He earned his B.A. (1992) in History from Grinnell College, Grinnel, Iowa, and an M.A. (2002) and Ph.D. (2004) in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, United Kingdom. Pohl is the author of two books, The Stalinist Penal System (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1997) and Ethnic Cleansing in the USSR, 1937-1949 (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999). He has also written a number of shorter pieces on the subject of national deportations in the USSR. Among the journals that have featured his work are Journal of Genocide Research, Human Rights Review, and Journey of Interdisciplinary History.