instructor: stan m. landry [email protected]/stan_m._landry/course...4 unit 1: conflict...

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History 4314a: Europe 1870-1945: War, Peace, and Social Change

Instructor: Stan M. Landry

[email protected]

www.u.arizona.edu/~smlandry (a .pdf version of this syllabus and reading list, including

stable links to internet readings, can be found at this site).

The seventy-five years between 1870 and 1945 were fecund with historical significance.

New nation-states were unified through foreign and domestic conflict. These conflicts

facilitated the formation of new social, political, and cultural forms, provoking both

optimism and anxiety over the future of Europe. This continental malaise led to further

violent conflict which eventually engulfed the globe. This course will survey those

European conflicts and their political, social, and cultural implications through careful

readings of primary and secondary historical sources. In addition to instilling a broad

cultural and historical literacy of modern Europe, I hope that this course will instruct

students how to read, critically analyze, interpret, and write about historical sources.

You will have four, one-hour exams that correspond to the four units of the course; Unit

1: Conflict and State Building (1870-1914). Unit 2: Progress or Decadence: Society and

Culture in Fin de Siècle Europe. Unit 3: War and Revolution. Unit 4: The Second World

War. The exams are not cumulative. Each exam will be worth 25% of your final grade.

These exams will contain identifications and essay questions. An identification should be

a concise and specific description of a term that addresses the term’s significance to

European history (i.e., why was it important? What difference did it make?).

Identifications typically answer 5-7 basic questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why?

How? (And most importantly) Significance? Essays should be clearly written, logically

organized, and thorough. It is imperative that you include specific supporting evidence to

reinforce your general claims.

The key terms and study questions that occur in each unit and section are intended to

prepare you for the exams. Please review these terms and questions before you begin

reading. Several questions will require a synthesis of the information from each section in

order to answer. I strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with all of the key terms

and to answer all of the study questions for a unit before you take an exam.

Please contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions about the

content of the course or the exams.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~smlandry

mailto:[email protected]

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BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FROM U of A BOOKSTORE:

Ledger, Sally and Roger Luckhurst, eds. The Fin de Siècle: A Reader in Cultural History,

c. 1880-1900. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz: the Nazi Assault on Humanity. Translated by Stuart

Woolf. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

Smith, Helmut Walser. The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German

Town. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2003.

Winks, Robin W. and R.J.Q. Adams. Europe, 1890-1945: Crisis and Conflict. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2003.

OTHER SELECTED READINGS AVAILABLE ONLINE AND ON E-RESERVE:

“Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932” at the Internet Modern History Sourcebook

(aka IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html

“British War Poetry” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1914warpoets.html

“European Fascism” by Richard Thurlow (pgs 194-209) and “Leisure and Society in

Europe, 1871-1945” by Lynn Abrams (pgs 70-88) in Pugh, Martin, ed. A

Companion to Modern European History, 1871-1945. Oxford: Blackwell

Publishing, 1997. (E-RESERVE)

“General Introduction” by Roger Griffin (pgs 1-12) in Griffin, Roger, ed. Fascism.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. (E-RESERVE)

“Gypsies in the Holocaust” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/gypsy-holo.html

“Historical Overview” by Leslie Derfler (pgs 1-6) and “Anti-Semitism and the Dreyfus

Affair” by Leslie Derfler (pgs 17-27) in Derfler, Leslie. The Dreyfus Affair.

Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002. (E-RESERVE)

“Intellectual and Cultural Revolution, 1890-1914” by Michael Biddiss (pgs 83-105) in

Hayes, Paul, ed. Themes in Modern European History, 1890-1945. London:

Routledge, 1992. (E-RESERVE; also available as an E-Book from the University

of Arizona Library)

“Military Modernization, 1789-1918” by Hew Strachan (pgs 69-93) in T.C.W. Blanning,

ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern Europe. Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1996. (E-RESERVE)

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1914warpoets.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/gypsy-holo.html

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“Preface”, “Maps”, and “Balkan War Origins” in Hall, Richard C. Balkan Wars, 1912-

1913: Prelude to the First World War. London: Routledge, 2000. (E-RESERVE;

also available as an E-Book from the University of Arizona Library)

“The Jewish Chronicle: Outrages upon Jews in Russia, 1881” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1881JC-pogroms.html

“Theodor Herzl: On the Jewish State, 1896” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1896herzl.html

“The Nanking Massacre, 1937” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.html

“The Twenty Five Points, 1920: An Early Nazi Program” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/25points.html

“The Young Turks: Proclamation for the Ottoman Empire, 1908” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1908youngturk.html

“Vladimir Illyich Lenin: What is to be Done, 1902” (IMHS)

URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1902lenin.html

Readings placed on E-Reserve can be found at this site: http://eres.library.arizona.edu/

The E-Reserves are password protected. The password is: europe

Some of the readings can be accessed as E-books through the University of Arizona

Library website. I have noted which texts are available as E-books. However, you must

have a University of Arizona CatCard to access these E-books. A CatCard is NOT

required to access the E-Reserves or those readings on the Internet Modern History

Sourcebook.

I strongly encourage you to read outside of the assigned texts. You will not be penalized

if you include information from outside readings in your exam answers. Needless to say,

outside reading can help to fill in gaps in the course content or elucidate concepts that

you don’t completely understand. A word of caution, however: while the internet can be a

valuable historical resource, you must be cautious of open-source sites (such as

Wikipedia) that anyone can edit. They sometimes contain factual errors, omissions,

incomplete entries, and bias.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1881JC-pogroms.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1896herzl.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/25points.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1908youngturk.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1902lenin.html

http://eres.library.arizona.edu/

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UNIT 1: CONFLICT AND STATE BUILDING (1870-1914)

(Read: Winks, viii-38)

The year 1870 was one that is filled with historical significance. In this year the Franco-

Prussian war began, leading to the collapse of the French Empire and establishment of

the French Third Republic; the dissolution of the Papal States and the inclusion of Rome

into recently-unified Italy; and the unification of Germany under Prussian domination.

In this unit, we shall survey the political histories of Italy, Germany, France, and the

Balkans. You should take note of how state-building and national unification in Italy,

Germany, France, and the Balkans was achieved through conflict. Not only were these

nations unified through violent conflict with other states, the achievement and

maintenance of national unity was effected through oppression of minorities within those

states.

Questions to consider as you proceed through this unit:

What did Italian, German, and Balkan nationalists consider the basis of their unity? That

is, around what—geography, culture, language, religion, or shared experiences of

oppression—did these nationalists wish to construct a unified state?

Why and how were Italian and German nationalists able to successfully unify their

nations? Why weren’t Balkan nationalists similarly successful in establishing a Balkan

state?

How did national unification and the maintenance of national unity proceed in Italy,

Germany, and the Balkans? In what ways were these nations’ unifications similar? In

what ways were they different? What were the issues in each nation that required

resolution before unification could be achieved?

What was the role of politicians and statesmen in the unification of Italy, Germany, and

the Balkans? What was the popular role in the unification of these states? Would you

argue that the unification of Italy, Germany, and the Balkans proceeded from the “top

down”, from the “bottom up”, or by some other means? Explain.

Why and how did ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity within the Austro-Hungarian

Empire lead to tension among its subjects and ultimately contribute to conflict with the

state? Why and how did Serbian gains in the Balkan Wars threaten the Austro-Hungarian

Empire? How had the Ottoman Empire maintained stability in the Balkans?

What were the origins of the Balkan Wars?

How was the oppression of social and political minorities used as a means to achieve and

preserve German national unity?

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Section 1: Italian Unification

(read: Winks, 41-45)

The Austrian diplomat Klemens von Metternich once remarked that “the word Italy is a

geographic expression” only, referring not to a unified nation-state but instead to a

hodgepodge of poorly administered duchies and kingdoms. At the beginning of the

nineteenth century Italy was divided into a multitude of states that were mostly poor and

inefficiently governed. Austria occupied and held great influence over the affairs of the

most successful Italian states, Lombardy and Venetia. And the Pope was both temporal

and religious ruler of the Papal States. Metternich was indeed correct about Italy until

1870 when the peninsula was fully unified during the Risorgimento (Italian:

“resurgence”) under the leadership of the state of Piedmont and its prime minister,

Cavour, and with the help of the revolutionaries Mazzini and Garibaldi.

Identifications:

Camillo Benso, Count di Cavour

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Mazinni

Redshirts

Risorgimento

Victor Emmanuel II

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Section 2: German Unification


From roughly 800 to 1806 much of Central Europe—primarily the regions surrounding

Germany and Austria— was united in a very weak confederation of hundreds of minor

principalities and kingdoms known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

When Napoleon defeated and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Germans began

to agitate for a strong and unified German state. The primary question of German

unification was to decide between a Kleindeutschland (a unified Germany without

Austria) or a Grossdeutschland (a unified Germany that included Austria). Prussia was

the most powerful German state during the nineteenth century, and its Minister-President,

Otto von Bismarck was a strong advocate for Kleindeutschland. The other European

powers, however, were wary of a strong, unified German state. The French and the

Austrians felt especially threatened by the possibility of a unified Germany. Bismarck

recognized that France and Austria would have to be defeated in war to establish a

unified German nation-state. Accordingly, he engineered a series of short wars to cripple

the French and Austrians, leaving Germans with the dangerous impression that war was a

legitimate means to achieving political ends.

Identifications:

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Austro-Prussian War (aka Seven Weeks War)

Battle of Sedan

Franco-Prussian War

Kleindeutschland vs. Grossdeutschland

Otto von Bismarck

Kasier Wilhelm I

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Section 3: Third Republic France


The French Third Republic emerged from the defeat and deposition of Napoleon III and

the collapse of the French Second Empire. After some tension between monarchists, who

wanted to restore the French monarchy, and republicans, who desired a republic, a

republican government was settled upon. However, French president Louis Adolphe

Thiers commented that republican government was merely “the government which

divided Frenchmen least”. In Paris, capital of revolutionary activity and radical politics, a

socialist revolution broke out and a commune governed the city for three months before

the French republican army defeated the revolutionaries. The Third Republic lasted from

1870-1940, and ushered in a long period of stability and republican government.

Identifications:

George Boulanger

Legitimists

Orleanists

Paris Commune (1871)

Third Republic

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Section 4: The Balkan Wars

(read: Winks, 49-71. Hall (E-Reserve). “The Young Turks: Proclamation for the Ottoman

Empire, 1908” (IMHS)

The Austrian Empire was dissolved after its defeat in the Austro-Prussian War. Austria

was also excluded from joining a unified Germany. In order to maintain its power and

give more representation to the Hungarian minority (second only to Germans within

Austria), Austria allied with the Kingdom of Hungary to form the Austro-Hungarian

Empire (aka The Dual Monarchy) in 1867. Austria-Hungary was a multinational empire

which was composed of a myriad of diverse ethnic and linguistic groups. In 1910,

Germans represented just under 25% of the population of the empire. Hungarians

composed 20%, Czechs 12.5%, and Poles 10%. The remaining 30% of the population

was composed of Italians, Romanians, Serbs, and others. All of these groups typically

quarreled among themselves and also agitated for the right to form their own nations

within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Another empire declining in power was the Ottoman Empire, the so-called “sick man of

Europe”. A Turkish nationalist revolution introduced a constitutional monarchy to the

empire in 1908. Greece, Serbia, and Romania had won their independence from the

empire over the course of the nineteenth century. These states sought further territorial

gains from the Ottoman Empire and supported the liberation of Slavic minorities and the

Balkan states.

Identifications:

Balkan League

Balkan Wars (1912-1913)

Congress of Berlin

Millet System

Pan-Slavism

Treaty of San Stefano

Young Turks

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UNIT 2: PROGRESS OR DECADENCE? SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN FIN DE

SIÈCLE EUROPE

The late nineteenth century, or fin de siècle (French: “end of the century”), was an era of

contradiction. Europeans maintained both a naïve faith in science—it was thought that

science could answer any and all questions put to it, and indeed that it was on the verge

of doing so—and a deep pessimism about the direction of European society and culture,

widely believed to be in a state of decay. The era was also one of the crowd, of mass

society, overpopulation, and urban poverty. Radical reconstructions of society were

introduced to alleviate the poor conditions caused by living in mass society. At the same

time, Europeans began to radically reconsider the relationships they had with their selves,

with women, with their sexuality, with their spirituality, and with other races. A

worldwide economic depression (1873) contributed to the strain of the perpetually uneasy

relationship that Europeans had with their internal others: European Jews.


What were the causes of European optimism before the fin de siècle? Why did this

confidence in inexorable progress give way to dissolving certainties and manic anxiety?

The Hungarian critic Max Nordau believed that the fin de siècle represented the “dusk of

nations”; that European society and culture were in a state of inexorable decline.

However, some fin de siècle figures imagined new identities and new societies that would

emerge from a degenerate Europe. Describe the new identities and societies that these

figures envisioned.

How did the experience of living in mass society contribute to the formation of new

social, political, and cultural forms?

What factors caused late nineteenth-century Europeans to reevaluate their selves, the role

of women, the natural and supernatural, values, spirituality, sexuality, and other races?

What were the consequences of these reevaluations?

Why and how did nineteenth-century European imperialists appeal to the “science” of

race to justify continued colonial expansion? Why and how were these justifications for

imperialism rebuked?

What were the relationships among empire, race, and European identity?

What was the “New Woman”? Why, how, and in what form did she appear? How was

she represented? Why was she a phenomenon of the fin de siècle?

Why and how did nineteenth-century Europeans have more leisure time? How did they

spend this time? Why and how did nineteenth-century forms of leisure differ from

previous forms of leisure? Why and how did nineteenth-century forms of leisure differ

for men and women?

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Why and how did nineteenth-century European anti-Semitism differ from previous forms

of European anti-Semitism?

According to Smith, what does the Konitz case reveal about German anti-Semitism? Why

and how does Smith claim that the Konitz case is an illustration of the process that makes

latent anti-Semitism manifest?

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SIÈCLE EUROPE

Section 1: Decadence and Dissolving Certainties

(read: Biddiss (E-Reserve). Ledger, xiii-xxiii, 1-5, 13-17, 221-223, 228-235)

Nineteenth-century Europeans lived in an era of unparalleled industrial, technological,

intellectual, and scientific innovation. Oddly, however, during the late nineteenth century,

some Europeans began to see signs of the decline of European culture.

Identifications:

Max Nordau

Positivism

Scientific Naturalism

Social Darwinism

The Origin of Species (1859)

The Descent of Man (1871)

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SIÈCLE EUROPE

Section 2: Mass Society

(read: Ledger, 25-32, 39-45, 53-66, 173-180, 185-197, 199-201, 204-207. Abrams (E-

Reserve)

The nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution produced significant transformations of

European society. Manufacture of finished goods replaced agriculture as Europe’s

primary economic activity. Accordingly, Europeans moved from the countryside into the

cities in order to be closer to machines, factories, and jobs. This process of rapid

urbanization created several problems. Overpopulation, disease, and poverty grew in

Europe’s most heavily industrialized cities. Some European thinkers began to reflect on

the experience of living in mass society, envisioning new social and political forms

intended to address the social problems created by industrialization and urbanization.

However, for the upper and middle classes (and increasingly, the working class),

industrialization and the expansion of capitalist markets also created disposable income

and another novelty of nineteenth-century European society: leisure time.

Identifications:

“Democratization of Leisure”

Fabian Society

Georg Simmel

Gustave Le Bon

“Propaganda by Deed”

Pyotor Kropotkin

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SIÈCLE EUROPE

Section 3: The Nineteenth-Century European Self and Its Others

(read: Ledger, 75-76, 80-88, 90-95, 97-99, 133-137, 154-156, 162-168, 243-251, 263-

267, 269-272, 286-288, 291-307, 315-317, 321-326, 329-333)

During the fin de siècle the human self became a legitimate object of social and scientific

analysis. The social sciences were organized and professionalized. Europeans studied

themselves and their “Others” through psychology, parapsychology (aka psychical

research), sexology, and anthropology. The “woman question” was addressed in literature

and the social sciences as new gender forms were imagined.

Identifications:

Richard von Krafft-Ebing

The “New Woman”

The Society for Psychical Research

Urnings/Intermediate Sex

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SIÈCLE EUROPE

Section 4: Europe’s Internal Other: European Jews and Anti-Semitism before the Second

World War

(read: Smith, 11-216. Derfler 1 and Derfler 2 (E-Reserve). “The Jewish Chronicle:

Outrages upon Jews in Russia, 1881” (IMHS). “Theodor Herzl: On the Jewish State,

1896” (IMHS)

Anti-Semitism has been a constant of European culture since antiquity. Nineteenth-

century European anti-Semitism, however, was racial rather than religious, and became

increasingly violent. Accusations of ritual murder in Germany, the Dreyfus Affair in

France, and pogroms in Russia led some European Jews to agitate for the creation of a

Jewish nation.

Identifications:

Blood Libel

Dreyfus Affair

Pogrom

Zionism

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UNIT 3: WAR AND REVOLUTION

World War I was greeted by many Europeans as a cure for the sickness and decadence of

the late nineteenth century. War and conflict was seen as necessary for the health and

survival of a nation. These sentiments were shared by many European rulers and

statesmen, who sought to satisfy their imperial ambitions through conflict with their

neighbors. Most Europeans believed that the war would end quickly, but as the conflict

drew on, the romanticism and excitement that accompanied the “Guns of August” gave

way to war-weariness at home and in the trenches. The war also led to the emergence of

the twentieth-century’s two most destructive ideologies: communism and fascism.

Communist revolution led to the withdrawal of Russia from the war and the total

reconstruction of Russian society. The perceived “failure” of postwar liberal-democratic

societies and dissatisfaction with the terms of the Versailles Treaty engendered fascism in

Italy, Germany, and Spain.


Why and how did military strategy change from the nineteenth century to the twentieth

century and World War I? Why and how did the industrial and technological innovations

of the nineteenth century (especially the railroad) affect warfare?

The First World War is almost universally recognized by historians as a “total war”—a

kind of war in which the combatants recognized no limits; made no distinction between

civilian and solider; and entire nations mobilized for war and contributed to the war

effort. Why and how did the First World War correspond to this concept of total war?

Please be specific.

How did the Allied powers propose to break the stalemate on the Western Front?

Why and how did ethnic conflicts and nationalist aspirations contribute to the outbreak of

World War I?

According to Strachan, what was the significance of the professionalization of warfare

and the rise of mass armies to the history of modern warfare?

What were some general characteristics of fascist ideology? Why and how were Italian,

German, and Spanish fascism similar? Why and how were they different? Why and how

did fascist ideology take hold in Italy, Germany, and Spain whereas France and Great

Britain eschewed fascism?

Why and how did socialists (and the Russian Bolsheviks in particular) view and criticize

the First World War?

Why and how did Stalin’s economic policies differ from those of Lenin?

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Section 1: The Great War

(read: Strachan (E-Reserve). Winks, 72-105; 119-124. “British War Poetry” (IMHS)

Bismarck once quipped that “If there is ever another European war, it will come out of

some damned silly thing in the Balkans”. His remark proved to be especially prescient.

The “Guns of August” roared, in large part, due to a conflict between Austria and Serbia.

However, an arms race between Great Britain and Germany, European imperial

ambitions, and a complex system of European alliances also contributed to the outbreak

of the First World War.

Identifications:

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Battle of the Marne

Battle of the Somme

Battle of Verdun

Fourteen Points

Gavrilo Princip

Georges Clemenceau

League of Nations

Schlieffen Plan

Treaty of Versailles

Triple Alliance

Triple Entente

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Section 2: Modern European Ideologies: Communism and Fascism

(read: Winks, 105-119; 125-135. “Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932” (IMHS).

Griffin (E-Reserve). Thurlow (E-Reserve). “Vladimir Illyich Lenin: What is to be Done,

1902” (IMHS)

Instability caused by war, revolution, and economic depression compelled Europeans to

seek order, stability, and certainty from their governments. Increasingly, liberal-

democratic governments were perceived as unable to provide this order and stability.

Fascist and Communist authoritarian governments promised the order, stability, and

social services that Europeans sought, but at a price—the brutal suppression of

foreigners, minorities, and dissenters.

Identifications:

Benito Mussolini

Blackshirts

March on Rome

National Fascist Party

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Section 3: The Russian Revolution and Soviet Union


In 1905 an unsuccessful revolution broke out in Russia that was brutally suppressed by

Czar Nicholas II. In 1917 another revolution broke out in reaction to mass strikes,

deserting troops, a militant labor movement, and a rebellious urban population. This

revolution was successful in removing the Czar from power and led to the creation of the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Identifications:

Bolsheviks

Collectivization

February Revolution

First Five Year Plan

Great Terror (or Great Purge)

Joseph Stalin

Kulak

Leon Trotsky

Mensheviks

New Economic Policy (NEP)

October Revolution

Russian Civil War

Russian Revolution of 1905

Soviet

State Capitalism (cf. War Communism)

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

V.I. Lenin

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Section 4: Europe between the Wars

(read: Winks, 135-160; 174-209. Biddiss (E-Reserve). “The Twenty Five Points, 1920:

An Early Nazi Program” (IMHS.)

The First World War left 8 million soldiers dead. 5 million civilians lay dead as a result

of famine and disease. 15 million went on to die as a result of the worldwide flu epidemic

of 1918-1919. A severe economic depression crippled the global economy in 1929.These

crises left millions of people dependent on the state for their welfare. In Germany,

bitterness over the payment of war reparations, which many Germans considered

punitive, made them receptive to authoritarian regimes who promised order and stability,

satisfaction for the humiliation caused by the Versailles Treaty, and the restoration of lost

lands.

Identifications:

Anschluss

Article 231

Enabling Act (1933)

Dawes Plan

Francisco Franco

Freikorps

German Revolution

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Lebensraum

Mein Kampf

Munich Beer Hall Putsch

National Socialism

Night of the Long Knives

Paul von Hindenburg

Spanish Civil War

Spartacist League

Weimar Republic

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UNIT 4: THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Many historians consider the Second World War a continuation of the First World War.

The First World War and the Versailles Treaty left Europe in a state of instability and

perpetual crisis that contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War. After the First

World War the Allies were eager to annex German territories and create satellite states

and a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. These newly-created

states crossed ethnic boundaries and were established through unpopular political

compromises, creating bitterness and giving added cause for conflict. The Great

Depression further destabilized the economies and governments of postwar Europe,

making radical parties more attractive to desperate Europeans. These radical parties

promised order, stability, renewed national pride, and a restoration of lands lost.

Radical parties and the militarist governments they established in Germany, Italy, and

Japan recognized common interests among themselves and formed an alliance know as

the Axis Powers. Western Europe pursued a policy of appeasement of these militarist

governments until 1939.


What were the long-term causes of the Second World War?

Why and how were the wartime goals of Germany, Italy, and Japan similar? Why and

how did their goals differ?

What was the motivation for the West European policy of appeasement of Hitler?

Why and how did the Nazi strategy of Blitzkrieg contribute to early Axis successes?

What were the relationships among fascism, nationalism, and genocide?

How were Levi and the other prisoners in the camp dehumanized? Why does Levi claim

that the meaning of the words “good” and “evil”, “just” and “unjust”, were meaningless

within the camp?

How and why were the different prisoners classified (by the SS and by other prisoners) in

the camp? Did any hierarchies exist among the prisoners? Which prisoners and groups

did Levi admire most and why?

What role did the SS play in implementing Nazi policies?

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Section 1: The European Theatre


The European theatre opened with Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. Great Britain

and France soon declared war on Germany, reversing their policy of appeasement, finally

convinced that Germany be stopped in its campaign of rearmament and expansion. In

1940 Germany occupied part of France and established a puppet regime. Immediately

thereafter, Italy joined Germany in the war against Great Britain and France, plunging the

entire continent into war. Initially, Hitler had signed a non-aggression pact with Stalin,

but by 1941 Hitler had violated that agreement, invading the USSR with the intent of

exterminating Bolshevism and expanding the German Empire’s borders. After some early

Axis successes, the war in Europe took a decisive turn at the Battle of Stalingrad.

Identifications:

Battle of Britain

Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of the Bulge

D-Day

Operation Barbarossa

Nazi-Soviet Pact (aka Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact; Hitler-Stalin Pact)

Philippe (Marshal) Petain

Potsdam Conference

V-E Day

Vichy France

Yalta Conference

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Section 2: The Pacific Theatre

(read: Winks, 245-256. “The Nanking Massacre, 1937” (IMHS)

Like its European allies Germany and Italy, Japan had its own imperial ambitions. Japan

sought to create an economic sphere of influence throughout all of Asia and the Pacific.

The Japanese Empire first began this campaign with an invasion of Manchuria in 1931.

Full-scale war between China and Japan broke out in 1937. The Allies entered the war in

1941 after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the USSR entered the war against

Japan in 1945.

Identifications:

Boxer Rebellion

Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere

Hiroshima

Nagasaki

Rape of Nanking

Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)

V-J Day

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Section 3: The Holocaust

(read: Ledger, 329-333. Levi, 9-175. “Gypsies in the Holocaust” (IMHS). I also

recommend that you read “Introduction to the Holocaust” at the United States Holocaust

Memorial Museum website; URL: http://www.ushmm.org/holocaust/)

The Holocaust (or Shoah, a Hebrew word that refers to the Holocaust) refers to the

systematic genocide of some 10 million Jews, Gypsies, Communists, handicapped

people, minorities, and other dissidents and social “undesirables”, committed by the Nazi

state and their supporters during the Second World War. Germany’s efforts at racial

cleansing, reclamation of former German territories, and the annihilation of Communism

were all related to its campaign of genocide against the Jews.

Identifications:

Einsatzgruppen

Eugenics

Kristallnacht

Nuremberg Laws

Nuremberg Trials

Roma and Sinti

SS

Wannsee Conference

http://www.ushmm.org/holocaust/

instructor: stan m. landry [email protected]/stan_m._landry/course...4 unit 1: conflict...

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