The Holocaust
HUM 1013
Black River Technical College/Pocahontas
Fall Semester 2011
“The Holocaust” HUM 1013 meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00-12:15 p.m. in
TM 100.
Text: Bergen, Doris, War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust, Rowland
and Littleton, 2009.
Course Description: “The Holocaust” is a college transfer humanities course
designed to help students better understand one of the defining events of the 20th Century.
Through film, text, and discussion, the class examines what happened and why by
exploring the complex roles of the perpetrators, victims, collaborators and bystanders.
This study places the Holocaust within a historical context allowing students to see the
relationship of political, social, and economic factors that impacted this watershed event.
First-person accounts as well as fiction and other secondary writings will enable students
to see that behind the statistics are real people. The universal dimensions and
significance of the Holocaust as it relates to other genocides will also be examined.
Instructor
Dr. Jan Fielder Ziegler
Administration--Office 130
Office Hours: By Appointment
[email protected]
(870) 248 4000 Ext 4185
(870) 892-3171 or (870) 897 0425
Performance Objectives/Learning Outcomes: By the end of the semester,
students will:
1. Understand what the Holocaust was, as well as how, when, where, and why
the Holocaust occurred.
2. Discern the complex roles of the victim, the perpetrator, the bystander, the
collaborator, the resister, and the rescuer during the Holocaust.
3. Be able to explain about the impact of such concepts as prejudice,
stereotyping, obedience to authority, loyalty, decision making, and justice and
how these relate to the Holocaust.
4. Be able to transfer and apply to themselves individually and to society
collectively the lessons of the Holocaust, including the use and abuse of
power, and the role and responsibilities of individuals, organizations, and
nations.
5. View the Holocaust as an event that happened to 11 million human beings:
men, women, and children—Jews and non-Jewish victims—who were
murdered not because of what they did but because of who they were.
6. Be aware of the potential for future genocides and of actions that can prevent
this.
Class Organization:
The class will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11-12:15 in TM 100. The class
meetings will include discussions of readings and occasional written assignments, with
support from instructor-prepared PowerPoint presentations and film. Students will often
be assigned online readings as appropriate to support or expand the material presented in
the textbook.
A list of key terms and ideas will be given to students at the beginning of study of each
chapter in the text. Many of these terms will be directly referenced in the class
discussion and/or PowerPoint presentation; some of the terms will not be directly
referenced, but are nevertheless the responsibility of the student to investigage on his/her
own from the text and/or from online sources.
Each of the four exams will include a total of 15-20 of the terms from the chapters
covered. Students will identify/explain these terms or concepts in short answers (twothree sentence-definitions) for a total of 45-60 points. Note: the ability to respond
appropriately will signify the student is achieving learning outcomes 1, 2. Each test will
also include 1-2 essay questions for a total of 40-55 points that require the students to
demonstrate an understanding of the “big picture” elements. Note: Appropriate
responses to the essay questions will demonstrate student achievement of learning
objectives 3,4,5.
The book review and presentation, and the collaborative film/movie review and
presentation make it possible to expand to the entire class some of the most significant
media treatments of the Holocaust. These assignments will support Learning Objectives
3,4,5.
Academic Integrity: In keeping with the BRTC policy on academic integrity as stated
in the BRTC catalog, students are to do their own work. Cheating in any form, and this
includes plagiarism, will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade on the
assignment and/or a failing grade for the course.
Class Requirements
Four Exams
(100 pt. each)
400 points
Comprehensive Final Exam
200 points
Book Review (written) and Oral Presentation
200 points
Collaborative Film/Movie Review and Presentation 200 points
Total Points Possible
1000 points
A
90-100%
B
80-89%
C
70-79%
D
60-69%
F
Below 60%
Note: In class participation, quizzes and assignments may be calculated to enhance
your course average, with the possibility of improving your overall average by 10
points. These are points that can not be made up.
Special Requirement: Students are expected to attend presentation(s) by a
Holocaust survivor in conjunction with the USHMM in Washington, D.C. The
instructor may give an optional class assignment relating to this event. This event
will support Learning Outcomes 3, 4, 6.
Student Expectations: Students are to complete assigned readings, to attend class
and to participate in directed discussions. Students are allowed no more than twice the
number of times the class meets per week, in this case a total of four absences. Test
dates, the book review and movie collaboration due dates are non-negotiable and can
not be made up, except in the case of verifiable illness or emergency. In the event a
class must be canceled, students will receive notification via email and/or phone call.
The instructor will facilitate study groups among class members to assist in student
success. Also, detailed grading rubrics indicating points awarded in support of
learning goals for the Book Review and Movie Collaboration assignments are
included in this Syllabus packet.
Course Outline (Tentative)
Week
Learning Outcome
Assignment/Topic
Aug 22
1
Introduction to Holocaust Study
Aug 29
1, 3
Bergen Text: Chapter 1: “Roots of the Holocaust:
Antisemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudices in Early
20th Century”
Sep 5
1, 2
Bergen Text: Chapter 2: Post-World War I Era and the
Rise of National Socialism
Assessment: Exam I
Sep 19
1, 2, 3
Bergen Text: Chapter 3: From Revolution to Routine:
Nazi Germany, 1933-1938
Book Selection for Book Review
Sep 26
1, 2, 3
Bergen Text: Chapter 4: Open Aggression: In Search
of War, 1938-39
Assessment: Exam II
Oct 3
1, 2, 3, 5
Bergen Text: Chapter 5: Experiments in Brutality, 19391940: War against Poland and the So-Called
Euthanasia Program
Oct 10
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Bergen Text: Chapter 5
Oct 17
1, 2, 3, 5
Bergen Text: Chapter 6: “Expansion and
Systemization: Exporting War and Terror, 1940-41
Assessment: Exam III
Oct 31
1,3, 5
Bergen Text: Chapter 7: “The Peak Years of Killing:
1942 and 1943
Nov 7
1, 4, 5
Bergen Text: Chapter 7
3, 4, 5
Assessment: Book Review due; Movie Selection
1, 2, 5
Bergen Text: Chapter 8: Death Throes and Killing
Frenzies, 1944-45
4, 5, 6
*Holocaust Survivor Visit: Mon evening/Tues. a.m.
Nov 14
Nov 21
Assessment: Exam IV
4, 6
Bergen Text: Conclusion: The Legacies of Atrocity
4, 6
Bergen Text: Conclusion;
3, 4, 5
Assessment: Movie Presentations
Dec 5
3, 4, 5
Assessment: Movie Presentations
Dec 7-13
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Assessment: Final Exam
Nov 28
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA): Black River Technical College seeks to be in
compliance with both the spirit and the letter of the law as stated in Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act, as amended, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Students
seeking ADA accommodations must contact the Director of Disability Service, P. O. Box
468, Pocahontas, AR 72455. Phone 870-248-4000 or Fax 870-248-4100. Contact must
be made two weeks prior to the beginning date of each enrollment period.
THIS SYLLABUS IS INTENDED AS A GUIDE AND IS THUS SUBJECT TO
CHANGE AS DEEMED APPROPRIATE TO SUIT THE NEEDS OF THIS
PARTICULAR CLASS. THE INSTRUCTOR WILL NOTIFY THE CLASS
VERBALLY AND/OR ELECTRONICALLY OF CHANGES.
Text and Video Resources
REQUIRED TEXTS (Student MUST purchase)
Bergen, Doris L. War and Genocide: A Concise History of the
Holocaust. Rowland and Littleton: 2009.
SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTS FOR FILM AND BOOK REVIEWS (Student is not
required to purchase; available from instructor):
Aroneanu, Eugene (Trans. By Thomas Whissen). Inside the Concentration
Camps.
Becker, Jurek. Jacob the Liar.
Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as
Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Browning, Christopher. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the
Final Solution in Poland
Browning, Christopher. Nazi Policy, Jewish Workers, German Killers.
Delbo, Charlotte. Auschwitz and After.
Friedlander, Saul. Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution, Vol 1.
Goldsmith, Martin. The Inextinguishable Symphony.
Hallie, Philip. Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed
Hallie, Philip. Tales of Good and Evil, Help and Harm.
Harris, Mark Jonathan and Deborah Oppenhaimer. Into the Arms of Strangers.
Hilberg, Paul. Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders.
Hillesum, Etty. An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork.
Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz.
Levi, Primo. The Drowned and the Saved.
Roseman, Mark. A Past in Hiding: Memory and Survival in Nazi Germany.
Rubenstein, Richard L. The Cunning of History: The Holocaust and the
American Future.
Schlink, Bernard. The Reader.
Speigelman, Art. Maus I-- Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale.
Steinberg, Paul. Speak You Also.
Steiner, Jean-Francois. Treblinka
Waller, James. Becoming Evil.
Weinreich, Max. Hitler’s Professors.
Wiesel, Elie. Night.
VIDEO/FILM
All Quiet on the Western Front
Night and Fog
Raoul Wallenberg: Between the Lines
Schindler’s List
A Beautiful Life
Judgment at Nuremberg
Die Weisse Rose (The White Rose)
The Devil's Arithmetic
The Boat is Full
Three Days in April
Jew Boy
The Ogre
The Wannsee Conference
Nowhere in Africa
Europa, Europa
Genocide
The Wonderful, Terrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
Defiance
Operation Daybreak
Recommended Online Resources/Websites
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Reconstructing the history of the Holocaust through multiple media: the meaningful arrangement
of objects as well as the presentation of documentary photographic ...www.ushmm.org –
The Holocaust History Project
A free archive of documents, photographs, recordings, and essays regarding the Holocaust.
www.holocaust-history.org - Cached
Holocaust Museum Houston : Home
By fostering Holocaust education, remembrance, and understanding, the Museum provides
education about the uniqueness of this event and its ongoing lesson: that ...www.hmh.org - 103k Cached
Holocaust Survivors
Educational resource about the Nazi Holocaust of Jews in World War II includes interviews,
photographs, and audio recordings of survivors.www.holocaustsurvivors.org - Cached
holocaust: Definition from Answers.com
holocaust n. Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life, especially by fire. ...
Holocaust comes from Greek holokauston ("that which is ...www.answers.com/topic/holocaust 761k - Cached
Virginia Holocaust Museum - Tolerance Through Education -- Home Page
Established to provide a historically accurate portrayal of the Holocaust to students.
www.va-holocaust.com - Cached
The History Place - Holocaust Timeline
Comprehensive Holocaust chronology with text and photos.
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html - 59k - Cached
Book Review Guide
Write a typed, double-spaced, one-inch margin all around, book review on your selected
work. This is due Monday, November 7. Please include the following elements:
Mention in the first paragraph the title and author of your work, and introduce it to the
reader. Assume you are writing this for an audience who has no familiarity with the
book.
In one-two paragraphs, briefly summarize the book. Please note: This is NOT A BOOK
REPORT; YOU ARE NOT RETELLING THE STORY FROM START TO FINISH.
The balance of your book review should include the following (by no means exhaustive)
list of elements:
Author—is he/she uniquely qualified to have written this book? Explain
Purpose—For whom is this book primarily intended? What does the author hope to
accomplish—rectify lack of understanding? Contradict other accounts? Provide fresh
new glimpse at an old topic or theme? Is the book successful on this count?
Methods—How does the author move the “story” forward? Through first-person
accounts, factual documents? Collection of other critical acclaims? Other?
Theme—Does your book have a theme/main point? Did you come to realize anything
you did not know before reading it? Are there questions that the book has raised that you
may now wish to study further?
Learning Outcomes 3, 4, 5—Refer to Syllabus—Examine the book in terms of the extent
to which you believe it impacts your achieving of specific Learning Outcomes. Be
specific.
Suggested length: About two-three pages
Book Review Rubric
_______
(20) Format: Write a typed, double-spaced, one-inch margin all around,
book review on your selected work. Suggested length: About two-three pages
_______
(20) Mention in the first paragraph the title and author of your work, and
introduce the book to the reader. Assume you are writing this for an audience who has no
familiarity with the book. Author—is he/she uniquely qualified to have written this book?
Explain author’s methods—How does the author move the “story” forward? Through
first-person accounts, factual documents? Collection of other critical acclaims? Other?
________
(20) Theme—Does your book have a theme/main point? Did you come to
realize anything you did not know before reading it? Are there questions that the book
has raised that you may now wish to study further? Author—is he/she uniquely
qualified to have written this book? Explain author’s methods—How does the author
move the “story” forward? Through first-person accounts, factual documents?
Collection of other critical acclaims? Other?
_______
(20) Purpose—For whom is this book primarily intended? What does the
author hope to accomplish—rectify lack of understanding? Contradict other accounts?
Provide fresh new glimpse at an old topic or theme? Is the book successful on this
count?
_______
(40) In one-two paragraphs, briefly summarize the book. Please note:
This is NOT A BOOK REPORT; YOU ARE NOT RETELLING THE STORY FROM
START TO FINISH.
_______
(40) Consider and discuss ways the book contributes to Learning
Outcomes 3, 4, and 5.
_______
(40) Correctness: Grammar, Punctuation, Usage, Mechanics, Spelling
Student: ____________________________________
Points (200 points total)
____________________
Collaborative Movie Review and Presentation
Presentations November 29-December 2
Activity: A team of two students will select a movie/documentary film from the film list
in this syllabus, view the film, and then, as a team,
1) Introduce and review the film to the class in sufficient detail that those who have not viewed this film will have understanding and appreciation of (at a minimum) key aspects of the piece listed below; 2) Submit a written movie review of the film covering those key aspects. Key Aspects: 1. Brief overview of film 2. Fiction? Autobiographical? 3. Historically Accurate (corroborate with other text/video/audio sources 4. Genre (Drama, Comedy, Romance, etc) 5. Point of View 6. Film’s Purpose 7. Film’s Impact (if known) 8. Intended Audience 9. Relevance for students of The Holocaust: how does film add to your achieving of Learning Outcomes 3, 4, 5. Note: Students are encouraged to show “clips” from the video during the class
presentation. These should be set into context so that the audience gains understanding
of the significance and meaning of the clip(s). They are encouraged also to integrate into
the presentation corroborating or supporting images/text/or audio segments from online
sources, including websites such as those listed in this syllabus. For example, in a movie
such as Defiance dealing with Soviet partisans, students might find images and/or first
person testimonies on the USHMM website that would support and/or expand aspects of
the Bielski partisans covered in the movie. Students may also involve their own creative
approaches to this assignment. For example, the production of a piece of art or music or
other creative endeavor related to the film can be a part of the class presentation.
Goal/Objective of the Activity: During the span of the semester, covering the wealth of
valuable Holocaust-related materials available in the many formats (text, digital, film,
audio) is simply not possible. Rationale for the activity:
•
This activity will expand the exposure to the entire class of a number of excellent film pieces that otherwise would not be possible. •
Students will gain experience in thinking critically about film, its purpose and its impact, especially as it relates to Learning Outcomes 3, 4,5. Students will gain understanding of film techniques and their effectiveness •
Suggested Length: 15 minutes Suggested Length: 2‐3 pages (typed, double spaced) Film/Movie Rubric
________ (40) Presentation provides informative overview that is informative to those
not familiar with this film.
________ (40) Presentation includes additional supporting/corroborating (or refuting)
information from web resources.
________ (40) Presentation gives evidence of critical analysis of such elements as the
film’s purpose and impact, specifically addressing the film’s value in support of Learning
Outcomes 3,4,5.
_______ (40) Presentation shows students have thoughtfully considered and evaluated
the effectiveness of the film’s techniques (cinematography, use of flashback, subtitles,
etc).
_______ (40) Presentation (oral part) demonstrates effective use of film clip(s).
Student: ____________________________________
Points (200 points total)
____________________