KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
THE HOLOCAUST
SPRING 2011
Tuesday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
Social Science Building 2035
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Phone:
E-mail:
Dr. Catherine M. Lewis
4130 Social Sciences Building
T/Th 9:30-10:30 and by appointment
(678) 797-2058
clewis1@kennesaw.edu
Teaching Assistant: Austin Martin
404-729-7149
Jausti30@kennesaw.edu
Course Description: The goal of this course is to put the Holocaust into historical perspective
and reflect on what it reveals about genocide in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The
course will examine the roots of anti-Semitism, the rise of fascism in Europe as it relates to the
ideology of the Nazi Party, and the implementation of the Final Solution. The structure and
purpose of the ghettos and death camps will be studied, as well as efforts to resist. The course
will conclude by looking at what contemporary representations of the Holocaust mean for a postShoah generation.
Course Rationale: Studying the rise of the Nazi Party and their extermination of the Jews other
groups deemed "socially undesirable" is an exploration into how ordinary people can--through
persuasion, propaganda, or coercion--commit genocide. Examining the voices of the chroniclers,
victims, and the perpetrators is essential to understanding what the Holocaust means for
contemporary society.
Classroom Policies:
o An atmosphere of mutual trust is essential to the success of this course. We strongly
encourage lively debates and urge students to respect each other's opinions. Expressions of
intolerance are discouraged. Disagreeing with others intelligently and politely is a skill, one
that we will all strive for during the semester.
o "Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of
Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs. Section II of the Student
Code of Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including
provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials,
misrepresentations/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal,
retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer
facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged
academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University
Judiciary Program, which includes either an 'informal' resolution by a faculty member,
resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student
to the Code of Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement" (KSU Senate 15
March 1999).
o Cell phones and laptops must be turned off during class.
Evaluation:
Class Participation/Stand and Deliver
Book Review
Midterm
Research Paper
25%
15%
25%
35%
Attendance and participation: This course will be taught by lecture and guided discussion of
assigned readings. Because this is an upper-level course, full attendance and active participation
are required. Each class session will be guided by “Stand and Deliver,” where students will be
required to stand and answer questions randomly assigned in front of the entire group. Students
will be graded on the quality of their comments. Students are required to read your assignment
prior to class time and to engage in a factual and analytical discussion over the material. Anyone
found to be unprepared will be asked to leave and will be counted absent that day. Do not be shy
about asking questions. Class discussion is the place to organize your thoughts, discover
answers, and make comparisons between the readings and films. Students are expected to arrive
on time; we reserve the right to lower any student’s participation grade due to tardiness. Students
engaged in inappropriate behavior (see student deportment) will be counted absent, as will any
student who leaves before class is dismissed. After three absences, your final grade will drop a
letter. Any student who exceeds four absences throughout the term will receive an “F” for the
course.
Book Review: Each student will complete a 4-6 page book review of Father Patrick Desbois,’
Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million
Jews. New York: McMillian, 2009.
Midterm: Each student will complete a midterm, with both oral and written components, in the
eighth week of class. Additional information will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Seminar: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum presents Teaching about the
Holocaust, a free program hosted by the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at
Kennesaw State University. In addition to the opportunity for professional development, funding
is provided for a substitute teacher to cover your classroom on February 24 and February 25
when you attend the entire three-day program. Complete the application at the end of this
syllabus and send it to the Museum as instructed at the bottom of the page to reserve your place.
The schedule for Teaching about the Holocaust is available at
www.kennesaw.edu/historymuseum. Students are required to attend one day; attendance at each
additional day will result in 1 extra credit point to your final grade.
Research Paper: Each student will complete a 20-25 page research paper. Additional
information will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Evaluation:
A
B
C
D
F
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
59 and below
Required Texts (Available in the Campus Bookstore):
Bergen, Doris L. War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust. Lanham: Rowan and
Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003.
Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity. New York: Touchstone,
1996.
Schneider, Tosia. Someone Must Survive to Tell the World. New York: Polish Jewish Heritage
Foundation, 2007.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus I: My Father Bleeds History. New York: Pantheon, 1992.
Book Review Text: Father Patrick Desbois,’ Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover
the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews. New York: McMillian, 2009. (May be ordered
through ILL or GIL Express).
Reserve Readings (available on Web CT Vista): It is helpful to print all of the readings at the
beginning of the semester.
Reading Schedule
Week 1:
T 1.11
Th 1.13
Week 2:
T 1.18
The Origins of Anti-Semitism
Snow day – class cancelled
Snow day – class cancelled
The Origins of Anti-Semitism and Understanding the Third Reich
(1) Bergen, "Foreword," "Preface," and "Preconditions: AntiSemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudices in Early
Twentieth-Century Europe," in War and Genocide, i-28.
(2) Michael Berenbaum, "Before the Holocaust" in The World
Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 10-16.
(3) Bergen, "Leadership and Will: Adolf Hitler, the National
Socialist Workers' Party, and Nazi Ideology, in War and
Genocide, 29-51.
Th 1.20
Week 3:
Film: Night and Fog
(1) Bergen, "From Revolution to Routine: Nazi Germany,
1933-1938" in War and Genocide, 53-80
(2) Ian Kershaw, "'Symbol of the Nation': The Propaganda
Profile of Hitler, 1933-1936," in The "Hitler Myth": Image
and Reality in The Third Reich, 48-82.
(3) Susan Heschel, "When Jesus Was Aryan: The Protestant
Church and Antisemitic Propaganda," in In God's Name:
Genocide and Religion in the Twentieth Century, eds.
Omer Bartov and Phyllis Mack, 342-349
Holocaust Scholarship: An Evolving Field
T 1.25
(1) Avraham Milgram and Robert Rozett, The Holocaust:
Frequently Asked Questions (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem,
2005).
Th 1.27
(1) Saul Friedlander, "The Extermination of the European
Jews in Historiography: Fifty Years Later," in The
Holocaust: Origins, Implementation, Aftermath, ed. Omer
Bartov, 79-91.
Week 4:
T 2.1
Th 2.3
Week 5:
T 2.8
Th 2.11
Lecture:
Austin
Martin
VISTA
VISTA
War and Terror
(1) Bergen, "Open Aggression: In Search of War, 1938-1939"
(2) Bergen, "Experiments in Brutality, 1939-1941: The War
Against Poland and the So-Called Euthanasia Program,"
in War and Genocide, 81-130
(1) Bergen, "Expansion and Systematization: Exporting War
and Terror, 1940-1941," in War and Genocide, 131-160.
The Final Solution
(1) Christian Gerlach, "The Wannsee Conference, the Fate of
German Jews, and Hitler's Desire to Exterminate All
European Jews," in The Holocaust, 106-161
(2) Bergen, "The Peak Years of Killing, 1942 and 1943" in
War and Genocide, 161-204
(1) Bergen, "Death Throes and Killing Frenzies, 1944-1945,"
in War and Genocide
(2) Film: “Why We Fight,” from Band of Brothers
VISTA
Book
Review
Due
Week 6:
T 2.15
Th 2.17
Week 7:
T 2.22
Th 2.24
F 2.25
Sa 2.26
Week 8:
T 3.1
Th 3.3
Week 9:
T 3.8
Th 3.10
Week 10:
T 3.15
Th 3.17
Week 11:
T 3.22
Th 3.24
Week 12:
T 3.29
Th 3.31
Complicity
(1) Film: America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference
(1999)
(1) Adelheid von Saldern, "Victims or Perpetrators?
VISTA
Controversies about the Role of Women in the Nazi
State," in Nazism and German Society, ed. David F. Crew,
141-165.
USHMM Holocaust Seminar
No class
USHMM Seminar – KSU Center, Room 400
USHMM Seminar – KSU Center, Room 400
USHMM Seminar – KSU Center, Room 400
Eyewitness Accounts
(1) Tosia Schneider, Someone Must Live to Tell the World
Midterm
Spring Break
No class
No class
Eyewitness Accounts
(1) Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on
Humanity (New York: Touchstone, 1996)
Visit “Parallel Journeys: World War II and the Holocaust Through
The Eyes of Teens” (KSU Center, 3333 Busbee Drive, East
Entrance). Meet at 7:50 a.m.
Meet at
KSU
Center
Resistance and Survival
(1) Nechama Tec, “Jewish Resistance: Facts, Omissions, and
Distortions,” USHMM Occasional Papers
(1) Lawrence Langer, "Redefining Heroic Behavior" in The
Holocaust
Resistance and Survival
Film: Sophie Scholl
Film: Sophie Scholl
VISTA
VISTA
Week 13:
T 4.5
Th 4.7
Week 14:
T 4.12
Th 4.14
Week 15:
T 4.19
Th 4.21
Week 16:
T 4.26
Th 4.28
Contemporary Representations of the Holocaust
(1) Art Spiegelman, Maus I, My Father Bleeds History (1997)
Film: Blind Spot (2002)
Humor and the Holocaust
(1) John Morreall, “Humor in the Holocaust:
Guest
Its Critical, Cohesive, and Coping Functions” (1997), visit Lecture:
http://www.holocaust-trc.org/holocaust_humor.htm
Austin
Martin
To be announced
Denying the Holocaust
Emory University, Holocaust Denial on Trial, visit
http://www.hdot.org/
Emory University, Holocaust Denial on Trial, visit
http://www.hdot.org/
The Holocaust in a Comparative Perspective
(1) Yehuda Bauer, "Comparisons with Other Genocides," in
Rethinking the Holocaust, 39-67.
(1) "169,198,000 Murdered Summary and Conclusion," R. J.
Rummel, Death By Government, 1-28.
VISTA
VISTA
Teaching about the Holocaust
Thursday, February 24, 2011
9:00
Welcome
Catherine Lewis, Kennesaw State University
Stephen Feinberg, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
9:15 – 10:30
An Overview of Holocaust History: Main Issues
Eric Steinhart, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
10:30-10:45
Break
10:45- 11:45
Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust
Sally Levine, Museum Regional Educator, United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum
11:45 – 12:30
Lunch
12:30 – 1:00
Self-guided tour of Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and
Holocaust Education
1:00 – 2:30
Electronic Resources for Teaching about the Holocaust
Stephen Feinberg, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
2:30 – 2:45
Break
2:45 – 4:15
The Holocaust and Contemporary Genocide
Bridget Conley-Zilkic, Committee on Conscience, United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum
4:15 – 5:00
Group Discussions
Friday, February 25, 2011
9:00 – 10:45
Internet Video Conference: Nazi Racial Ideology
William Meinecke, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
10:45 – 11:00
Break
11:00 – 12:15
Antisemitism
David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer
University
12:15 – 1:00
Lunch
1:00 – 1:45
Marketplace of Local Resources for Holocaust Education
1:45 – 2:00
Break
2:00 – 3:00
Literature of the Holocaust
Renee Kaplan, Museum Regional Educator, United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum
3:00 – 4:30
Classroom Strategies: Lesson Study
Meghan McNeeley, Museum Teacher Fellow, United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum
4:30 – 5:00
Group Discussions
Saturday, February 26, 2010
9:00 – 11:00
Salvaged Pages
Alexandra Zapruder
11:00 – 11:15
Break
11:15 – 12:45
A Survivor Remembers
Murray A. Lynn, Holocaust Survivor
12:45
Evaluation and Assessment
Through the generosity of The Morris Family Foundation, Teaching about the Holocaust is free
and offers funding for a substitute teacher to cover your classroom on February 24 and 25.
Teaching about the Holocaust is presented by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
in cooperation with the Museum of History & Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State
University
Teaching about the Holocaust
February 24 – 25, 9am – 5pm
February 26, 9am – 1pm
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum presents Teaching about
the
Holocaust, a free program hosted by the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at
Kennesaw State University. In addition to the opportunity for professional development,
funding is provided for a substitute teacher to cover your classroom on February 24 and
February 25 when you attend the entire three-day program. Complete this application and send
it to the Museum as instructed at the bottom of the page to reserve your place. The schedule for
Teaching about the Holocaust is available at www.kennesaw.edu/historymuseum
Name: _____________________________________________________
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SEND to:
Patricia Mosier
Museum of History & Holocaust Education
1000 Chastain Road MD 3308
Kennesaw, GA 30144
EMAIL to:
pmosier@kennesaw.edu
FAX to:
770-420-4432