HST 468: Hitler and Nazi Germany Washington State University, Vancouver Dr. Karen E. Hoppes Spring 2008

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1 HST 468: Hitler and Nazi Germany Washington State University, Vancouver Dr. Karen E. Hoppes Spring 2008 Phone: ; or (Lakeridge High School) Office Hours: 5-6:00 p.m. Thursday Room: VMMC 214 COURSE MATERIALS: Required: William Sheridan Allen, The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, (Franklin Watts, any edition) Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland (Harper Perennial, 1993) Art Spiegelman, The Complete Maus (Pantheon, 1997) [Any edition of the two volumes of Maus will work] Supplemental: Jackson Spielvogel, Hitler and Nazi Germany A History (Prentice Hall College Division, 5 th edition) Articles (to be provided): February 21: Karl Dietrich Bracher, Fantasy and Fact, The German Dictatorship (New York: Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1970) Alan Bullock, Fanaticism and Calculation, Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives (New York: Knopf, 1992) Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, Hitler s Racism, The Racial State: Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991) Ian Kershaw, The Hitler Myth, The Hitler Myth : Image and Reality in the Third Reich (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) Robert G.L. Waite, Guilt Feelings and Perverted Sexuality, The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler (New York: Basic Books, 1977) February 28: Timothy W. Mason, Workers in the German Labor Front, Past and Present: A Journal of Historical Studies, no. 33 (April 1966) Detlev Peukert, Obedient and Dissident Youth, in Richard Bessel, ed., Life in the Third Reich (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) 1

2 Jill Stephenson, The Wary Response of Women, The Nazi Organization of Women (London: Croom Helm, 1981) Claudia Koonz, Mothers in the Fatherland, Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, the Family, and Nazi Politics (New York: St. Martin s Press, 1987) April 3: Gerald Fleming, It is the Führer s Wish, Hitler and the Final Solution (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984) Hans Mommsen, There was no Führer s Order, in Gerhard Hirschfeld, ed., The Policies of Genocide (New York: HarperCollins, 1986) Christopher Browing, A Product of Euphoria in Victory, Fateful Months: Essays on the Emergence of the Final Solution (New York: Holmes and Meier, 1985) Arno Mayer, Product of a War Gone Awry, Why Did the Heavens Not Darken? (New York: Pantheon Books, 1990) April 10: Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Hitler s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (New York: Vintage, 1997), pp. 3-24, Fritz Stern, The Goldhagen Controversy: One Nation, One People, One Theory? Foreign Affairs, vol. 75, no. 6 (November/December, 1996), pp April 17: Omer Bartov, Spielberg s Oskar: Hollywood Tries Evil, in Yosefa Loshitzky, ed., Spielberg s Holocaust (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997), pp Liliane Weissberg, The Tale of a Good German: Reflections on the German Reception of Schindler s List, in Yosefa Loshitzky, ed., Spielberg s Holocaust (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997), pp Haim Bresheeth, The Great Taboo Broken: Reflections on the Israeli Reception of Schindler s List, in Yosefa Loshitzky, ed., Spielberg s Holocaust (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997), pp Notes About the Readings: The readings for this course reflect the fact that this is an upper-level class for advanced students. You should carefully look over the course outline and set up a study plan that will enable you to keep up with the required reading. If possible, try to get an early start on the longer assignments. If you have a limited background on the history of Nazi Germany, Spielvogel will serve as a basic text and provides a readable, comprehensive background for the course lectures. The articles will help to focus our discussion on the dimension of historical interpretation. Finally, the books by Allen, Browning and Spiegelman are case study accounts that will help us to understand some of the larger issues at stake through a detailed analysis of a smaller, clearly defined example. 2

3 COURSE DESCRIPTION: The history of Nazi Germany continues to exercise a profound influence on our present. More than half a century after its overthrow, the Nazi regime remains a universal symbol for institutionalized evil, its actions having forever altered conceptions of politics, ethics and morality in the modern world. The emotional and long debated questions surrounding the study of German National Socialism include: Why and to what extent did the German people actively support Nazism? How and why could such a movement gain complete power over the German state and society? Why did Nazism culminate in the Holocaust, the genocide of the European Jews, and to what degree do Germans continue to bear a collective responsibility for the consequences of Nazi rule? Today, the search for answers to such issues seems more relevant than ever, as the resurgence of anti-foreigner and neo-nazi sentiment in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and the United States, and the growing number of ethnic cleansings occurring around the globe, casts doubt on whether the world has yet learned from the experience of Nazi Germany. This course thus has several distinct, though closely related goals: To gain a broad understanding of the historical development of German National Socialism, beginning with the political, social, and economic causes for the Nazi rise to power and continuing through to the collapse of the Nazi regime in 1945 To examine the ideology, organizations, and practices of National Socialism. This will enable us to evaluate the movement s goals, the methods of their implementation, and the effects of Nazi rule on German society. To explore Nazi foreign policy and the German approach to the Second World War as the attempt to implement the highest priorities of Nazi ideology To examine the evolution of the Holocaust as the ultimate expression of National Socialism. By analyzing the central role of anti-semitism in Nazi ideology, tracing the changing nature of the escalating persecution of the Jews, and treating the experiences of both perpetrators and victims, we can attempt to understand the mentalities and structures that made possible the institutionalized killing system that culminated in Auschwitz ASSIGNMENTS, EXAMINATIONS, AND GRADING Assignments: ESSAYS: Three written essay assignments are to be completed. They will consist of six-to-eight page essays on themes taken from the course readings. 1. On the basis of part 1 of William Sheridan Allen, The Nazi Seizure of Power, explain why the majority of the residents of Northeim turned to National Socialism in the period Consider both the ideological and organizational factors behind the Nazis appeal and show how these worked together to overcome the opposition. DUE: February 7, Using Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men, explore the factors motivating the perpetrators of the Holocaust. Why did so few men from Police Battalion 101 take advantage of the opportunity to avoid participating in killing operations? And if the majority of the unit s members were initially not killers by training or choice, why did they continue to carry out the killing operations with efficiency and, in some cases, with zeal? How does this case study affect your understanding of the Holocaust? DUE: April 10, What are the central concerns of Art Spiegelman s Maus? Does he convey these concerns effectively? Provide examples of the ways he does so. Please also consider whether his book would have been as effective if it had not been in comic book form. DUE: April 24,

4 SEMINAR: You will participate in 4 seminars. You will produce a list of 5-7 questions generated from the assigned readings. These questions should probe the meaning of the articles and extend our learning. The questions will be the basis of the class discussion. Grading: Your course grade will be based on the following: Three (3) essay assignments 50% Four (4) sets Seminar questions 30% Participation 20% Students are expected to attend all classes, unless other arrangements are made with me in advance. Come to class prepared to discuss the readings. We cannot discuss everything in class, but it is assumed that the issues and questions addressed in the readings will become part of the working knowledge of all class members. HOUSEKEEPING: Reasonable Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify me during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodations to be unavailable. All accommodations must be approved through the Student Services Office, Inclement Weather: Any questions concerning inclement weather, please contact the faculty support for the history department. Faculty support will have information regarding class closures and will post that information on their voice mail messages. For information please call the faculty support telephone numbers: Humanities 360/ English, Fine Arts, History and Anthropology Final Comments: All these assignments, when viewed as a whole, look rather daunting, but do not dismay. If you pace your efforts and are pro-active in their pursuit, most of these assignments can be accomplished fairly readily. As you probably already know, people learn more from actively doing. Please do not hesitate to schedule a time when we can discuss any of the written assignments as a works in progress. All written work is to be typed, formatted in a style appropriate to the assignment, and indicative of the literacy skills expected of a WSU graduate. All assignments will be completed on time or before the assigned due dates. 4

5 COURSE OUTLINE: Jan 10 Weimar Republic Spielvogel: Chapter 1 Jan 17 Origins of Nazi Party and Fall of Weimar Spielvogel: Chapter 2; Chapter 3, pp Jan 24 Decadence and Destruction Film: Blue Angel Article: Gerturd Koch, Between two Worlds: von Sternberg s The Blue Angel (1930) Jan 31 Stabilization of Nazi Power Film: Triumph of the Will Spielvogel: Chapter 3, pp Article: Martin Loiperdinger, Leni Riefenstahl, the SA, and the Nazi Party Rally Films, Nuremberg : Sieg des Glaubens and Triumph des Willens Feb 7 Political System of the Third Reich FIRST ESSAY DUE William Sheridan Allen, The Nazi Seizure of Power Feb 14 Propaganda Film: Hitler Jugend Quex Spielvogel: Chapter 4 Feb 21 Psychology of Dictatorship Seminar Questions Due Spielvogel: Chapter 5 Karl Bracher, Fantasy and Fact Alan Bullock, Fanaticism and Calculation Michael Burleigh, Hitler s Racism Ian Kershaw, The Hitler Myth Robert G.L. Waite, Guilt Feelings and Perverted Sexuality 5

6 Feb 28 Nazi State: Arts, Education, Women and Family Seminar Questions Due Spielvogel: Chapter 6 Mason, Workers in the German Labor Front Peukert, Obedient and Dissident Youth Stephenson, The Wary Response of Women Koonz, Mothers in the Fatherland March 6 Nazi State: Law and Order, the SS State and Resistance Spielvogel: Chapter 8 March 20 German Hegemony and World War Film: Frontschau Spielvogel: Chapter 7 March 27 Eugenics and Racial Mass Murder Film: Eternal Jew Jud Süss Susan Tegel, Viet Harlan and the Origins of Jud Süss Stig Hornshoj-Moller, Der Ewige Jude: Joseph Goebbels Unequal Monument to Anti- Semitism April 3 Origins of the Holocaust Film: Wannsee Conference Seminar Questions Due Spielvogel: Chapter 9 Gerald Fleming, It is the Führer s Wish Hans Mommsen, There Was No Führer Order Christopher Browing, A Product of Euphoria in Victory Arno Mayer, Product of a War Gone Awry 6

7 April 10 Ordinary Men SECOND ESSAY DUE Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Hitler s Willing Executioners Fritz Stern, The Goldhagen Controversy April 17 Holocaust on Film Film: Schindler s List Seminar Questions Due Omar Bartov, Spielberg s Oskar: Hollywood Tries Evil Liliane Weissberg, The Tale of a Good German: Reflections on the German Reception of Schindler s List Haim Bresheeth, The Great Taboo Broken: Reflections on the Israeli Reception of Schindler s List April 24 Americanization of the Holocaust THIRD ESSAY DUE Art Speigelman, The Complete Maus Article: Annette Insdorf, The Hollywood Version of the Holocaust May 1 Guilt and Responsibility Film: Downfall Spielvogel: Chapter 10 7