Nazi Germany: A Social & Political History Language of Instruction: English Course tutor(s) C. Paul Vincent, PhD, visiting professor in Jagiellonian University’s Centre for European Studies. Prof. Vincent is a modern European historian on leave as a Fulbright Scholar from Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire (USA), where he chairs the Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Description Explores the fabric of the Nazi experience and covers the following topics: historical roots of National Socialism; early history of Hitler and the Nazi Party; problems of democracy in the Weimar Republic; electoral politics during 1929-33; Hitler’s assumption and consolidation of power; the terror and racial policy of the Nazi state; the substance of Hitler’s foreign policy; German resistance to Hitler; World War II; the Holocaust. Although treating a variety of topics, the course addresses two fundamental questions: first, how could Hitler and the Nazi Party achieve power in an advanced country at the heart of Western civilization; second, after gaining power, how did the Nazis establish a racially based totalitarian regime that soon plunged the world into a war that consumed tens of millions of lives and left the legacy of the Holocaust in its wake? Type of course Mandatory/elective. Additional course for EU Studies specialization and Europeanisation and Governance specialization; Key course for CEE Studies specialization and the Studies in Holocaust and Totalitarian Systems specialty; Focus Course for CEE: Research Track specialization. Year of Studies: 1 or 2 Number of ECTS points 9 ECTS Prerequisites (if applicable) None Intended Learning Outcomes Students should leave this course with (a) an enhanced understanding of Nazism and antisemitism; (b) an enhanced knowledge of the Holocaust, especially its historical and precipitating factors; (c) an enhanced ability to think critically, and write and speak effectively, about issues related to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. EK1: has ordered and extended knowledge of terminology used in the humanities and social sciences (K_W03+) EK2: has ordered and deepened knowledge about contemporary history of international relations as well as contemporary political history of Poland and Europe (K_W08+++) EK3: has deepened knowledge about the terminology used when speaking of democratic and non- democratic governments, as well as knowledge about the process of development of political systems in Europe and their contemporary models (K_W10++) EK4: has an ability to search, gather and interpret data and information based on relevant sources; has the ability to evaluate the importance of sources (K_U01+++) EK5: has the ability to read with comprehension and critically analyze texts pertinent to European studies and have the ability to compare them to texts presenting different views on the subject, confront them and draw his or her own conclusions (K_U02+++) EK6: has the ability to prepare written or oral presentations which comply with all academic rules and regulations (especially Intellectual Property Law) (K_U12+++) EK7: is aware of the level of his or her own knowledge and skills, understands the need for long-life learning in terms of professional and personal development, can determine the directions of his or her own professional and personal development (K_K01++) EK8: has the ability to effectively work individually as well as interact and work in a group, performing different roles in it (K_K02++) Course communication E-mail: [email protected] Web page: Office Hours: TBA Notices and announcements Via CES office. COURSE ORGANIZATION Spring semester Time and Place: will be posted by CES in the online calendar Course type (seminar/lecture/workshop): The course will constitute 60 teaching hours. It will be taught mainly as a lecture course, although discussions and questions are both welcome and encouraged. Beginning with the third class session, each student will be asked to make one 10-minute presentation. All students, moreover, will be required to draft one in-class paper during the semester. A list of suggested reference books is included in this syllabus and students will be asked to read appropriate materials from one or more of these books during the semester. Contact hour: 60 hours of lecture Balance of ECTS credits: Participation in class, 60 hours One 10-minutes class presentation – preparation, 10 hours. Five quizzes – preparation, including reading, research, and study, 120 hours during semester. Preparation for the final written exam 35 hours. Total: 225 hours Didactic methods used Lecture; discussion; PowerPoint presentations. Mode and criteria of assessment of learning outcomes EK1: (K_W03+); EK2: (K_W08+++); EK3: (K_W10++) assessed through biweekly quizzes and final in- class written exam. EK4: (K_U01+++); EK5: (K_U02+++); EK6: (K_U12+++) assessed through quizzes, final exam, and in- class reflection papers. EK7: (K_K01++); EK8: (K_K02++); assessed through in class participation and the written work. Assessment The final mark will be calculated using the following elements: 1. Participation (in-class presentation) – 15%. 2. One in-class writing assignment – 5% 3. Four quizzes – 50% (five quizzes given; best four count towards grade). Quizzes will be short answer identification with the requirement to answer five out of eight questions. 4. Final written exam – 30%. The exam will be half short-answer identification (similar to the quizzes) and half essay. Attendance Because this course meets only 20 times during the semester, attending every class session is crucial. Due to the nature of registration at Jagiellonian, I will not include the first two sessions in my evaluation of your attendance record. You are allowed to miss no more than two of the remaining 18 sessions without impacting your grade (albeit, it is always wise to get lecture notes from a classmate for any session missed). Beyond two sessions, I will subtract two points from your final course grade for each session missed. If, however, you miss five of the final 18 sessions, you will automatically receive a failing grade in the course. LITERATURE TEXTBOOKS (essential reading materials): Nicholls, A. J. Weimar and the Rise of Hitler, 4th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. Niewyk, Donald L. The Holocaust: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation, 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2010. Schleunes, Karl. Twisted Road to Auschwitz: Nazi Policy Toward German Jews, 1933-1939. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. Weinberg, Gerhard L. Germany, Hitler, and World War II. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. REFERENCE: Berend, Ivan. Decades of Crisis. Central Eastern Europe before World War II. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Evans, Richard J. The Coming of the Third Reich. New York: Penguin, 2004. ___________. The Third Reich in Power: 1933-1939. New York: Penguin, 2005. ___________. The Third Reich at War. New York: Penguin, 2008. Friedländer, Saul. Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution, 1933-1939. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. ___________. The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. Griffin, Roger. Modernism and Fascism: The Sense of a Beginning under Mussolini and Hitler. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Kershaw, Ian. Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris. New York: Norton, 1998. ___________. Hitler, 1936-1945: Nemesis. New York: Norton, 2000. Magocsi, Paul R. Historical Atlas of East Central Europe. Revised and Expanded Ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002. Nazism, 1919-1945: A Documentary Reader, 3 vols., ed. by Jeremy Noakes and Geoffrey Pridham. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press, 1984. Sofsky, Wolfgang. The Order of Terror: The Concentration Camp. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective. Ed. by Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Steiner Zara S., The Lights that Failed: European International History 1919-1933. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. ___________. The Triumph of the Dark: European International History, 1933-1939. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. The Third Reich Sourcebook, ed. by Anson Rabinbach and Sander Gilman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013. Vincent, C. Paul. A Historical Dictionary of Germany’s Weimar Republic, 1918-1933. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. Weinberg, Gerhard L. The Foreign Policy of Hitler’s Germany: Diplomatic Revolution in Europe, 1933-36. Chicago: University Press of Chicago, 1970. ___________. The Foreign Policy of Hitler’s Germany: Starting World War II, 1937-1939. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1980. ___________. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. FILM It is hoped that we’ll watch some film during a couple of class sessions. In addition, the film series The Nazis: A Warning from History should be viewed outside of class time as a means of enriching the course’s content. A list of key topics/people for each film episode of the series will be made available. The syllabus informs you regarding when each episode of the series should be viewed. STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE Please note that “Book Notes” will be provided for the Schleunes and Weinberg texts to help gather what is most important from these two books. Supplemental readings may be required from one or more of the sources listed under “Reference” (above). A hand-out will be provided early in the semester