HIST 201 - Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich

Number of Credits: 3
Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich introduces the major themes, people and ideas in German history from 1919 to 1945. It especially focuses on the Nazi period after 1933. The course will examine the roots of Nazism, the personality of Hitler, the development of the totalitarian state, the events leading to the Second World War in Europe, Germany’s strategy in the war, and the meaning of the Holocaust. Credit by exam available. (Spring Term Only) Three hours lecture each week. Three Credits. Three billable hours.

Pre-requisite(s): eligibility for ENGL 101.
Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Summarize and explain the events, people, and ideas in German history from 1919 to 1945 in order to show a clear, concise understanding of their effects on interwar Germany and Europe, and the postwar world (GE1, GE2, GE6, PG1, PG2, PG4).
Communicate orally by discussing primary documents including propaganda from and key issues in German history from 1919 to 1945 (GE2, GE4, PG1, PG4)
Demonstrate informational literacy; i.e. know when there is a need for information, and to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand (GE2, GE4, PG1. PG4)
Express themselves in formal writing, by authoring papers such as essays, analyses, book reviews, or bibliographies that offer a clear and supported position on a complex historical subject or event (GE1, GE2, GE4, PG1, PG2, PG4, PG5)
Think critically, from analyzing the successes and failures of the past and explaining and predicting how people with values and mindsets different from our own handle similar circumstances (GE2, GE6, GE7, PG1, PG2, PG4, PG4)
Make historical connections by recognizing contemporary behaviors, actions, and policies that demonstrate how people fail to learn lessons about totalitarianism and genocide (GE2, GE7, PG1)
Explore perspectives on and draw conclusions regarding the philosophical meaning of the Holocaust, both for contemporary Jewry and others (GE2, GE6, GE7, PG4)