DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

The Holocaust and Film

Diane M. Plotkin, Ph.D. dmp10@swbell.net

Text: Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust: Cambridge University Press, 2003

Scope: This course is designed to introduce students to the ways in which various aspects of the Holocaust have been depicted on film. This will include both fictional and non works.

Objectives for Film and the Holocaust

Topics of Films depicting aspects of the Holocaust will include such topics as the history of anti-Semitism, propaganda, satire, narratives, and responses to atrocity, rescuers, liberation and trials of the perpetrators.

By the end of this course, students are expected to have acquired the ability to analyze this material in written essays by citing examples of innovation and change from written texts, concentrating upon artistic license used by film producers.

· Students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge through class discussions.

· Students should be able to express in their own words their reactions in their own words heir reactions to the material in journal entries.

· Students should be able to deduce whether or not the film achieves its aim in depicting the material on screen.

· Students should be able to employ their knowledge in a research paper in which they present a cogent, well researched, and well documented argument.

· By the end of this course, students are expected to demonstrate their knowledge of film as an artistic mode of expression in a final essay exam.

Getting in Touch With Me

Since I am only on campus on Wednesday evening, the best way to get in touch with me is via the Internet. My e-mail; address is dmp10@swbell.net.

· Reading Assignments: You will be required to read the assignments in your textbook prior to class, at which time I will show the one of the films that has been discussed. You will also be required to read some of the works (which I will assign) which the producer depicts on film to see in what ways it differs from the book.

· Writing Assignments: Please use Microsoft Word for all written assignments.

· Research Paper: You will be required to write a research paper at lease 5 pages in length about a film I have not shown in class over any topic we have or have not covered regarding the Holocaust - fictional or historical.

· Journals: You will be required to write a twenty page journal regarding your thoughts and reactions to the films. Entries must be at lest one page in length

· Exams: There will be two essay exams: a midterm exam and a final at least five paragraphs per question. Throughout the semester there may be quizzes at the instructor's discretion.

· Grading: Final grades will be based upon journals, research papers, exams, and attendance, each of which will be scored numerically. The scores will be added together and divided by five. Extra points may be added to final grades for class participation.

· There may be a change in some of the films shown, mainly due to length.

Class Schedules and Assignments

Week 1: Introduction: Indelible Shadows, pp. xi - xix

Films: “The Yellow Star: The Persecution of the Jews in Europe, 1933 - 45”

“The Longest Hatred”

“Auschwitz”

Week 2: Propaganda

Films “The Fuhrer Gives a City to the Jews”

“Triumph of the Will”

Finding an Appropriate Language

Week 3: The Hollywood Version of the Holocaust Indelible Shadows: pp. 3 - 58

Films: “Voyage of the Damned,” “Night and Fog”

Week 4: Black Humor Indelible Shadows pp. 59 - 76

Film: “The Great Dictator”

Week 5: Film: “Escape to the Rising Sun”

Narrative Strategies

Week 6: The Jew as Child Indelible Shadows, pp. 77 - 110

Europa, Europa

Films: “Into the Arms of Strangers,”

Week 7: Beautiful Evasions?

The Condemned and the Doomed Indelible Shadows, pp. 111 - 138

The Garden of the Finzi- Continis

Responses to Nazi Atrocity

Week 8: Political Resistance Indelible Shadows, pp.139 - 158

Jacob the Liar

Week 9: What we did:

Films: “America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference”

“The Double Crossing…the St. Louis”

Midterm Essay Exam

Week 10: The New German Guilt Indelible Shadows, pp. 159 - 198

Film: “The White Rose”

Shaping Reality

Week 11: The Personal Documentary Indelible Shadows, pp. 199 - 220

Film: “Weapons of the Spirit”

Research papers due

Week 12: From Judgment to Illumination Indelible Shadows, pp. 221 - 244

Film: portions of “Shoah”

The Holocaust as Genre

Week 13: Rediscoveries Indelible Shadows, pp. 245 - 257

Film: “None Shall Escape”

“Survivors of the Holocaust”

Weeks 14 - 15: Rescuers in Fiction Films Indelible Shadows, pp. 258 - 275

Films: Schindler's List “Korczak”

Journals due

Week 15: The Ironic Touch Indelible Shadows, pp. 276 - 293

Film: Life is Beautiful Final Exam