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University Teaching About the Holocaust in Germany

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University Teaching About the Holocaust in Germany University teaching about the Holocaust in Germany Verena Nägel and Lena Kahle Verena Nägel and Lena Kahle University teaching about the Holocaust in Germany Translated into English by Roderick Miller Project leader: Nicolas Apostolopoulos Academic advisor: Johannes Tuchel Data gathering assistant: Belinda Nüssel Translator: Roderick Miller Editor (German text): Karolin Nedelmann Design: Center for Digital Systems January 2018 Freie Universität Berlin ISBN 978-3-96110-170-2 http://doi.org/10.17169/refubium-253 Thanks to the interviewed experts Frank Bajohr, Wolfgang Benz, Nicolas Berg, Christina Brüning, Sascha Feuchert, Norbert Frei, Susanne Heim, Peter Klein, Andrea Löw, Martin Lücke, Cornelia Siebeck, Stefanie Schüler-Springorum and Susanne Rohr for their time, patience, and openness. Thanks to Nicolas Apostolopoulos, Wiebke von Bernstorff, Sören Carlson, Anna Maria Droumpouki, Elvira Glück, Klaus Herrmann, Denise Klinge, Peter Kompiel, Carla MacDougall, Roderick Miller, Andreas Nachama, Cord Pagenstecher, Marco Pardemann, Doris Tausendfreund, Johannes Tuchel, and Dorothee Wein for their support. Sponsored by: The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany und der Freien Universität Berlin Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Current Research Status ........................................................................................................................................... 7 2 The Research Field: Teaching about the Holocaust at German Universities ......................................................................... 9 2.1 Particular Features of the University System in Germany ...................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 From the Humboldt Model of Higher Education to the Internationalization of the University System 9 2.1.2 Third Party Funding at Universities .......................................................................................................... 10 2.1.3 Working Conditions and Career Paths .................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Structural Characteristics of Teaching about the Holocaust in Germany .............................................................. 11 2.2.1 Multidisciplinarity of Teaching and Research on the Holocaust .............................................................. 11 2.2.2 Institutional Incorporation of Teaching and Research on the Holocaust ................................................ 11 2.2.3 Curricular Incorporation of Teaching about the Holocaust .................................................................... 12 2.3 Teaching about the Holocaust in Germany .......................................................................................................... 13 2.3.1 Definition of Contents of Teaching about the Holocaust ....................................................................... 13 2.3.2 Teaching about the Holocaust in the Country of Perpetrators ............................................................... 14 3 Empirical Survey of Courses Offered .................................................................................................................................... 16 3.1 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................... 16 3.1.1 Research of Academic Calendars and Choice of Universities ................................................................... 16 3.1.2 Collection of the Data by Keyword and Search Criteria ........................................................................... 17 3.1.3 Categorizing the Courses ......................................................................................................................... 18 3.2 Evaluation and Results ............................................................................................................................................ 21 3.2.1 Results of the Categorization .................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.2 Courses Offered on the Holocaust according to Subject ........................................................................ 25 3.2.3 Regional Distribution of Courses Offered on the Holocaust ................................................................... 26 3.2.4 Are There Enough Courses offered on the Holocaust at German Universities? .................................... 31 3.3 Summary of the Results .......................................................................................................................................... 33 4 Interviews with Experts on Teaching and Research on the Holocaust ................................................................................ 34 4.1 Methodological Approach ....................................................................................................................................... 34 4.1.1 The Expert Interview .................................................................................................................................. 34 4.1.2 Survey of Interviewees: A Sampling .......................................................................................................... 34 4.1.3 The Interviewees and their Institutional Involvement .............................................................................. 35 4.1.4 The Interview Guidelines ......................................................................................................................... 36 4.1.5 The Evaluation of Interviews after Qualitative Content Analysis .............................................................. 37 4.1.6 The Incremental Evaluation of the Material ........................................................................................... 37 4.2 Holocaust Research Institutions in Germany ......................................................................................................... 38 4.2.1. The Research Center on Anti-Semitism at Technische Universität Berlin (1982) .................................... 39 4.2.2 Fritz Bauer Institute in Frankfurt (1995) ................................................................................................... 40 4.2.3 Research Unit for the Study of Holocaust Literature at Justus Liebig University Giessen (1998) ............ 41 4.2.4 The Ludwigsburg Research Center at the University of Stuttgart (2001) ................................................. 42 4.2.5 Jena Center 20th Century History (2006) ................................................................................................. 43 4.2.6 M.A. Study Program “Holocaust Communication and Tolerance” at Touro College Berlin (2007) ........ 44 4.2.7 Center for Holocaust Studies at the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich (2013) ................... 45 4.2.8 Graduate School “Visualizations: Representations of the Shoah in a Comparative Perspective” at Universität Hamburg (2015) .......................................................................................................................... 46 4.3 Teaching and Research on the Holocaust in the Various Disciplines .................................................................... 48 4.3.1 Historiography .......................................................................................................................................... 48 4.3.2 Literary Studies ......................................................................................................................................... 50 4.3.3 Cultural Studies ........................................................................................................................................ 51 4.3.4 Political Science ........................................................................................................................................ 52 4.3.5 Theology ................................................................................................................................................... 52 4.3.6 Jewish Studies ........................................................................................................................................... 53 4.4 Institutional Aspects of Teaching about the Holocaust ......................................................................................... 55 4.4.1 Assessment of Study Opportunities and Career Prospects in the Field of Holocaust Research ............. 55 4.4.2 The Consequences of the Bologna Process ............................................................................................. 59 4.4.3 Third-Party Funding and University Support ........................................................................................... 62 4.4.4 Specialization I: M.A. Study Program “Holocaust Studies” ..................................................................... 66 4.4.5 The Holocaust as an Aspect of Contemporary, Modern, and Recent History ......................................... 67 4.4.6 Specialization II: The “Holocaust Studies” Chair .................................................................................... 68 4.4.7 Commitment of Individuals ..................................................................................................................
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