturer and senior lecturer at the University of Leeds. Since 2011, he has been Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Amsterdam. In 2021 and 2023, research fellowships brought him to Hamburg.
His research focuses on nationalism, urban modernity and individuality in the 20th century with a focus on Germany in the European context. Following a monograph on elites and nationalism (ca. 1900-1930) as well as anthologies on the topic of "crisis" in the Weimar Republic and on communication in modern Germany, he examined the history of individuality from the late 1920s to 1961 in a further study, in which he argues that National Socialism also promoted certain forms of individuality alongside collectivist elements.