Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies
University of Victoria
DHM, Berlin
1991/2846.2
http://www.dhm.de/lemo
GMST 353: September - December 2015
The Power of Propaganda and the Politics of Persecution:
Literature and Film of the Holocaust and the ‘Third Reich’
Time and Place: Tuesdays 4:30 – 7:20 pm, Clearihue A303
Instructor: Dr. Helga Thorson, CLEA D242, 721-7320, [email protected]
Office Hours: Mondays 1:30-2:30 pm and by appointment
Course Materials:
Coursepack (available in the bookstore)
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006.
Kluger, Ruth. Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered. New York: The
Feminist Press, 2001.
In addition, there are recommended secondary readings on reserve at McPherson library. Film
showings will take place during class. If you miss the film showing, you are expected to check out the
film from the library once it is returned. (For more detailed information, see Reading List and Film
Showings handout.)
Learning Outcomes:
• to understand how propaganda functioned in Nazi Germany—from the most blatant forms to
the most subtle
• to analyze how Nazi Germany presented itself in text, image, and film and how the story of the
Holocaust has been represented in diaries and memoirs
• to compare different mediums of representation (from oral presentations to text and film) and
to compare different genres of written representation (from diaries to newspaper articles to
memoirs to children’s books) across time and location
• to discern differences in experience based on gender, race, ethnicity, age, etc. and to do so in an
intersectional way
• to transfer textual and cinematic analytical skills to different time periods and settings,
including your own
• to make connections to your own life so that you can begin to understand your place and
responsibility in the world in which we live.
Course Description:
This course focuses on Nazi popular culture and entertainment films and explores a variety of
Holocaust narratives that emerged during the Second World War and its aftermath. Students will
analyze how propaganda was designed and used to achieve its desired goals as well as how it served as
a basis for mass persecution. Its potential effects/consequences are detailed by the personal narratives
selected for the course.
Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies
University of Victoria
DHM, Berlin
1991/2846.2
http://www.dhm.de/lemo
GMST 353: September - December 2015
The Power of Propaganda and the Politics of Persecution:
Literature and Film of the Holocaust and the Third Reich
COURSE CALENDAR: WEEKLY TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
September 15
Topic: Introduction to the Course
Topic: Language and the Holocaust—Is it possible to speak about the Holocaust?
September 22
Topic: Youth and the Sense of Belonging
Reading: Excerpts from Hans J. Massaquoi, Destined to Witness, 1999 and Frank Oberle,
Finding Home: A War Child’s Journey to Peace, 2004.
Film Showing: Hitlerjunge Quex (Hitler Youth Quex), 1933.
September 29
Topic: Youth and the Sense of Belonging
Topic: The Nazi Image and its Image Makers
Film Discussion: Hitlerjunge Quex, 1933.
Film Showing and Discussion: Excerpts from Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), 1935
October 6
Topic: Researching the Past—History and Narrative
Guest Speaker: Julius Maslovat
Reading: Inge Deutschkron, Outcast: A Jewish Girl in Wartime Berlin, 1989.
October 13
Topic: Bearing Witness: Writing as Resistance
Topic: Courageous Acts of Resistance
Reading: Excerpts from Viktor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness, 1998 and To the Bitter End,
1999.
October 20
Exam 1
Film Showing: La Habanera, 1937.
October 27
Topic: Escapism or Propaganda? Nazi Entertainment Films
Topic: Uncovering the Past – Family Resesarch
Guest Speaker: Dr. Richard Kool
Film Discussion: La Habanera, 1937.
November 3
Topic: Speaking the Unspeakable: Life in the Camps
Topic: Courageous Acts of Resistance
Reading: Elie Wiesel, Night, 2006 (Originally published as La Nuit in 1958).
Assignment: Research a person involved in the resistance, a resistance group, or an event to
share with the class.
November 10
No class session: Reading Break
November 17
Project due (due at the beginning of class)
Topic: Gender, Genre, and Memory
Reading: Ruth Kluger, Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered, 2001.
November 24
Topic: The Construction of the Jew as “Other”
Film Showing: Jud Süss (Jew Süss), 1940.
December 1
Topic: The Construction of the Jew as “Other”
Film Discussion: Jud Süss (Jew Süss), 1940.
Film Showing and Discussion: Excerpts from Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew), 1940.
Reading: Ernst Hiemer, Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom), 1938.
[www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/thumb.htm]
December 2013
The Final Exam Timetable will be posted on the UVic Website.
Subtopics of the course include:
o Language and the Holocaust
o Youth and the Sense of Belonging
o The Nazi Image and its Image Makers
o Researching the Past: History and Narrative
o Bearing Witness: Writing as Resistance
o Courageous Acts of Resistance
o Escapism or Propaganda? Nazi Entertainment Films
o Uncovering the Past: Family Research
o Speaking the Unspeakable: Life in the Camps
o Gender, Genre, and Memory
o The Construction of the Jew as “Other”
Primary texts discussed in class include three full memoirs: two about life in the camps and one about
the experience of going underground (hiding in public). Other texts include diaries, a children’s book,
newspaper articles, and excerpts from other memoirs. Guest speakers will also be invited to share their
own research and/or recollections.
Course Requirements
Students are expected to attend the course regularly, to have the readings and assignments completed
on time, and to participate in the class discussions. There will be several film showings in this class. If
you miss class for any reason on one of the days a film is shown, you must view it on your own at
home or at the McPherson library.
Most class sessions will include an opportunity for reflective writing. This is a time to process the
course material in your own way, to reflect on the readings and class discussions, and to ask any
questions you may have. Since this activity takes place during class and is based on the individual class
sessions, you may not make it up for any reason. These reflections will be calculated into the
participation/preparation score.
In addition, there is a mid-term exam, a final exam, and a final project in this course. The exams will
include a short answer and an essay component. The essay questions will be distributed in advance.
All questions will be based on the readings, films, course lectures, and class discussions. If you know
you are going to miss an exam, you must contact me in advance.
The project should be 5-7 pages (typed, double spaced) and is due at the beginning of class on
November 17, 2015. Late projects will lose 2% of your final grade each day after the November 17th
due date and will not be accepted after December 1st. If you are going to miss class on the date the
project is due, you are allowed to email the project—but it must reach me before the class begins.
Topic of the Project: Write a 5-7 page paper (typed, double spaced) on a topic you think
would have been interesting to cover this term. How would you have gone about teaching it?
What text(s)/film(s)/image(s) would you have focused on? How would you have approached
the text(s)/film(s)/image(s)? What skills have you learned in this course (textual analysis,
film sequence analysis, etc.) that you could apply to the material? How would you go about
doing so? Please provide specific examples.
Evaluation
Participation/Preparation
Midterm Exam
Project (5-7 pages)
Final Exam
20%
25%
25%
30%
Grading Scheme
A+ 90 - 100%
A 85 - 89%
A- 80 - 84%
B+ 77 - 79%
B 73- 76%
B- 70 - 72%
C+ 65 - 69%
C 60 - 64%
D 50 - 59%
F 0 – 49%
To familiarize yourself with the UVic grading guidelines, please consult the University Calendar.
Departmental Course Policies
Accessibility Statement
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. In particular, if you have a
disability/health consideration that may require accommodations, please feel free to approach me
and/or the Resource Centre for Students with a Disability (RCSD) as soon as possible. RCSD staff
members are available by appointment to assess specific needs, provide referrals and arrange
appropriate accommodations. The sooner you let us know your needs the quicker we can assist you in
achieving your learning goals in this course.
Concessions and Documentation
Students may ask for an academic concession, such as the rescheduling of a quiz or test or an extension
for an assignment, upon providing proper documentation of a personal or medical affliction or of a time
conflict. Proper documentation would include a doctor’s note or a memo from Counseling Services, or
a memo from a coach, employer, or faculty member. It must be dated before or close to the time of the
missed work or classes.
Withdrawals and Deferrals
Students who miss substantial amounts of class and assignments without documentation will be asked
to withdraw or will receive an ‘N’ at the end of the semester. Even when the reasons for failing to meet
course requirements are valid, it is not academically sound to allow students missing significant
amounts of work to continue in the course. Students are to familiarize themselves with the withdrawal
dates in the current academic calendar.
A Note on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Actions such as plagiarism, multiple submissions, falsifying materials used in academic evaluations,
cheating, or aiding others to cheat violate University policies on academic integrity and are considered
serious offence. You must inform yourself about the university regulations (see UVic Policy on
Academic Integrity).
Add/Drop Deadlines
It is the student’s responsibility to attend to ADD/DROP dates as published in the Calendar and the
Undergraduate Registration Guide and Timetable. You will not be dropped automatically from a class
that you do not attend.
Classroom Conduct
Since the quality of the learning environment is paramount, every student has the right to learn and
your instructor has the duty to perform her or his teaching duties in a cooperative, distraction-free, and
effective manner. Activities that could disrupt the learning environment for you and your instructor
would include the non-academic use of electronic devices. Students are expected to turn off their cell
phones, mp3 players, and other electronic devices during class. The use of laptops is not necessary in
the dynamic and participatory environment of a discussion-based course.
Commitment to Inclusivity and Diversity:
The University of Victoria is committed to promoting, providing, and protecting a positive, supportive,
and safe learning and working environment for all of its members.
Course Experience Surveys
I value your feedback on this course. Towards the end of term you will have the opportunity to
complete a confidential course experience survey (CES) regarding your learning experience. The
survey is vital to providing feedback to me regarding the course and my teaching, as well as to help the
department improve the overall program for students in the future. When it is time for you to complete
the survey, you will receive an email inviting you to do so. If you do not receive an email invitation,
you can go directly to http://ces.uvic.ca. You will need to use your UVic NetLink ID to access the
survey, which can be done on your laptop, tablet, or mobile device. I will remind you nearer the time,
but please be thinking about this important activity, especially the following three questions, during the
course.
1.
What strengths did your instructor demonstrate that helped you learn in this course?
2.
Please provide specific suggestions as to how the instructor could have helped you learn
more effectively.
3.
Please provide specific suggestions as to how this course could be improved.