From Holocaust to German Unification

COURSE SCHEDULE
Topics and Readings

Readings are required. They should be completed by the start of the class of the day for which they are assigned.
Indicates Click here for a link to questions for the discussion.

Readings are required and must be completed in advance of the class for which they are assigned.

Date

Topic

Assignment

Part 1: Nazi-Germany and the Holocaust

To learn more about Nazi-Germany click on Hitler's Germany
To learn more about the Holocaust click on US Holocaust Memorial Museum or on Yad Vashem Memorial Site

Tuesday, August 29

Introduction, Overview of Course Materials

Thursday, August 31

Nazism: The Ascension to Power, Ideology & Politics

Read: Hoffmeister, pp. 1-5, 7-22
Watch Film: "Triumph of the Will"

Tuesday, September 5

Nazi Culture

Read: Hoffmeister, pp. 26-40

Thursday, September 7

World War II

Read: Hoffmeister, 41-50

Tuesday, September 12

Film: "Europa, Europa"

Thursday, September 14

Discussion of film and readings

Read: Hoffmeister, pp. 45-50
Lipstadt, Washington Post (Bb)

Tuesday, September 19

What is genocide? Why study the Holocaust? How does this relate to me?

Read: Marrus, p. 9-25 (Bb)

Thursday, September 21

Group presentations: Holocaust Literature

Anne Frank: The Diary
Elie Wiesel: Night
Primo Levi: Survival in Auschwitz
Art Spiegelman: Maus

Tuesday, September 26

Resistance, Expulsion and Exile
Guest speaker: Dr. Armin Mruck, Towson University

Read: Hoffmeister, pp. 50-65
Watch Film: "The White Rose"

Thursday, September 28

Field trip to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC

All students are required to go. The bus will leave at 8 a.m. at Soccer Field behind Gill Center.

Essay 1: Write a reflection paper on the Holocaust and your visit to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
(Due on Tuesday, October 3)

Part 2: From Devastation & Economic Miracle to The Cold War & The Berlin Wall

To learn more about German history after WWII click on Facts about Germany then click on History or
click on German History in Documents and Images and then click on time period 1945-1961
To learn more about the Student Rebellion, Violence, Terrorism click on Baader-Meinhof

Tuesday, October 3

The immediate postwar years: The "Zero Hour" Occupation and Division of Germany
Film: The history of Germany 1945-1949

Read: Hoffmeister, pp. 67-84, 99-108

Thursday, October 5

Era of reconstruction: Personalities and the Economic Miracle

Read: Hoffmeister, pp. 137-149
Watch Film: "The Marriage of Maria Brown"

Tuesday, October 10

The Erection of the Berlin Wall
The Student Rebellion
Violence, the Police, and the Yellow Press

Read: Hoffmeister, 159-179 and Gordon, pp. 184-189 (Bb)
Watch Film: "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum"

Thursday, October 12

Midterm Exam: Hoffmeister 1-84, 99-108, 137-149; 159-79 and all other articles listed above and are on Blackboard

October 16 and 17 Fall Break - No classes

Part 3: Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Coming to Terms with the Past)

To learn more about the term "Vergangenheitsbewältigung" click on this link for a Wikipedia article
Here is an excellent article about the topic by Vicki Lawrence
Another article about the topic from a US perspective by Thomas McCarthy

Thursday, October 19

Coming to terms with the past
Film: "The Nasty Girl" Click here for discussion questions

Read: Hoffmeister, pp. 95-98; 211-213 and 243-251

Tuesday, October 24

Coping with the past in The Reader

Read: Bernhard Schlink: The Reader

Thursday, October 26

Discussion of film and readings

"The Reader"Click here for discussion questions

Write Essay 2 discussing the topic "Coping with the past in The Reader and The Nasty Girl"(Due on Tuesday, October 31)

Part 4: The German Democratic Republic: The Other Germany

To learn more about the history of the German Democratic Republic click on GDR at The Encyclopedia Britannica
Adolph N. Hoffmann has a very good site with pictures. (Chapter 1-6)
On Nazi and East German Propaganda click on Propaganda

Tuesday, October 31

The German Democratic Republic: The Other Germany
Film: The Lives of Others – Part 1

Read: Thomas, pp. 203-232 (Bb)

Thursday, November 2

Politics and Culture of East Germany
Women and Socialism
Film: The Lives of Others – Part 2

Read: Irene Böhme: Women and Socialism: 4 Interviews (Bb)

Tuesday, November 7

Part 5: Unification and Germany Today

To learn more about German Unification viist A. Hoffmann's page Unification 1990 (chapters 7-10) and aslo his web site 5 years after Unification. Check also the following sites on the Berlin Wall:
A Personal Account of The Fall of the Berlin Wall
A short history of the wall.
Links about the wall.
A collection of essays and pictures.

Thursday, November 9

History of German Unification
Film: “The Wall” Germany 1961-1989

Read: “History of Germany 1945-1990” (Bb)
Watch Film: "The Promise"

Tuesday, November 14

The aftermath of German unification
Discussion of film and materials

Read: Hoffmeister, 253-275 and

Thursday, November 16

Film: “Goodbye Lenin,” a film about young people from former “East Germany”

Prepare your oral presentations

Tuesday, November 21

Group presentations II:
Group 1: Literature, Fine Arts and Music
Group 2: Theater, Film and Television
Group 3: Customs and Festivals
Group 4: German School System
Group 5: Guest workers and Minorities in Germany

Read: in Facts, 450-536 or in Cultural Life, pp. 11-234

November 22-26: Thanksgiving recess

Part 6: Germany Today: Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Here is a good source on the topic of migration by the Documentation Center and Museum of Migration
A good collection of good artciles on the European Refugee Crisis
Fatih Akin and others made a some good films about the topic of migrants and guest workers in Germany: Fear Eats the Soul, Solino; Kebaob Connection, Soul Kitchen, Alemanya, etc.

Tuesday, November 28

History of Migration to and from Germany

Read: DoMiD “Migration History in Germany” (Bb)

Thursday, November 30

The Recent Refugee Crisis

Read: Victoria Rietig and Andreas Müller (Bb)

Tuesday, December 5

History of German Americans
St. Nicholas Day in German-speaking Countries

Film: German Americans

Thursday, December 7

Review, Evaluation and Reflection