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History 281 (11888)
MW 4-5:15 in Stroud 410
East Stroudsburg University
Spring 2013
Chris Dudley
cdudley@esu.edu
Stroud 409N x3284
Office Hours: MW 9-10, 12-2
The Third Reich
The Third Reich is a subject about which everybody knows a great deal except for the
professional historians who study it. Popular histories and popular culture generally are full of
depictions of Hitler, Nazis, and Germany during the Second World War. Even Homer Simpson
knows that the Luftwaffe are “the Washington Generals of the History Channel.” Yet historians
have more disagreements and unanswered about the Third Reich than about almost any other
twentieth century subject. In addition to thorny questions that can never to completely resolved,
such as those about the extent to which ordinary Germans supported the Nazis and what
motivated their support, there is no clear answer to much more basic questions. Did Nazi
economic policies revive the German economy after the Great Depression? Did Hitler want to
go to war in 1939? Was the German economy on wartime footing before 1942? Even questions
about which officials were responsible for the Holocaust lack definite answers.
This class examines the Third Reich in the context of late nineteenth and early twentieth century
Europe with two broad questions. Why did the Nazi Party gain power in Germany in the 1930s?
Why did Nazi Germany pursue policies of war and genocide? The course will not offer
definitive answers to those questions, but will encourage students to recognize differing
historical viewpoints and decide for themselves. Throughout the course we will also consider a
third question designed to allow students to reflect on the contemporary relevance of fascism:
why are we fascinated by the Third Reich?
Objectives and Methods
This course is something of a hybrid. As a General Education course, it seeks to foster broad
analytical skills. As a course that fulfills upper level requirements for History majors and
German minors, it seeks to offer advanced study of European and German history and culture.
To meet these goals, I have based the course around four learning objectives. First, the course
will inform students about the Third Reich so they can distinguish myth from reality. Second,
students will be able to analyze the Third Reich comparatively. Third, they will be able to
consider and critique historical controversies about the Third Reich. Fourth and finally, students
will be able to critically evaluate contemporary references to the Third Reich.
These objectives will be met by reading primary sources, class discussion, and written
assignments described below. Generally speaking the course requirements and assignments are
designed to allow students to act like historians by considering the evidence and the arguments
made by others before constructing their own interpretation.
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Course Requirements
Your grade for this class will be determined by your performance on the following assignments.
All grades are based on a standard ten-point scale: A 94-100, A- 90-93, B+ 87-89, B 84-86, etc.
Class Participation (15%) The success of this course depends on your participation. Therefore
I have made class participation part of your grade. This is not “extra credit:” your final grade
will be lowered if your participation is not satisfactory. To participate effectively you need to do
the readings, bring them with you to class, and be prepared to discuss them with you fellow
classmates.
Document Collection: European Racism (20%) is a short (2-3 page) essay you will write based
on a selection of primary sources you chose. I will make a variety of sources available on D2L,
but you are also free to find your own documents related to European racism before c. 1870. The
document collection is due in class February 11.
Film Analysis (20%) is another short paper based on one of the films we will view in class:
Pandora’s Box on February 27 or Triumph of the Will on March 4. Your paper will analyze the
film you choose in terms of themes we have been discussing in class using other sources. The
paper is due March 15.
Term Paper: Interpreting Nazi Plans (30%) is a longer paper (7-10 pages) that requires you to
combine primary source evidence with historical interpretations to make an argument about the
war plans and preparations of the Nazi leaders. You will be required to stake out a position
relative to the theses of Milward, Overy, Taylor, and Dawidowicz. The paper is due April 26.
Contemporary Reflection (15%) asks you to find one contemporary (within the last 15 years)
reference to the Third Reich and explain its relationship to the actual history of the Third Reich.
You can use magazine or newspaper articles or references in popular entertainment. Your goal is
to explain how the reference interprets the Third Reich and whether you find that interpretation
historically valid. Your paper should include a copy of the reference if it’s printed or a
description of it if it’s not. Your reflection should be 2-3 pages. The paper is due May 15.
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is an integral part of historical research, and I will be strictly enforcing ESU’s
policies on academic misconduct (pp. 48-49 of the Student Handbook). Plagiarism – the use of
someone else’s words or ideas without proper citation – will be referred to the Office of Student
Conduct and punished by failure for the assignment or the course. Your papers should use
footnotes to cite sources. If you have questions about academic honesty or proper citations,
please see me.
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Miscellaneous Policies
Late Papers
I do not accept late papers under ordinary circumstances. If there is a legitimate reason why you
must turn a paper in late, please see me. If possible, see me before the assignment is due.
Incompletes
Under exceptional circumstances, such as extended illness, I will issue a grade of incomplete for
the course. Please contact me if you feel you may need an incomplete.
Classroom Environment
While in class, demonstrate respect for your fellow students. Avoid disrupting class by arriving
late or leaving early, but if you must do either do it quietly. Turn off or silence cell phones. You
may bring laptop computers to take notes, but remember that what’s on your screen will distract
the students around you, so avoid web-browsing and solitaire. If you are too tired to make it
through class without falling asleep, it is better for everyone if you stay away. If you are
disruptive or obviously oblivious to what is happening around you, you will not get credit for
attendance.
Special Needs
If you require any special accommodation, the University has resources available. See me or
contact Disability Services at x3954.
Meeting with the Instructor
I want everyone to do well in this class! Nothing would make me happier than for everyone to
earn an A, because that will mean I did my job well. I’m here to help you, but I can’t help you if
I don’t know you have a problem. If you have a problem, a question, or just want to talk more
about something that was said in class please talk to me.
My office hours, listed at the top of the syllabus, are drop-in times. No appointment is
necessary. If those times aren’t convenient, send me an email or talk to me after class and we’ll
work out another time to meet. You can also email me with questions, although it’s often easier
if we can meet face to face.
Required Texts
There are two required books for this class, which I have ordered at the University Store. All
other readings are available on the course D2L page.
Primo Levi, The Drowned and the Saved (New York: Vintage, 1989) ISBN 978-0679721864
Robert Moeller, The Nazi State and German Society: A Brief History with Documents (Boston:
Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010) ISBN 978-0312454685
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Class Schedule
Part I: Before the Third Reich
Week 1 Introduction and Overview
28 Jan: Course Introduction
30 Jan: Overview of the Third Reich
“Introduction: Understanding Nazi Germany,” Moeller 1-26
Also look at the Forward (pg. v), especially if you aren’t an experienced historian
Week 2 Structures of European Competition
4 Feb: Global Economic Competition
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, 1848
6 Feb: Imperialism
Joseph Chamberlain, Preference, The True Imperial Policy, 1905
Jules Ferry, On French Colonial Expansion, 1884
Wilhelm II, A Place in the Sun, 1901
Week 3 European Racism
11 Feb: Discussion of Document Collections
Document Collection Due in Class
13 Feb: Modern Racism and Anti-Semitism
Cecil Rhodes, The Superior Anglo-Saxon Race, 1877
Édouard Drumont, Jewish France, 1886
Hermann Ahlwardt, The Semitic versus the Teutonic Race, 1895
Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State, 1896
Week 4 War and National Health
18 Feb: Pre-war Attitudes
Karl Pearson, National Life from the Standpoint of Science, 1900
Heinrich von Treitschke, In Memory of the Great War, 1895
F. T. Marinetti, The Futurist Manifesto, 1909
Henri Massis and Alfred de Tarde, The Young People of Today, 1912
20 Feb: Post-war Depression
Paul Valéry, On European Civilization, 1919
Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West, 1922
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Week 5 Weimar Germany
25 Feb: Social and Economic Turmoil
Konrad Heiden, The Ruinous Inflation, 1923
Magnus Hirschfeld, Sexual Catastrophes, 1926 (Moeller 31-32)
Elsa Herrmann, This is the New Woman, 1929 (Moeller 33-35)
27 Feb: Pandora’s Box (G.W. Pabst, 1929)
Part II: The Third Reich at Peace, 1933-1939
Week 6 National Socialism
4 March: Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935)
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf: On the Use of Mass Meetings, 1925 (Moeller 38-40)
6 March: Development of the Nazi Party
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf: Hopes for Germany in 1914, 1925 (Moeller 29-31)
Adolf Hitler, Anti-Semitic Speech, 1922 (Moeller 35-38)
Adolf Hitler, Nazi Party Manifesto, 1930 (Moeller 42-45)
Albert Speer, On Joining the Nazi Movement in 1931 (Moeller 45-47)
Week 7 The Nazi Takeover
11 March: First Steps
Melita Maschmann, A German Teenager’s Response to the Nazi Takeover (Moeller 47-49)
New York Times, Germany Ventures, 1933 (Moeller 49-51)
Joseph Goebbels, The Tasks of the Ministry for Propaganda, 1933 (Moeller 57-59)
William Shirer, Description of the Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg, 1934 (Moeller 59-61)
Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich, 1933 (Moeller 61-63)
Reports on Attitudes toward the Murder of SA Leader Ernst Röhm, 1934 (Moeller 78-79)
13 March: Police State
New York Times, Report on a Visit to a Reich Prison Camp, 1933 (Moeller 69-70)
Gabriele Herz, Description of an Early Concentration Camp for Women, 1937 (Moeller 71-77)
Bruno Bettelheim, The Experience of the Concentration Camps, 1945
William Shirer, Berlin Diary 3 and 4 February 1940 “Voluntary Support for Nazis”
15 March (Friday)
Film Analysis Papers Due
Spring Break 18-22 March
Week 8 Economic Recovery
25 March: Analyzing the German Economy
Harold James, The German Slump: Politics and Economics 1924-1936, 1986
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27 March: Politics and Economic Recovery
Reports on the Sources of Working Class Support for the Nazis, 1935-1939 (Moeller 53-56)
William Shirer, Berlin Diary, 27 September 1937: “Germany in 1937”
Week 9 Protecting the National Body
1 April: Family and Cultural Health
Adolf Hitler, Speech to the National Socialist Women’s Organization, 1934 (Moeller 79-82)
“Healthy Parents – Healthy Children” Poster, 1934 (Moeller 83)
Jutta Rüdiger, On the League of German Girls, 1939 (Moeller 84-85)
Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring, 1933 (Moeller 88-89)
Heinrich Himmler, On the Question of Homosexuality, 1937 (Moeller 93-95)
3 April: Racial Degeneration
Adolf Hitler, Opening Address at the House of German Art in Munich, 1937 (Moeller 65-67)
“Degenerate Music” Brochure, 1939 (Moeller 68)
Heinrich Himmler, Fight Against the Gypsy Nuisance, 1938 (Moeller 95-96)
New York Times, Reports on the Introduction of Anti-Semitic Laws, 1935 (Moeller 97-99)
Marta Appel, Jewish Life after the Nazi Seizure of Power in 1933 (Moeller 100-103)
Inge Deutschkron, Growing Up Jewish in 1930s Germany, 1978 (Moeller 103-105)
David Buffum, Report on Kristallnacht, 1938 (Moeller 105-109)
Jakob Graf, Hereditary and Racial Biology for Students, 1935
Week 10 Rearmament and Expansion
8 April: What Kind of Rearmament?
Alan Milward, War, Economy and Society 1939-1945, 1977
R. J. Overy, War and Economy in the Third Reich, 1994
10 April: Inter-war Diplomacy
The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928
Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg, Address Before the Wehrmacht Academcy, 1937
Adolf Hitler, Speech at the Sports Palace in Berlin, 1938
William Shirer, Berlin Diary, 10 August 1939: “Germany and Poland”
Part III: The Third Reich at War, 1939-1945
Week 11 War Aims
15 April: Historian’s Debate
A.J.P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War, 1961
Lucy Dawidiwicz, The War Against the Jews, 1975
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17 April: Primary Source Evidence
Adolf Hitler, Speech before the Reichstag, 1939 (Moeller 110-112)
On the Re-Germanization of Lost German Blood, 1940 (Moeller 112-113)
Melita Maschmann, A German Colonizer of Poland in 1939 or 1940 (Moeller 114-115)
Walter von Reichnau, Conduct of Troops in Eastern Territories, 1941 (Moeller 117-119)
Karl Fuchs, Letters from France, 1940 (Moeller 115-117)
Karl Fuchs, Letters from the Eastern Front, 1941 (Moeller 119-124)
Week 12 Blitzkrieg and Total War
22 April: Success on the Western Front
William Shirer, Berlin Diary 20 September 1939: “Mechanized Warfare”
William Shirer, Berlin Diary 10 May 1940: “Hitler Risks All”
William Shirer, Berlin Diary 24 May 1940: “Description of Blitzkrieg”
24 April: War Comes Home
Total War Cover Illustration, 1943 (Moeller 125)
Käthe Ricken, Life under the Bombs, 1943-1945 (Moeller 126-128)
Melita Maschmann, The Mobilization of the Youth in the Winter of 1945 (Moeller 174-175)
26 April (Friday)
Term Paper Due
Week 13 The Final Solution
29 April: Ghettoes and Einsatzgruppen
Jewish Cultural Association of Württemberg, On Deportation, 1941 (Moeller 132-134)
Ria Bröring, Account of Jewish Deportations, 1942 (Moeller 135)
Chaim Kaplan, In the Warsaw Ghetto, 1939-1942 (Moeller 141)
Hermann Friedrich Graebe, Description of a Mass Execution of Jews, 1945 (Moeller 136-138)
Heinrich Himmler, Speech to SS Officers in Posen, 1943 (Moeller 139-140)
1 May: Extermination Camps
Levi, 105-126 , 95-101
Hanna Lévy-Hass, The Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp, 1944-45 (Moeller 153-159)
Week 14 Reckoning with Nazi Evil
6 May: Moral Grayness
Levi, 36-69, 149-161
8 May: Remembering
Levi, 11-35, 70-87, 175-197
15 May (Wednesday)
Contemporary Reflection Due