Germany 1920–45

Course description

German History from the early days of the Weimar Republic to the end of the Second World War. The course will survey the collapse of the republic, the Nazi rise to power, the Nazification of German society, the persecution of the Jews (origins and implementation of the Final Solution), and the Second World War.

Required books

• Spielvogel, Jackson — Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History
• Browning, Christopher — Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland

Summer assignment

Enjoy the summer vacation.

Course syllabus

Introduction and Background: Wilhelmine Germany and the Great War The Weimar Years Hitler: Youth, War and NSDAP Hitler: Party Takeover Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch, Imprisonment and the Emerging Führer Rebuilding the Party Hitler's Seizure of Power The Final Election and Enabling Act Gleichschaltung The Night of the Long Knives The Nazi State 1934–38 The Nazi Economy 1934–38 Nazi Terror and Justice 1934–38 The Churches 1934–39 The Military Public Opinion and Resistance Hitler: Personality Hitler: Leadership Hitler: Ideology Mobilizing the Masses Nazi Culture Youth Policy Women, Families and Sexual Attitudes Planning for War: 1933–36 “Peaceful” Expansion Hitler's War: Poland and France Hitler's War: Battle of Britain Hitler's War: Drang nach Osten Hitler's War: Western Setbacks Hitler's War: The End The Final Solution Other “Holocausts”? The War Turns Sour German Resistance Götterdämmerung The Nazi Legacy: What About Hitler?

Tests

There will be two tests: one in late February and one on the final day of class in March.

Primary source paper

Length: 3–4 pages.

Choose a single primary source either from or about the Nazi period, broadly defined as 1919–45. This can be, for example, a speech, law, letter, diary entry, photograph, film, or poster. Write a 3–4 page analysis of the source. When writing a small source analysis, one examines its context and what it reveals about the time period, the location, the society and, perhaps, the individual who created it. One is attentive not simply to the content, but to the audience, if any, that the source was addressed to, and the purpose, if any, behind the creation of the source. Bear in mind, the source does not have to come from the Nazi period — a perfectly acceptable paper could be written based on a film made in Hollywood about the Nazi period, although such a source requires a high degree of sophistication in film studies to analyze well.

Also see

• History Links
• History Department Resources