Course Syllabus Fall, 2017 History 240 Nazi Germany Location/Time: SSHE 211, TTh, 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. 3 Credits Prof. Daniel Franke Office: SSHE 131 Phone: 804-862-6100 ext. 8580 Email: dfranke@rbc.edu Office Hours: WF, 1-2 pm; T-Th, 8:30-9:20 a.m. Course Description: Three hours lecture; three credits. A survey of the history of Nazi Germany, beginning with the context of 19th-century Europe, Imperial Germany, and World War I, and ending with the debates over the meaning and memory of the regime after its defeat in 1945. Students will consider in particular the way the Nazi Party gained political power, maintained control, and implemented policies of terror and genocide with the complicity and cooperation of Germans and peoples throughout Europe. Finally, students will consider how the military, society, industry, and individuals were implicated in the Holocaust and how the memory of these horrific events has been debated since 1945. Course Objectives: • To prepare you for university transfer by studying the past in the liberal arts tradition. • To develop a working knowledge of Nazi Germany, how it came to be, how it functioned, and its significance to modern history. • To develop critical thinking and reading abilities through questions, debate, discussion, activities, source analysis, and written argument. • To develop a spirit of inquiry and appreciation of the historical method that you can use to inform and enrich your life and studies. Learning Outcomes: At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to: • Understand the origins, narrative, and ends of the Nazi movement, the Nazi state, and the Holocaust. • Identify key dates, names, places, events, ideas, and movements in the history of Nazi Germany. • Evaluate a variety of historical sources on Nazi Germany for their credibility, position, and perspective. • Identify major interpretations of the Nazi State and the Holocaust (historiography). • Conduct historical research using primary and secondary sources. Required Texts and Resources: • [Book] Wolfgang Benz, A Concise History of the Third Reich. • [Book] Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland • [Other Readings] PDF files or weblinks to online readings • [Media] Documentaries, informational videos, etc. Note: YOU SHOULD BRING THE REQUIRED TEXTBOOK TO ALL CLASS MEETINGS! Course Requirements: This course requires you to attend class regularly, participate in class, complete three writing assignments of increasing complexity, complete four discussion-based classes, and complete a final exam consisting of a digital presentation. The following are required assignments. You must complete all of these in order to pass the course, if you are taking the course for credit: Paper 1 WW1 and Weimar 225 points Paper 2 The Nazi State 225 Paper 3 War and Genocide 450 Final Exam 300 Historical argument with at least six primary source examples supported by secondary source analysis 2000 words Research and write a historical argument with at least six primary source examples supported by secondary source analysis and external research 2000 words Research and write a historical argument with twelve primary source examples, secondary source analysis support, a counter-argument, and external research 4000 words Complete a multiple-choice exam and a digital presentation; present part of that presentation Attendance Policy: Regular and punctual class attendance is expected of all students. Each student is allowed absences without penalty for the number of hours equal to the contact hours for a course. For example, a student is allowed three (3) hours of absence from a three (3) credit hour class. It is the responsibility of the student to make up missed work for such absences; and being absent does not excuse a student from the responsibility to complete any work or assignment on time. Students more than 15 minutes late may be counted as absent. Further, if a student enters the class late, it is their responsibility to make sure the professor adjusts their attendance. The professor will not stop class activities to go adjust the roster. Students absent for more than the three (3) absences allowed will lose ten (10) points per absence off the final class grade, and may be dropped from the class. Classroom Behavior: • A significant part of your course grade consists of “participation.” • These points are entirely at my discretion, and reflect my evaluation of your behavior in class. • Remember, when you’re in class, you are constantly being evaluated. It may not look like it, but I’m constantly reading, assessing, and noting your behavior. • Simply showing up doesn’t get you points—professional behavior does! This is basically common-sense stuff: don’t carry on side conversations with your friends, don’t blatantly ignore either the my lecture or your comrades’ discussions or contributions to the class, and so on. Electronic Devices and Technology • Electronic devices can be very useful, or very disruptive. • • • • • • Use of electronic devices is not banned per se; we will be using technology a lot in this class. However: I reserve the right to ban electronic devices if I feel it is necessary to preserve an effective learning environment in the classroom. And, importantly: If your use of electronic devices is disruptive, you will be dismissed from the classroom and fail your participation grade for that session. • “Disruptive” here means, but is not limited to, being visibly distracted from the conversation, lecture, or other activities of class due to content on your screen, and playing sounds on your device. • If you are dismissed three times in the semester, you will automatically fail the course. No wearing headphones No cellphones out, unless being used for a classroom assignment. After three infractions, students will fail the course. Special Education Needs Please notify me if you have any special education needs; the class will be fully educational for everyone, without exception. Your and my responsibilities are spelled out in the Office of Special Services guidelines: http://www.rbc.edu/student-handbook/x-compliance/ Grading: • The following scale represents the letter and number equivalents used for assignments: A 100% to 90% B < 90% to 80% C < 80% to 70% D < 70% to 60% F < 60% to 0% • The final grade is calculated based on the following percentages: Participation 150 10% Paper 1 WW1 and Weimar 225 15% Paper 2 Nazi State 225 15% Paper 3 War and Genocide 450 30% Discussion Classes 150 10% Final Exam 300 20% ______________________ ________ ___ Total 1500 points 100% Papers and Digital Projects • There are three papers and one digital project required to pass the class, as discussed above. • The first two papers must incorporate the assigned book chapters for that unit or block, as well as at least 50% of all materials on the syllabus and covered in class. These materials are described in detail in the individual paper assignments. You are also expected to consult primary and secondary sources, as specified in the assignments. • Length: The first two papers will be of 2000 words, minimum, each. The third paper will be minimum 4,000 words. • All papers will be submitted electronically through TurnItIn via Canvas. • The three papers together account for 60% of your grade. • • • There will be several in-class digital exercises that students will construct in class, to help construct useful materials in support of the papers. The final exam project will build on the techniques learned in the digital exercises during the semester. The digital project portion of the final exam counts for 20% of your grade. It will reflect on a specific question or questions that come from your research. Late Work: • There are no “quizzes” per se, though I may decide that it is necessary to give quizzes should class preparation seem to be lacking. • The readings and materials listed should be completed by the date listed on the schedule. • This is necessary for your successful completion of the paper assignments, so if you do not prepare it is actually your loss. • However, if you arrive class not having prepared the materials, you will receive a “zero” for participation for that class. You should stay, however, to obtain whatever benefit you can from the materials and concepts covered. • Paper assignments: Late papers (papers not submitted at the *start* of class) may be submitted up to two class periods late. They lose 10% of the assignment points per class period late. Papers will not be accepted, except on a case-by-case basis, after 2 late class periods. Final Examination: The final exam for this course will consist of a presentation of a digital project that you Important Dates: • August 14 • August 18 • September 4 • October 7-10 • October 27 • November 22 • November 23-26 • December 4 • December 7 Fall Classes Begin End of add/drop period Labor Day; no classes Fall Recess Last day to drop/audit or withdraw from College without academic penalty No classes Thanksgiving Recess Last day of classes Final Exam Changes to the Syllabus: The professor reserves the right to alter the syllabus during the course of the semester in order to respond the needs of the class or to any unforeseen circumstances. Academic Honesty: • Students are expected to abide by the RBC Honor Code, which can be found here: http://www.rbc.edu/campus-life/honor-code/ • In all assignments, but especially in research papers and essays, you are expected to use your own words, and to give credit to your sources where you do not (if your fellow students give you great ideas, by all means cite them). • I will know if you plagiarize. I know the available open source Wikipedia-like summaries out there on the topics we will cover, and even more importantly I know how you write. • Plagiarized assignments will receive automatic zeros. • A student who plagiarizes a homework assignment will receive a warning. Plagiarized papers, exams, and 2nd-offense homework will be referred to appropriate student conduct personnel. We have latitude in how we treat plagiarism and academic dishonesty here. To see how VCU handles the same topic, see https://students.vcu.edu/studentconduct/vcu-honor-system/. SCHEDULE How to read this: The first two columns have the lesson number, the date, and the theme, if applicable. The “Classroom Activities and Materials” column shows readings or homework that must be completed before the start of class, and indicates things that will be covered in class on the day. Deadlines for the major assignments are indicated in the last column, in red. Lesson Date and Topics Classroom Topics and Media to be completed on the date Assignments Due Extra Readings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 August 15 Course overview and policies Introduction: ---1. Central Europe and the Great War August 17 NOTE: Be prepared to discuss the Documentary, Wilhelmine Namibian Genocide and the Second Reich Germany and Empire Lecture: Europe, National Identity, and the Great War August 22 NOTE: Be ready to discuss Clarke, selection from War and Iron Kingdom, “Army and State.” [pdf] Ethnic Cleansing Lecture: The conduct of the First World War August 24 NOTE: Be ready to discuss Clarke, selection from 1918: From Iron Kingdom, “Revolution in Prussia,” and Victory to “Democratic Prussia” [1 pdf] Defeat Lecture: How the First World War Ended, and Why That Matters 2. Weimar and the Interwar Crisis of Liberalism August 29 NOTE: Be ready to discuss Snyder, “Introduction: The World Hitler and Stalin” [pdf] Versailles Made Lecture: The World After the Great War August 31 NOTE: Be ready to discuss Herff, “The The Weimar conservative revolution in Weimar” [pdf] Government and Its Critics September 5 Note: Be ready to discuss Nazism, A Documentary The Nazi party Reader, chapter 1 [pdf] and its rivals September 7 NOTE: Be ready to discuss Nazism, A From the Press Documentary Reader, chapter 3 “The Emergence of to the Streets Nazism as a Mass Movement.” [pdf] Paxton, “The Five Stages of Fascism” [pdf] 9 10 September 12 The Nazi Party comes to power September 14 Lecture: How the Nazis Took Over: the case of Northeim Lecture: How the Weimar Government disintegrated after 1929 No class; instructor at conference 3. The Nazi State and the Nazi Project September 19 NOTE: Be ready to discuss Tyrell, “Towards From the Dictatorship: Germany 1930 to 1934” Streets to the Lecture: How the Nazis Took Over: Seizing the State State... Discussion (25 points) 12 September 21 NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Benz, chapter 2 Dictatorship “The Consolidation of Power” and chapter 3 “Crisis and Triumph of Dictatorship” [textbook] 11 13 September 26 A New World War and Crisis Paper, 2000 words (200 points) Kershaw, “Führer without sin: Hitler and the ‘Little Hitlers’” [pdf] NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Benz, chapter 4 “Society and the Nazi State” [textbook] Optional: Bergen, “From Revolution to Routine, 1933-1938” Lecture: Race Laws and Concentration Camps Documents from Nazism: Documentary Reader 14 September 28 The Churches NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Benz, chapter 5 “The Hitler State” [textbook] Lecture: Religion and the Nazi State Documents from Nazism: Documentary Reader 15 October 3 Indoctrination 16 October 5 Camps NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Benz, chapter 6 “Economic and Social Policy” AND Lower, “The Lost Generation of German Women” [pdf] Documents from Nazism: Documentary Reader NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Benz, chapter 7 “Terror and Persecution” [textbook] Optional: Wachsmann, KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps, chapter 2 “SS Camps” [pdf] 17 October 10 Fall Break Kershaw, “The Führer versus the Radicals: Hitler’s Image and the ‘Church Struggle’” [pdf] Lecture: Geography of Terror No class Mallmann and Paul, “Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent: Gestapo, Soceity and Resistence” [pdf] 18 19 October 12 Romancing the Army NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Benz, chapter 8 “Discontent and Opposition” [textbook] AND Nazism, A Documentary Reader, chapter 26 “The Regime and the Armed Forces, 1933-1936” [pdf] 4. War, Genocide, and the Breaking of the Nazi State October 17 NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Benz, chapter 9 Persecution “The Persecution of the Jews” [textbook] Discussion (25 points) 20 October 19 Seeking War NOTE: Be ready to discuss Benz chapter 10 “The Road to War”; Nazi-Soviet Pact 21 October 24 Victory and Atrocity Documentary: Munich NOTE: Be ready to discuss Bartov, “Savage War: German Warfare and Moral Choices in World War II.” [pdf] 22 October 26 Class Trip October 31 Radicalization 23 Lecture: The first war, 1939-1940 Virginia Holocaust Museum Barnett, “Who is a Bystander?” [pdf] Nazi State Paper, 2000 words (200 points) Peukert, “The Genesis of the ‘Final Solution’ from the Spirit of Science” [pdf] NOTE: Be ready to discuss Benz chapter 11 “Daily Life in Wartime Germany and the Radicalization of the Regime”; Lecture: Nazi Europe November 2 War of Annihilation NOTE: Be ready to discuss Benz chapter 12 “Total War” Mein Krieg, documentary 25 November 7 Holocaust --Lecture: The Nazi Economy and the Origins of the Wehrmacht Myth NOTE: Be ready to discuss Benz chapter 13 “The Murder of the Jews” [textbook] AND Nazism Documentary History, chapter 38 “The Transition to the Systematic Extermination of the Jews” [pdf] 26 November 9 Resistance NOTE: Be ready to discuss Benz chapter 14 “Resistance” 27 November 14 The End of the ThousandYear Reich NOTE: Be ready to discuss Benz chapter 15 “Collapse” 24 28 November 16 Lecture: Why did Germans resist to the end? Fury, selections NOTE: Be ready to discuss Benz, “Epilogue” Heer, “Killing fields: The Wehrmacht and the Holocaust in Belorussia, 194142” TBD: July 20th Plot Discussion (50 points) 5. Aftermath: Memory, Debate, and Resurgence 29 November 21 --Nuit et Brouillard, 1955 Coming to --Lecture: Germany in 1945 Grips with the --Elizabeth Borgwardt The Nuremberg Idea Horror and Responsibility 30 31 32 November 23 The BrowningGoldhagen Debate November 28 New discoveries, Old memories NOTE: Be ready to discuss Arendt, “Eichmann in Jerusalem” selection --Worse than War: Genocide [documentary] --The Browning/Goldhagen debate NOTE: Be prepared to discuss Smelser and Davies, either chapter 3 “The German Generals Talk,” OR chapter 4 “Memoirs, Novels, and Popular Histories” November 30 --The Unknown Soldier Discussion (50 points) December 6, 3:00-6:00 p.m. Moses, “Hannah Arendt, Imperialisms, and the Holocaust” [pdf] War, Genocide, and Memory Paper, 4000 words (400 points) Final Exam Richard Bland College of William & Mary Mission: The mission of RBC is: To prepare students for university transfer through academically rigorous programs grounded in the liberal arts tradition of William & Mary and to expand access to college credentials through strategic partnerships, specialized programming, and scalable innovation.