Hitler’s Germany: The Rise of a Dictatorship and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany

Democracy is a fragile system of government. A case in point: the first German democracy, the Weimar Republic that proved too vulnerable to survive and allowed extremists to destroy the modern pluralistic society. This course will expose both the preconditions and the conditions that led to Hitler’s rise to power. Abusing his authority, Hitler successfully established the so-called Gleichschaltungsgesetze that effectively helped to establish his dictatorship and subsequently supported his reign of terror and unbridled authoritarianism. Using personal narratives as its main texts, this course provides insights into individual biographies of Nazi victims and juxtaposes these stories with the biographies of enthusiastic Hitler-supporters. Using the form of the personal testimony, students will learn how oral history helps to understand a totalitarian regime and its direct impact on the individual.

Required texts: A course reader will be made available electronically.