Modern Germany

History 4365 — Fall 2008

G. Shanafelt

Reading Assignments

Martin Kitchen, A History of Modern Germany, 1800-2000
A.J.P. Taylor, Bismarck, The Man and the Statesman
Eberhard Jäckel, Hitler’s World View
Brian Ladd, The Ghosts of Berlin

Course Requirements

This course deals with German history in the last two centuries. Its main focus is what has been known to historians as the “German Problem”, the extent to which Germany does or does not belong to the mainstream of Western Civilization and how Germany has been integrated (or failed to be integrated) into the political fabric of the rest of Europe. Many of these questions seemed to be laid to rest in 1945 with the end of the Third Reich and the division of Germany. How much they are, in fact, dead issues now that Germany is reunified will be explored explicitly in the last part of the semester, but obviously that issue will be present implicitly throughout the course.

It goes without saying that you are expected to come to class having completed the weekly reading assignments. Though the course is mainly lecture in format, everything will make more sense if you keep up with the work. Your grade in this course will be computed as follows: 25% on each of two noncomprehensive tests during the semester, 25% on the final examination, and 25% on a 6-8 page typed, double-spaced paper whose content will be determined later in the semester. If the professor believes that students are not preparing adequately for class, he reserves the right to give unscheduled quizzes (which will be announced one class meeting in advance).

When the course is over, the successful student will be able to

1.	Refine and discuss the main themes of German history before the 19th century;
2.	Explain the nature of the German political and social system of the Reich created by Bismarck in 1871;
3.	Explain the interaction of the personal and structural factors that brought Hitler to power in 1933;
4.	Understand similarities and differences between World War I and World War II;
5.	Explain the similarities and differences in the respective development of the BRD and DDR and the eventual process of reunification;
6.	Summarize the difficulties of contemporary Germans in defining their history and identity since reunification, using Berlin as an example.

Proposed Class and Reading Schedule

Aug 26 Aug 28	The German Problem The Historical Legacy — I	Kitchen, 9-49 Taylor, 9-52
Sept 2 Sept 4	The Historical Legacy — II 1848: Unification vs. Revolution	Kitchen, 50-89 Taylor, 53-122
Sept 9 Sept 11	Blood and Iron: Unification Achieved Bismarck’s Reich: Politics and Society	Kitchen, 90-162 Taylor, 123-193
Sept 16 Sept 18	Bismarck’s Reich: Diplomacy The Impact of the Industrial Revolution	Kitchen, 163-172 Taylor, 194-230
Sept 23	Germans and Jews
Sept 25	FIRST TEST
Sept 30 Oct 2	The World of Kaiser Wilhelm Weltpolitik	Kitchen, 173-202 Taylor, 231-274
Oct 7 Oct 9	The War to End War The Failed Revolution, 1918	Kitchen, 203-219
Oct 14 Oct 16	Weimar: The Search for Stability Weimar Culture	Kitchen, 220-240 Jäckel, 1-46
Oct 21 Oct 23	Fascism and the Rise of the Nazis The Nazi Seizure of Power	Kitchen, 240-257 Jäckel, 47-121
Oct 28	SECOND TEST
Oct 30	Nazi Germany: “The German Revolution”?	Kitchen, 258-283
Nov 4 Nov 6	The Road to Großdeutschland Hitler’s Europe	Kitchen, 284-315
Nov 11 Nov 13	The Final Solution 1945: End of the German Problem?	Kitchen, 316-345
Nov 18 Nov 20	Post-war: New Germanies and Old Film: “The Lives of Others”	Kitchen, 346-372 Ladd, 1-81
Nov 25 Nov 27	Finish “The Lives of Others” [Thanksgiving Vacation]	Ladd, 82-173
Dec 2	PAPERS DUE
Dec 2 Dec 4	Reunification... ...And the Morning After	Kitchen, 373-412 Ladd, 174-235
Dec 9	FINAL EXAM (8:00-10:00)