History 4490
3.0 Credits
Fall Semester 2005
TR 10-11:20
TH 113
Dr. Ping
HITLER AND NAZI GERMANY
German history in the twentieth century poses special problems of interpretation. The
German historian must address a number of troubling questions: How could a modern,
industrial, educated society produce a movement so destructive as that of National
Socialism? Why did the German people support Adolf Hitler? What is the degree of
complicity and resistance displayed by the German people in the crimes of the Nazis? In
short, why did German history go so terribly wrong? History 4490 will be an attempt to
respond to these fundamental questions. We will pursue these questions as a class. We
will not find definitive answers to these questions; such answers are truly the work of
generations! Your feedback is important to me! I will ask students to be prepared to
participate in class discussion on a regular basis.
Required Texts:
Alan Mitchell, The Nazi Revolution.
Jackson J. Spielvogel, Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Elie Wiesel, Night.
All class reading assignments, aside from the reading you will need to complete your
paper, will be taken from these excellent texts. The reading will therefore be interesting,
but not burdensome.
VIDEOS and DVDs:
THE WONDERFUL, HORRIBLE LIFE OF LENI RIEFENSTAHL
THE ARCHITECTURE OF DOOM
HITLER: A CAREER. (A Film by Joachim Fest)
CONSPIRACY
CONFESSIONS OF A HITLER YOUTH
DOWNFALL
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL
Just as the German cinema rivaled Hollywood in the 1920s, the Nazis were among the
pioneers of twentieth century media politics. Therefore the study of propaganda films is a
significant part of the story of the Third Reich. You will be asked to view a number of
films to study the techniques of political presentation utilized by the Nazis. You will be
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responsible for these videos on the exams. For example, you might very well be asked to
discuss Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will.
Office Hours:
MWF 10:00am to 11:00pm.
Centrum 225k
Phone: x5457
Course Outcome/Objectives:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the methodologies, concepts, and subject
matter of the historical discipline—in this case, the history of the Third Reich.
Class Policies:
History 4490 will be structured according to the lecture model. Your responsibilities
therefore will include attending lecture and taking notes, completing the reading
assignments, and taking the exams. Attendance in lecture is important! I will monitor
attendance. I encourage you to take part in class discussions and to ask questions. Your
questions are an important part of this course. Since the essay examinations in this class
will be drawn largely from material presented in lecture, your regular attendance will
improve your chances of doing well in History 4490. Please turn in your work to me in
the form of hard copies, it is not my responsibility to print your papers on my computer!
Examinations and Grading:
Your grade in History 4490 will reflect your performance on two midterm exams and a
final paper. Both midterm exams will be structured on the essay model and will require
you to respond to essay and identification questions.
First Midterm: Thursday, October 6.
Second Midterm: Tuesday, November 22.
Final paper due: Thursday, December 8 @ 10:00am.
Each exam and your paper will count for approximately 30% of your grade.
Approximately 10% of your final grade will reflect your attendance and class
participation. I will keep track of attendance and participation! You will be responsible
for all reading assignments and material presented in class (including videos) upon the
exams. I will provide a study sheet before each exam.
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Paper/Project:
In place of a final exam, I am asking students to complete a ten-page research paper. You
are free to select any topic of interest to you so long as you limit your inquiry to the Third
Reich or closely associated topics. You may wish to pursue one of the following topics:
Leni Riefenstahl and Triumph of the Will, Women in the Third Reich, Women’s
Liberation in the 1920’s, The Failure of Weimar Democracy, or a biographical study of
one of the leading figures in the Nazi ruling circle: Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels,
Heinrich Himmler, Albert Speer, etc. You may wish to look into cultural studies: Nazi
propaganda, German cinema, Weimar modernism. Germany in the 20th century is an
unusually rich period for examining the birth of modern culture. The rise of the Nazis
was only part of the story! I will want to discuss your topics with each of you and suggest
some good readings for you. Please select your topic and clear it with me by Thursday,
October 6.
ADA DISCLAIMER:
Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring
academic adjustments, accommodations or auxiliary aids will need to contact the
Southern Utah University Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities
(SDD), in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or phone (435) 865-8022. SDD
determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest
extent. You are expected to have read and understood the current issue of the
student handbook (published by Student Services) regarding student responsibilities
and rights, and the intellectual property policy, for information about procedures
and about what constitutes acceptable on-campus behavior.
Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments,
makeup work, and attendance policies may be subject to change with advance
notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Class Schedule, Lecture Topics, and Reading Assignments:
Week 1: (August 29-September 2) Introduction to Germany, Sonderweg
thesis. Reading: Spielvogel, Chapter 1. Mitchell, Chapter 1.
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Week 2: (September 5-9) Darwinism & Racism, Biography The Coming of
the First World War. Mitchell, Chapter 1. DVD: Selections from Hitler: A
Career (A film by Joachim Fest) Labor Day Recess, Monday September 5.
Week 3: (September 12-16) World War One and its Consequences. Reading:
Spielvogel, Chapter 2. From the Trenches to Munich.
Week 4: (September 19-23) Revolution, Weimar, German Democracy in Crisis.
Reading: Spielvogel, Chaps 2 and 3. Mitchell, Chapter 2.
Week 5: (September 26-30) Hitler, the Nazi program, German politics of the
1920s. Reading: Spielvogel, Chap 5. Mitchell, Chapter 4.
Week 6: (October 3-7) The Nazi Seizure of Power. Reading: Mitchell, Chapter
2. First Midterm Exam, Thursday, October 7. Please finalize your paper topics
with me this week.
Week 7: (October 10-14) The Legal Revolution, Gleichschaltung, and the Röhm
Purge. Reading: Spielvogel, Chap 4. Mitchell, Chapter 5.
Week 8: (October 17-21) The Social Impact of Nazism. Reading: Spielvogel,
Chapters 5 and 6 Mitchell, Chapter 5. DVD: The Architecture of Doom.
Week 9: (October 24-28) The Hitler Cult, Kitsch and Nazi Culture. DVD:
The Triumph of the Will and selections from The Wonderful, Horrible Life of
Leni Riefenstahl. Reading: Spielvogel, Chapter 6. Harvest Day Recess,
Monday, October 24.
Week 10: (October 31-November 4) Hitler's path to war, Munich, appeasement.
Reading: Spielvogel, Chapter 7. Mitchell, Chapter 3.
Week 11: (November 7-11) The Second World War: The Blitzkrieg Years.
Hitler as Warlord, Reading: Spielvogel, Chapter 7. Reading: Spielvogel, Chap 9.
Week 12: (November 14-18) The Second World War. The Holocaust: From
Persecution to Murder. Reading: Spielvogel, Chapters 8 and 9. Defeat and
Götterdammerung. Reading: Spielvogel, Chapters 8 and 9. Read Elie Wiesel,
Night.
Week 13: (November 21-25) Second Midterm Exam. (Take home format)
November 18-22) Thanksgiving Recess.
Week14: (November 28-December 2) Defeat and Götterdammerung. Reading:
Spielvogel, Chapters 8 and 9.
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Week 15: (December 5-9) Reading: Spielvogel, Chapter 10. Final Paper
Due: Thursday, December 8.
STUDY ITEMS FOR MIDTERM I
The first midterm for History 4490 is scheduled for Thursday, October 6. Please bring a
blue book to class. You will be held responsible for the assigned readings in the
Spielvogel and Mitchell texts and the material presented in lecture.
Please be prepared to discuss the following in a well-organized essay:
1. How did military defeat in the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles affect
German politics?
2. The Weimar republic was Germany's first experiment with a democratic political
system. It lasted barely 14 years. Why did it fail?
3. How do you account for Adolf Hitler's success as a politician?
IDENTIFICATIONS:
reparations
hyperinflation/Ruhr Crisis 1923
Beer hall Putsch
Georg Grosz
Friedrich Ebert
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles
Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution
Mein Kampf
Gustav Stresemann
STUDY ITEMS FOR MIDTERM II
PART ONE: (50 Points possible). Please respond to one of the following in a well-organized essay.
1. Why did Britain and France adopt a policy of appeasement in the 1930s? What
were its main features?
2. Were the Nazis revolutionaries? If so, how did they change Germany?
3. How popular was the Nazi regime? Please evaluate the degree of resistance to the
Nazis on the part of ordinary Germans. Who was most likely to resist? What
forms could resistance take? In your essay, please discuss the “White Rose.”
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4. Please discuss Hitler’s foreign policy aims.
Part II: (50 Points possible) Please identify and state the historical significance of five of the following:
Ernst Röhm
Heinrich Himmler
Appeasement
Dachau
Triumph of the Will
Ribbentropp
Volksgemeinschaft