Hitler’s rule has had a dramatic effect on the modern world. Without Hitler there would have been no partition of Germany, no Israel, no de-colonization, or at least a less rapid one, no Black African emancipation, and no diminution of European pre-eminence.
 

In 2001, the German Der Spiegel published a series of articles entitled ‘Hitler’s long shadow: The presence of the past.’ ‘The past is ever present’, the editors wrote, ‘when the Constitutional Court considers the prohibition of the [radical right-wing] NPD, when German soldiers again go to war [in Kosovo], or when physician-assisted suicide is discussed.’ Guido Knopp explained the continued fascination with Hitler: ‘We would love to detach ourselves from him, would love to be a “normal” country. Yet, we are constantly and mercilessly led back to him…To be able to cope with Germany’s trauma, Hitler, we need to confront ourselves with him.’

This course examines the origins, development, and legacy of Nazi Germany, as well as the intense historiographical debate on Nazism. It provides a historical survey: Nazism’s roots in the nineteenth century, Hitler’s seizure of power, life in the Third Reich, the Holocaust, the Second World War and the postwar debate on Nazi Germany.

 

Format
A final exam tests students’ general knowledge. Additionally, students acquire more specialized knowledge of particular subjects by writing two essays. The first essay is based largely upon primary sources. Thus, students encounter the raw materials that historians use to develop their interpretations of the past firsthand. Studying primary documents lays the groundwork for the second essay, which may be written on a closely related topic and includes a brief discussion on the historical debate on this topic. The overall purpose is to encourage students to develop their own point of view, based on a sound knowledge of relevant materials.