Nazi Germany

I. Introduction. The history of Nazi Germany is the subject of endless fascination on the part of the general public and scholars alike. It deserves this attention. The state created by Hitler ignited what was the most destructive war in history and commissioned one of the most repulsive state crimes known to man. The fundamental factors shaping these events were the central policymaking role of Hitler and the pervasive influence of his racist, imperialist ideology. Economic recovery, military regeneration, the reordering of society, territorial expansion and racial persecution were inseparable. There is no bright side to the history of the Third Reich. It is a story of unrelieved gloom and unexampled horror, and it is all the more relevant for that.

II. Accommodation Statement: Any student with a disability who will require special attention or accommodation should inform me as soon as possible, preferably within the first week of class.

III. Grades.
Mid-Term Examination - 2 Oct, 25%
Paper - 20 Nov,  25%
Final - 27 Nov, 50%

IV. Office Hours. My office is located at 317 Founders Hall. My telephone number is 230-0462. My email address is ACMierzeje@aol.com.

             Monday 07:30-09:30, 11:00-12:00, 16:00-18:00
             Tuesday 16:00-18:00
             Wednesday 07:30-09:30, 11:00-12:00

V. Assigned Readings.

  • Christopher R. Browning. Ordinary Men. Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: Harper, 1992.

  • Joachim Fest, Hitler. Richard and Clara Winston, trans. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1975.

  • Eberhard Jäckel, Hitler's World View. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1981.

  • Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1985.

VI. Class Schedule.

  • 28 Aug - Introduction: The Problem of Nazi Germany. The Roots of Nazism: Radical Anti-Semitism before 1918. The Origins of the NSDAP and the Bürgerbräukeller Putsch. Read Fest 1-256.

  • 11 Sep - Nazi Ideology. The Politics of the Weimar Republic.

  • 18 Sep - Agitation against the Dawes and Young Plans. Read Jäckel; Fest, pp. 259-286.

  • 25 Sep - 1930: Breakthrough. Josef Goebbels and Nazi Propaganda. Big Business and anti-Weimar politics. Nazis and Nazi Voters. Die Machtergreifung. Read Fest, pp. 287-313, 345-384.

  • 2 Oct - Examination.

  • 9 Oct - Gleichschaltung in Politics and Society. Read Fest, pp. 387-480.

  • 16 Oct - The Four Year Plans. Film: Triumpf des Willens.

  • 23 Oct - The Wehrmacht. Read Fest, pp. 483-574.

  • 30 Oct - Hitler's Foreign Policy. Opposition to Hitler.

  • 6 Nov - Ascendancy: Poland to France. Barbarossa to Uranus. Read Fest, pp. 574-694.

  • 13 Nov - The German People and the War. Technocrats in the Service of Tyranny: Fritz Todt, Albert Ganzenmüller and Albert Speer. The Final Solution. Read Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews and Browning, Ordinary Men.

  • 20 Nov - The Defeat of Nazi Germany. Radical War Leadership. Stunde Null. Conclusion and Observations. Read Fest, pp. 697-764. Paper due.

  • 27 Nov - Final.