Pätzold often wrote for the "Junge Welt" (a political German newspaper) and was a member of the scientific advisory board of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (a left-leaning political organization). His studies focused on the history of fascism and the NSDAP (National Socialist German Labor Party), the developments in the area of geschichtsrevisionismus (History revisionism) as well as the history of antisemitism and the persecution of Jews. Wolfgang Benz deemed Pätzold’s work "Fascism, Racial Madness and the Persecution of Jews" (1975)an "important representation of the Marxist Antisemitism and research of fascism." But also his studies on national socialism as the German version of fascism and on the history of the NSDAP are considerable research achievements. In addition to these, Pätzold entered uncovered territory and "offered new perspectives" with his biographical works on Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess, Julius Streicher, Adolf Eichmann and Franz Novak. Pätzold was "an important colleague" among the "materialistic-dialectical" oriented inner-circle and also for the historians guild in general.
