The History of the Holocaust (349-0-20)
Instructors
Stefan Cristian Ionescu
Meeting Info
University Hall 101: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
The 20th century was probably the bloodiest era in human history and many people consider the Holocaust to be the climax of mass murder and atrocity in a long history of tragedies. It is therefore hardly surprising that the Holocaust attracted the attention of both the general public and academics, who were especially interested in understanding the reasons for human participation (in point of behavior and motivations) in such a horrendous event.
This course will explore the roots, the development, and the aftermath of the Holocaust, focusing particularly on Eastern Europe, which was the main site of Jewish life in Europe and the main target of Nazi onslaught. During this course we will discuss many of the events from Holocaust history by looking at specific individuals and the choices they willed or were compelled to make. While we will explore primarily the experience of the Jews, we will also consider other victim categories (such as the Roma and Sinti, Slavs, gay men and lesbians, disabled persons, and Jehovah's Witnesses) and the actions of perpetrators and their local collaborators, rescuers, resistors, and bystanders. In the last part of our course we will scrutinize the legacies of the Holocaust during the first postwar years, including the survivors' struggles to rebuild their lives, criminal justice, and restitution and reparations.
Our examination of the Holocaust will be based primarily on historical texts of Holocaust scholars as well as on wartime and postwar documents and autobiographical accounts of gentile and Jewish participants in the Holocaust. In addition to such texts, we will watch excerpts from documentary films, which depict the Nazis and the Holocaust from various perspectives.
Learning Objectives
By completing this course, you are expected to be able to:
Familiarize yourselves with the major historical events of the Holocaust we examine in class.
1. Read critically, understand and analyze works of history produced by scholars with different methodological and theoretical approaches to the history of the Holocaust
2. Acquire an understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges of the historical craft.
3. Improve your analytical, writing and communication skills through close readings of texts, class (online) discussions, writing papers.
4. Learn to recognize historical arguments regarding controversial historical questions and to formulate and support an original historical argument using primary and secondary sources.
5. Learn how to properly structure a thesis-driven paper, how to apply appropriate methods of citation, and how to use a clear writing style that conveys historical knowledge, ideas, and evidence in a mature, readily understood manner.
Evaluation Method
Papers, class participation, Canvas discussion posts
Class Materials (Required)
War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust
Doris Bergen
ISBN: 978-1442242289 Third edition (March 10, 2016)
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Articles available on Canvas
Class Notes
History Area(s) of Concentration: European
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity