SELCS

Aspects of Twentieth Century German History


Course Code: GERM2103
Course unit value: 0.5

Twentieth-century German history has inevitably been overshadowed by Hitler and the Holocaust. This course focuses on aspects of German history since 1918, exploring in particular the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich.

Course Outline:
Section A

1. The First World War: Germany after the Apocalypse
2. The new Republic: constitution, state and parties
3. Inflation and depression: economy and society
4. Weimar culture
5. The collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism

Section B

6. Hitler and the Nazi state: Structures of power and Hitler’s role
7. Was there a Nazi social revolution?
8. Racial policy and genocide
9. Coercion and consent: popular support, dissent and opposition
10. War, defeat, denazification and the long-term legacies of the Third Reich

Course Requirement: One presentation; one set of practice answers.

Assessment: One take-home paper (100%)

Tutor: Dr Sebastian Gehrig

Basic Reading List:

  • V. Berghahn, Modern Germany, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987)
  • W. Carr, A History of Germany 1815-1990 (London: Arnold, 1991)
  • G. Craig, Germany 1866-1945(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981)
  • M. Fulbrook, The Divided Nation: Germany 1918-1990 (London: Fontana Press, 1991)
  • M. Fulbrook (ed.), German History since 1800 (London: Arnold, 1997)
  • I. Kershaw, The Nazi Dictatorship (London: Arnold, 2000)