THE HOLOCAUST Scott H. O Gara Fall, 2007 HM31 Office: Orient 112 Tele. No.: 631 548-2559 Objectives of the Course 1. To determine the root causes of the Holocaust. 2. To understand the divergent values possessed by the perpetrators and the victims. 3. To explore the Holocaust as a process. 4. To read and view pertinent material about the Holocaust; to hear testimonials by its victims. 5. To examine a variety of artistic responses to the Holocaust. Students will 6. Identify Genocidal events, pre- and post-world War II. 7. Discuss the evolution of European Anti-Semitism. 8. Examine positive and negative eugenics as principles inherent to Nazi Race Hygiene. 9. Survey artistic reaction to the Holocaust. 10. Propose appropriate responses to events of similar magnitude. Academic Procedures The course will consist primarily of a series of lectures, each dedicated to a fundamental aspect of the Holocaust. Students will read texts and view films dedicated to the issues under study. Students will also hear from survivors, and become acquainted with the experiences of Holocaust victims. They will participate regularly in class discussions. Academic Requirements 1. SCCC attendance policy permits no more than two absences per class. Under no circumstances will credit be given to anyone missing more than the permissible number of absences. Cellular telephones and pagers must be off during class. 2. The reading of required assignments, prior to the respective class meeting, is vital to the discussion. Anyone experiencing difficulty with any class assignment should discuss the issue with the instructor. 3. Students will be required to use the Internet to discover various treatments given Holocaust related material. Students will receive communications by e-mail, and will have the option of submitting their work by e-mail attachments.
Grading Practices Understanding is a challenge. Organization demands a chronological analysis, which will cover as much material as time will permit. Class participation and preparedness are essential to each student s success. One s final grade will be determined upon the following basis: Each of the two major projects will be worth 30% of the final grade. Two take-home quizzes will each be worth 10% of the final grade. Homework assignments will satisfy 10% of the final grade. Class Participation will satisfy 10% of the final grade. Texts Night, by Elie Wiesel. : Problems in European Civilization, Edited by Donald Niewyk. The Destruction of the European Jews, by Raul Hilberg. Additional materials will be provided. Weekly Outline An outline will be made available at the first meeting. In the event you miss a class, please be prepared for the respective assignment scheduled for the day of your return. All assignments must be completed. If failure to submit work on time is the result of an excused absence, the assignment must be submitted upon your return to class. Audio-Visual Materials Among those films intended for viewing, either in part or in their entirety, are: Triumph of the Will Schindler s List Night and Fog Europa Europa The Pianist Conspiracy The Grey Zone Shoah In addition, several audio tapes, each containing the stories of survivors, will be aired. These include Witnesses to the Holocaust, a compilation of survivor testimonials prepared by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Another CD intended for use accompanies Michael Berenbaum s A Promise to Remember In The Words And Voices Of Its Survivors. A bibliography will be provided shortly after the first meeting.
Course Calendar Scott H. O Gara HM 31 Tele. No.: 631 548-2559 September 6, 2007 Fall, 2007 Office: Orient 112 Introduction: Overview of Course, Materials, Mid-term and Final Projects. Focus on Artistic Responses to. Genocide, defined. distinguished. European Anti-Semitism: Hilberg, Chaps. 1, 2. Germany, Pre-1933. September 20, 2007 German Anti-Semitism continued: Niewyk, pp. 12-24. September 27, 2007 October 4, 2007 October 11, 2007 October 18, 2007 October 25, 2007 November 1, 2007 November 8, 2007 Eugenics in America and Germany: T-4 Program: Race Hygiene in Nazi Germany: Sterilization to Murder. Niewyk, pp. 39-55; 56-75. The Nazi Regime: 1933-1939: Boycott, Race Laws, Book Burnings Nuremberg Rallies, Olympics, Concentration Camps, Krystalnacht. Triumph of the Will. The Invasion of Poland: 1939: Alienation & Segregation; Deportation & Ghettoization; Starvation & Exploitation; Elimination & Extermination. Hilberg, Chap. 3; The Pianist. The Invasion of The Soviet Union: Einsatzgruppen and Police Battalions. Hilberg, Chap. 4; Niewyk, pp. 76-103. USHMM Survivor Tape. Wannasee: Chelmno: Hilberg, Chap. 5; Conspiracy. The Operation Reinhard Death Camps: Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka. Hilberg, Chap. 6; Shoah. Night Mid-term papers; Europa Europa. November 15, 2007 November 20, 2007 Schindler s List. Auschwitz and Majdanek Night and Fog, The Grey Zone.
November 29, 2007 December 6, 2007 December 13, 2007 Death Marches; Hidden Children. Niewyk, pp. 104-136. Survivor Discussion. Attendance is Mandatory. Liberation and Avengers: Abba Kovner, The Jewish Brigade Nuremberg. The Last Days Niewyk, pp. 138-176. Final Projects The Spoon Photographs of The Camps Today Texts: The Destruction of the European Jews, Raul Hilberg : Problems in European Civilization, Donald L. Niewyk Night, Elie Wiesel
Scott H. O Gara Fall, 2007 HM 31 Office: Orient 112 Tele. No. 631 548-2559 The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Codes Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka The Einsatzgruppen Reports A Promise to Remember IBM and War Against the Weak Ordinary Men Nazi Policy, Jewish Workers, German Killers The Unfit The Avengers The War Against The Jews Hasidic Tales of Children of The Origins of Nazi Genocide : A History of the Jews Of Europe During WWII Atlas of the Holocaust Holocaust Maps and Photographs Holocaust Journey Hitler s Willing Executioners Neighbors Tyranny on Trial The Destruction of the European Jews Death Dealer: Memoirs in Romania Art From the Ashes The Nazi Doctors Majdanek Wannsee Conference Guide Topography of Terror Belzek Masters of Death The Wannsee Conference & The Final Solution The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials Eichmann Interrogated Beyond Justice The Abandonment of the Jews Annus and Grodin Yitzhak Arad Yitzhak Arad Michael Berenbaum Edwin Black Edwin Black Christopher Browning Christopher Browning Elof Axel Carlson Richard Cohen Lucy S. Dawidowicz Yaffa Eliach Helene Epstein Henry Friedlander Daniel Jonah Goldhagen Jan T. Gross Whitney Harris Raul Hilberg Rudolf Hoess Radu Ionid Lawrence Langer Robert Jay Lifton Museum Guide Museum Guide Museum Guide Donald L. Niewyk Rudolk Reder (Survivor) Richard Rhodes Mark Roseman Telford Taylor Von Lang and Sibyll Rebecca Whittmann David Wyman
Biographies The Survivor The Diary of Anne Franke An Interrupted Life All But My Life If Not Now, When I Was Doctor Mengele s Assistant The Cage Night One Generation After Terrence Des Pres Anne Frank Etty Hillesum Gerda Weissman Klein Primo Levi Miklos Nyiszli Ruth Minsky Sender Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel Novels The Wall The Painted Bird The Fanatic Sophie s Choice The White Hotel Exodus Mila 18 John Hersey Jerzy Kosinski Meyer Levin Robert Styron D.M. Thomas Leon Uris Leon Uris
Scott H. O Gara HM 31 Tele. No. 631 548-2559 Fall, 2007 Office: Orient 112 Weblinks http://cshl.edu http://eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/ Cold Spring Harbor Lab CSHL ERO Archive http://remember.org http://www.einsatzgruppenarchives.com http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html http://www.mazal.org http:www.ushmm.org http://www.nizkor.org http://www.anti-rev.org (French) http://www.wiesenthal.org http:www.h.ref.de/ (German) http:www.jewishgen.org/forgottencamps/ http://www.macam98.ac.il/~ochayo/einvert.htm http://www.mjhnyc.org http://haehnemann.de/auschwitz (German Student site) http://www.holocaustchronicle.org http://library.yale.edu/testimonies/homepage.html http://www.shoa.de http.//www.holocaustdenialontrial.org/nsindex.html http.//www.holocaustfogotten.com (This site is dedicated to the non-jewish victims.) http://www.hetf.org/ http://www.sobibor.info http://www.womenandtheholocaust.com http://www.zwoje-scrolls.com/shoah/index.html http://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource.holo.html http://www.yadvashem.org Official Sites of Camp Museums http://www.auschwitz.org.pl/html/eng/start/index.html http://www.buchenwald.de/ http://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/englisch/content/ http://auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl/html/eng/start/index.php