Download WW II in Europe - Department of History

Fall 2015
Prof. Jochen Hellbeck
[email protected]
Van Dyck Hall 217A
Office Hours: M 1:30-2:30, W 4-5
History 510:329 -- WW II in Europe
M/W 6:10-7:30 FH A4
World War II marked a profound watershed in the history of modern Europe. It was a
total war mobilizing entire societies and permeating all aspects of life. It was an
ideological war, fought not only for the control of territory, people, and resources, but for
the realization of distinct visions about human nature and social order. It was an
immensely destructive war that radically cut into and altered the landscape of Europe and
the life trajectories of individual survivors. As the bloodiest event in the continent's long
history, the war is palpable throughout Europe to this day.
Relying on a broad array of sources, which include political manifestos and military
doctrines; literary accounts, photo collections and diaries; cartoons and film, the course
will explore political, military, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of WW II in
Europe. Some of the central questions we will investigate are how different political
regimes mobilized for the conduct of war, and how their efforts resonated on the social
and individual levels. To what extent did individual participation in the war result from
persuasion and active compliance, and how much of it was a matter of coercion (often the
two seemed to be inextricably mixed)? How did the experiences of soldiers and civilians,
men and women, compare across wartime Europe? To what extent did memories of
World War I shape the course of events and experiences in the Second World War, and
how did Europeans cope with the legacy of unparalleled violence and wreckage in war’s
aftermath? In covering and discussing World War II in Europe, the course also makes a
point to shed light on places and events in Eastern Europe and Russia – well to the East
of the coasts of Normandy and the Bulge – where the Second World War was fought with
particular ferocity and where it left the deepest scars.
For a fuller statement of the learning goals pursued in this class, see the relevant History
department statement: http://history.rutgers.edu/undergraduate/learning-goals
Students’ grades will be determined as follows:
-- Regular attendance and participation in class: 15%.
-- Online blog: an ongoing record of your engagement with weekly readings: 25%
Please post your responses to study questions on the Sakai blog – one blog per session.
To be valid, your response must be posted by 3 P.M. the day of class.
-- Short paper (800-1000 words), due September 30: 10%
-- Take-home midterm exam (handed out on October 19, due October 23): primary
sources analysis, essay question: 25%
-- Take-home final exam (handed out on Dec 9, due Dec 15): essay questions: 25%
Failure to complete any assignment will result in failure for the course
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For your written assignments, please follow the History Department Guide on writing
historical essays: http://history.rutgers.edu/undergraduate/learning-goals/writing-historical-essays
For the course to “work,” i.e., to be a rewarding individual and collective learning
experience, students are expected to attend all classes. If you expect to miss one or two
classes please use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/
to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to me.
Please note: If you miss more than two classes without a valid and documented reason
your absence will affect your grade.
You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with the History Department's policy on
Mutual Responsibilities and Classroom Etiquette:
http://history.rutgers.edu/undergraduate/academic-policies/52-academics/undergraduateprogram/108-policy-on-mutual-responsibilities-and-classroom-etiquette
Cell phone use during class times is forbidden. All cellphones must be switched off and
be stored away from your desk. Wireless capabilities of computers and pads must be
turned off. I reserve the right to impose penalties in case of violations.
I encourage all of you to see me during office hours to discuss your assignments or other
aspects of your work for this class.
Reading Assignments
History 510:329 requires a good deal of interesting reading. The textbook that we will be
using is available at the Rutgers University Bookstore:
Michael J. Lyons, World War II: A Short History, 5th edition (Prentice Hall, 2009).
All other readings on this list are available on our Sakai course site where they can be
founded under «Resources / Readings». The titles there correspond to those listed on the
syllabus. Download them to your own computer and print them out. Please always bring
paper copies of the required readings for a given day to class.
Schedule of Classes and Readings
Note: the readings listed under a given day are DUE THAT DAY!
CHRONOLOGY I
September 2: Introduction. The Great War and the Reshaping of Europe
September 8 and 9: NO CLASS! (Instructor is in Warsaw, Poland, running a workshop
on European memories of World War II). This week’s theme is: The “Lost Generation”
and European memories of the war (1920s). Please prepare by reading: Lyons, chapters 1
and 2; Witkop, German Students' War Letters, and watching the motion picture film, “All
Quiet at the Western Front” (1930): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyLOAMW_IzI
Post a response to your Sakai blog [exact assignment TBA]
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September 14 Left/Right Militarism Resurgent: Soviet Socialism and Italian Fascism
Reading: Ostrovsky, How the Steel was Tempered, Mussolini on the State; Lyons,
chapter 3.
September 16 Hitler’s Ascent
Reading: Lyons: 47-56; Hitler's speech at opening of House of German Art
(1937); La Pasionaria’s Farewell Address.
September 21 From Munich to Moscow: 1938-1939
Reading: “Documents on Munich”; Lyons: 52-63.
September 23 The Partition of Poland
Reading: Klukowski, Diary: 3-65; Lyons, 63-70 and Chapter 11.
September 28 France Falls
Reading: Nemirovsky, Suite Francaise; Lyons: 76-85; Tripartite Pact
September 30 The Battle for England
Reading: Churchill, “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat”; Hodgson, Few Oranges and
No Eggs (part 1); Lyons, 86-94; Klukowski, Diary: 86-90
Short paper due on September 30
October 5
Blood and Soil: Germany’s War in the East
Reading: Lyons, chapters 10; Commissar Order (Decrees on the War in the East)
October 7
The Great Patriotic War
Reading: Molotov, Speech of June 22, 1941; Grossman, Diary, 1-100
(particularly 18-64); Stalin’s Order No. 227
October 12: America Enters the War. The “United Nations” Form
Reading: Roosevelt, “America, the Arsenal of Democracy”; The Atlantic Charter;
Hodgson, Few Oranges and No Eggs (pt. 2); Lyons: 130-141.
In-class: “Moscow Strikes Back” (1942)
October 14: Turning Point at Stalingrad
Reading: Lyons, Chapter 16; Hellbeck, “Russian Sniper”; Hellbeck, Stalingrad
THEMES
(Oct. 19/21): War Economies in Comparison
Reading: Students will divide into four groups, reporting on different parts of Liz
Collingham, The Taste of War. Group 1: Germany (2 chapters); Group 2: Great
Britain (2 chapters); Group 3: Soviet Union (2 chapters); Group 4: United States
(2 chapters).
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Midterm exam questions will be distributed on October 19 – the exam is due back on
October 23
Oct. 26/28: Why We Fight: Propaganda and Morale, Culture and the Arts
Reading: Miller, The Measurement of National Morale (August 1941); Roosevelt,
“Four Freedoms” Speech; Kracauer, The Conquest of Europe on the Screen;
Ehrenburg, The Justification of Hate.
Nov. 2/4: Home Fronts. Gender and Race in the War Effort
Reading: Rose, Sex, Citizenship, and the Nation in World War II; Koppes/Black,
Blacks, Loyalty, and Motion Picture Propaganda during World War II; Grossman
diary, pp. 119-23, 128, 133-35, 140, 149, 181-85, 188-89; Lyons, chapter 21
Nov. 9/11: Nazi Occupation. Collaboration and Resistance
Reading: Klukowski, Diary: 181-233; Grossman, Diary, 205-224
CHRONOLOGY II
Nov. 16: Uncovering Mass Graves: Liberation Campaigns in the East (1943-1944):
Reading: Altshuler, “The Holocaust in the Soviet Mass Media during the War and
in the First Postwar Years Re-examined; Grossman, Diary, 280-321
Nov. 18: Ukraine and Poland: Contentious Liberation Narratives
Reading: Klukowski, Diary: 295-354; Grossman, Diary, 247-269
Nov. 23: Liberation in the West
Reading: De Gaulle, Liberation Speech; Roberts, What Soldiers Do; Lyons,
chapters 22 and 23.
Nov. 25: Berlin, 1945
Reading: Grossman, Diary, 322-343; Soviet soldiers in Berlin
Nov. 30 Postwar Europe: Justice and Revenge
Reading: Bach-Zelewski testimony at Nuremberg (read p. 1 and 15-31 of the
PDF); Hellbeck, Breakthrough at Stalingrad, Lyons: 295-303.
December 2 Commemorating World War II in Europe
Prepare for class by exploring two WW II monuments (a list with suggested
monuments will be posted on Sakai)
December 7
The War’s Shadows in Europe Today
Reading: Europe’s Memory Wars
Distribution of take-home final exam, due on December 15
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