When I Teach About the Holocaust, I Use It to Try and Get People to Understand That The

HIST 390: America and the Holocaust Essay Exam

164 MacLean Hall Spring semester 2009 Course ID: 002132 M&W, 3:00-4:15 PM

This assignment consists of 3 essays (of 10-15 pages in total). The exam is due in my office on May 11. (You can e-mail it to me, but be certain that I send you a reply that I got it).

1. Ralph Leck, an historian and American studies professor at Indiana University, remarked a few years ago: “When I teach about the Holocaust, I use it to try and get people to understand that the values that led to Hitler's election and the theories behind the mass execution of Jews were also prominent and are prominent in American society.” Write an essay commenting on Leck’s observation. If there is a “dark side” to the American character, in what way(s) may American ideas and beliefs reflect the kind of intolerance that led to the persecution of the Jews in Hitler’s Germany. In contrast, what can you find in the American character that led to American actions taken to rescue Jews in the 1933-45 era, and in the US reaction to the Holocaust, after the war? Be certain to support your remarks with readings, etc.

2. Careful reading of the stories of Jewish refugees who came to America in the 1930s and 1940 can reveal some elements of what social historians often refer to as the “America Dream” (an ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire, connoting hope for prosperity and happiness, symbolized particularly by achieving a better life and having a confident hope that one's children can have an even better life). Many of the stories recounted in Mark Anderson’s book Hitler’s Exiles reflect this. Write an essay using the story of Arnold Bernstein (posted on class web site) and any such examples as you choose from the Stern book and (or) elsewhere. In what ways do these stories reflect the “American Dream”? How has American immigration policy since 1945 reflected the American Dream? Be certain to support your remarks with examples from reading and other sources. 3. Before the Holocaust, American attitudes toward the rest of the world were characterized by a deliberate desire for “isolation” from the rest of the world and the (perceived) political and social flaws of all other nations (the speeches of Gerald Nye in the 1930s reflect this). In contrast, after World War II, the U.S. consciously pursued a major leadership role in international affairs, there developed an “American mission” to promote freedom across the world. Historian Walter McDougall called this concept of mission “Global Meliorism” – “an expression of an American mission to make the world a better place.” Write an essay that examines how the story of the Holocaust has been employed in foreign policy and in rhetoric to promote this “American mission.” Support your remarks with evidence from Peter Novick and other readings.