The Holocaust

Texts:

Amery, J. (1980). At the minds limits: Contemplations by a survivor on Auschwitz and its realities. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Botwinick, R. S. (1996). A history of the Holocaust: From ideology to annihilation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Botwinick, R. S. (Ed.). (1998). A Holocaust reader: From ideology to annihilation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Des Pres, T. (1976). The survivor: An anatomy of life in the death camps. New York: Oxford University Press.
Paskuly, S. (Ed.). (1996). Death dealer: The memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz Rudolph Hoss. New York: Da Capo Press.
Selected readings to be provided or placed on reserve in the library - each noted below.

Course Description:

The Holocaust remains an unparalleled instance in human history of industrialized, systematic genocide. As such, the Holocaust has been examined extensively from a historical and political perspective. However, much less has been done to examine the Holocaust from a psychological or sociological perspective. Although there are questions related to the Holocaust that psychology/sociology can not answer, it is important to seek understanding through these questions. This course will use a psychological/sociological perspective to examine the groups of individuals associated with the Holocaust (perpetrators, victims, bystanders, resistance fighters, rescuers) noting that these groups are not always mutually exclusive. Issues to be explored include:

the question of what enables individuals collectively and individually to perpetrate evil/genocide
the nature of extreme prejudice
the psychology of propaganda
the impact of extreme victimization on the victim (during the Holocaust, upon liberation, and in latter years)
the question of what enabled some individuals, groups, or countries to become actively involved in resistance while others remained passive bystanders and others sympathizers or collaborators

The roles that psychology, psychologists, and psychiatrists played during the Holocaust and the question, "Can it happen again?" also will be examined.

Course Objectives and Outcomes:

Objective: To become more knowledgeable concerning the historical events of the Holocaust including the periods before, during, and after World War II.
Outcomes: Students will be able to outline the history of anti-Semitism from early Roman times through the Holocaust, the history of the Weimar Republic and the history of the Third Reich.
Objective: To become familiar with the research on topics such as extreme prejudice and propaganda.
Outcomes: Students will be able to discuss the relationship between the research findings on prejudice/propaganda and the rise of Nazi Germany and the events of the Holocaust.
Objective: To become familiar with the effects of extreme victimization (ie. torture, dehumanization, "choiceless-choice") on individuals and groups. To examine these effects both during and after the Holocaust.
Outcomes: Students will be able to discuss the research related to the psychological impact of extreme victimization on individuals and groups as it relates to the Holocaust.
Objectives: To explore the psychological/sociological nature of evil through an examination of the perpetrators (ie. Hitler, SS officers, einsatzgruppen) of the Holocaust. To explore the question of the "banality of evil". To question what enables individuals both individually and collectively to perpetrate evil/genocide.
Outcomes: Students will be able to articulate the primary psychological and sociological theories related to the perpetration of evil and genocide. Students will also be able to discuss the research on topics such as obedience, conformity, diffusion of responsibility, bystander behavior. Students will be able to relate these theories and topics to the Holocaust.
Objective: To examine the nature of resistance both active and passive as it occurred in the ghettos, concentration/extermination camp s, and throughout Europe. To question what enables individuals both individually (for example, individual rescuers) and collectively (for example, partisans) to resist evil/genocide.
Outcomes: Students will be able to discuss the various forms of resistance that occurred during the Holocaust and relate this information to the debate concerning an appropriate definition for resistance during the Holocaust. Students will be able to discuss the research related to altruistic behavior as it relates to the Holocaust.
Objectives: To examine the nature of bystander behavior as it occurred in Europe and throughout the world and the impact of bystander behavior on the perpetration of genocide.
Outcomes: Students will be able to discuss the psychological and sociological research concerning bystander behavior and relate this research to the role of bystander behavior during the Holocaust.
Objective: To examine the role of psychological/sociological theory, psychologists, and psychiatrists during the Holocaust.
Outcomes: Students will be able to discuss theories such as sociobiology and how these theories were used (misused) as a rationale for genocide. Students will be able to articulate the unique role that psychiatrists played as perpetrators of genocide. Students will also be able to identify several prominent individuals noted for their contributions to psychology/sociology who played an active role in support of Nazi Germany.
Objective: To explore the question of "Can it happen again?".
Outcomes: Students will be able to address the question of "Can it happen again?" or possibly "Has it happened again?" drawing on all of the material learned in class.

Class Meetings:

The class will meet [list applicable days and times]. Classroom attendance and class discussion will greatly enhance your understanding of the material presented in this class. Also, material will be presented that is not in any of the books and class participation/discussion will constitute a percentage of you final grade.

This course will be challenging for several reasons. First, it entails a fair amount of reading. If this is to be a good class, it is essential for everyone to do the reading, come to class, and be prepared to participate in the discussion. Second, this course is difficult because of its almost unrelieved concentration on human suffering and extreme, deliberately inflicted cruelty. The information presented in this class is difficult to read and difficult to discuss. There will be opportunities for class members to discuss thoughts and feelings that arise during the course.

Course Requirements:

A short midterm exam, a comprehensive final, four short response papers, an analysis paper, and class participation/discussion.

Percent of Grade:

Examinations 40%

Response Papers (7.5% each) 30%

Analysis Paper 15%

Class Participation/Discussion 15%

Examinations: The midterm exam is designed to test for a basic understanding of the terms and historical events surrounding the Holocaust. The final is comprehensive. Exams will include multiple choice, matching, short answer, and essay questions. They will cover material presented in lecture, readings, and discussion. The midterm and final exams each will be worth 20 percent of your final grade.

Response Papers:The response papers are designed to provide you with an opportunity to integrate and respond to information presented and discussed in class. Each answer should represent a synthesis/analysis of the information as opposed to a personal reflection or reaction to the material. Each response paper is to be four to six pages in length. Five essay questions will be distributed during the course of the class. You are required to complete four of the questions. If five questions are completed, only the four highest grades will be recorded; the lowest will be dropped. Each response paper will be worth 7.5 percent of your final grade. (See end of syllabus for a sample response question.)

Analysis Paper: The purpose of the analysis paper is to provide you, the student, with the opportunity to explore the perpetration of the Holocaust from a psychological/sociological perspective in depth. The paper will consist of an evaluation of the autobiography of Rudolph Hoss in relation to material discussed in class and readings. The analysis paper is worth 15 percent of your final grade.

Class Participation & Discussion: Please realize that your participation in this class is extremely important. As such, class participation will constitute 15 percent of your final grade. The class participation grade will derive from regular attendance and everyday discussion and analysis. Please be aware that skipping class (unexcused absences) will impact your grade in this area.

Course Outline

The schedule below provides a general guideline to the semester and is flexible based on any need for additional discussion of a particular topic.

Week Topic and Readings

Week 1 Introduction to the Class
Scope of the Holocaust
A psycho-social Model of Genocide
Week 2 Roots of the Holocaust:

Anti-Semitism
Theories of Stereotyping, Prejudice, & Discrimination
Nationalism
Readings:

The Nature of Prejudice and the Historic Roots of Anti-Semitism, in Botwinick texts

Moral exclusion and injustice: An introduction, by S. Opotow in Journal of Social Issues, 46, 1-20.

The nature of prejudice: What is the problem., by G. Allport in Psychology is Social, edited by E. Krupat

The ultimate attribution error: Extending Allport's cognitive analysis of prejudice, by Thomas Pettigrew in The Social Animal, edited by E. Aronson.

On pseudospeciation and social speciation, by K. Erikson in Genocide, War, and Human Survival, edited by C. Strozier & M. Flynn (Optional)

Social circumstances and factors that incite the upsurge of nationalism, in The Mass Psychology of Ethnonationalism, by D. Kecmanovic (optional)

Week 3 A Culture in Crisis: Weimar Republic
Rise of Nazism: A Monolithic Culture
Germany Under the Nazis
German Jewish Life to 1939
Anti-Jewish Policies: First Steps down the Path to Genocide
Readings:

The Nazi Rise to Power, in Botwinick texts

Careers Built on Hate: Hitler and his Instruments, in Botwinick texts

Germany under the Nazis, in Botwinick texts

German Jewish Life to 1939, in Botwinick texts

The World that was Annihilated, in Botwinick texts (optional)

Week 4 First Steps to Genocide (continued)
Readings:
Steps along a continuum of destruction: Perpetrators and bystanders, in The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence, by E. Staub

Hitler's War, in Botwinick texts (optional)

Week 5 Hitler's Eugenics Theory - A Rationale for Genocide
Non-Jewish Groups Targeted
Bystander Behavior
Readings:

Eugenics and Nazi race theory in practice, by George Mosse in The History and Sociology of Genocide, edited by F. Chalk & K. Jonassohn.

A mosaic of victims: Non-Jewish victims of Nazism, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum pp. 102 - 111

The abandonment of the Jews, by D. Wyman in The Holocaust, edited by D. Niewyk (optional)

Opinions and social pressure, by S. Asch in The Social Animal, edited by E. Aronson

"Mastering the past": Germans and Gypsies, by G. Tyrnauer in The History and Sociology of Genocide, edited by F. Chalk & K. Jonassohn, (optional)

Week 6 The Path Towards Genocide: Ghettoization, Concentration Camps, Slave Labor
Readings:

From Ideology to Isolation, in Botwinick texts

Response Paper I Due

Week 7 The Path Towards Genocide (continued)
Genocide:
Einsatzgruppen
Operation Reinhard Camps
Auschwitz
Readings:

The Genocide, in Botwinick texts

One day in Jozefow: Initiation to mass murder, by C. Browning in Lessons and Legacies, edited by P. Hayes

The Einsatzgruppen, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum

Babi Yar, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum

Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jews, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum

Week 8 Genocide (continued)
Response Paper II Due
Midterm

Week 9 Resistance and Rescue
Readings:

Resistance and Rescue, in Botwinick texts

Forms of Jewish resistance, by Y. Bauer in The Holocaust, edited by D. Niewyk

Victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and rescuers in the face of genocide and its aftermath, by E. Fogelman in Genocide, War, and Human Survival, edited by C. Strozier & M. Flynn.

In pursuit of Sugihara: The banality of good, by H. Levine in Genocide, War, and Human Survival, edited by C. Strozier & M. Flynn.

The call to arms, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum

The Warsaw Ghetto uprising, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum

Week 10 Resistance and Rescue (continued)
Perpetration of Genocide: Personality Factors
Perpetration of Genocide: Situational Factors
Readings:

A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison, by C, Haney, C, Banks, & P. Zimbardo in The Social Animal, edited by E. Aronson

Behavioral study of obedience by S. Milgram in The Social Animal edited by E. Aronson

The personality of the perpetrator in Mass Hate, by N. Kressel

Week 11 Perpetration of Genocide (continued)
Torture: Perpetrators and Victims
Readings:

The psychology and culture of torture and torturers, by E. Staub in Psychology and Torture, edited by P. Suedfeld.

Torture, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery
Response Paper III Due

Week 12 Life on the Path to Genocide
Readings:

The will to witness, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres

Excremental assault, in The Survivor by T. Des Pres

At the mind's limit, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery

Analysis Paper Due

Week 13 Life on the Path to Genocide (continued)
Readings:

Life in seath, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres

Nightmare and qaking, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres

Choiceless choices, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum

Week 14 Liberation
Beyond Survival: Life after the Holocaust
Readings:

How much home does a person need, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery

Resentments, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery

Us and them, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres

Radical nakedness, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres

Response Paper IV Due

Week 15 Beyond Survival (continued)
Response Paper V Due

Week 16 Final Exam

Sample Question for Response Paper :

The Holocaust and Nazi Germany were built upon a comprehensive racialist ideology whose success depended upon public support. To insure success, Hitler appointed a Minister of Propaganda (Goebbels) and began a campaign based on stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. Through the use of various media (for example: writings, cartoons, films, radio) and policy (for example: Jewish insignia, boycotts, ghettos), Hitler was able to simultaneously fan the fire of anti-Semitism and increase Aryan pride. Much has been written in psychology and sociology since the Third Reich concerning stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Within the context of these socio-psychological theories, discuss the policy and propaganda campaign of the Nazis. In other words, examine each socio-psychological theory and provide examples and explanations of Nazi policy or use of media that would fit each theory. For example, how might the use of the film Triumph of the Will, ghettoization, images/messages of the slides we saw in class, and so forth fit within a theory of prejudice or stereotyping? Also, within the context of these theories, explain what role the events surrounding the Weimar Republic may have played in contributing to the rise in anti-Semitism.

To Linda M. Woolf's Holocaust and Genocide Studies Pages - Includes current course information, links, recommended readings, Holocaust chronology, text of recent papers and presentations.

Woolf Home Page

Examinations	40%
Response Papers (7.5% each)	30%
Analysis Paper	15%
Class Participation/Discussion	15%

Week	Topic and Readings
Week 1	Introduction to the Class Scope of the Holocaust A psycho-social Model of Genocide
Week 2	Roots of the Holocaust: Anti-Semitism Theories of Stereotyping, Prejudice, & Discrimination Nationalism Readings: The Nature of Prejudice and the Historic Roots of Anti-Semitism, in Botwinick texts Moral exclusion and injustice: An introduction, by S. Opotow in Journal of Social Issues, 46, 1-20. The nature of prejudice: What is the problem., by G. Allport in Psychology is Social, edited by E. Krupat The ultimate attribution error: Extending Allport's cognitive analysis of prejudice, by Thomas Pettigrew in The Social Animal, edited by E. Aronson. On pseudospeciation and social speciation, by K. Erikson in Genocide, War, and Human Survival, edited by C. Strozier & M. Flynn (Optional) Social circumstances and factors that incite the upsurge of nationalism, in The Mass Psychology of Ethnonationalism, by D. Kecmanovic (optional)
Week 3	A Culture in Crisis: Weimar Republic Rise of Nazism: A Monolithic Culture Germany Under the Nazis German Jewish Life to 1939 Anti-Jewish Policies: First Steps down the Path to Genocide Readings: The Nazi Rise to Power, in Botwinick texts Careers Built on Hate: Hitler and his Instruments, in Botwinick texts Germany under the Nazis, in Botwinick texts German Jewish Life to 1939, in Botwinick texts The World that was Annihilated, in Botwinick texts (optional)
Week 4	First Steps to Genocide (continued) Readings: Steps along a continuum of destruction: Perpetrators and bystanders, in The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence, by E. Staub Hitler's War, in Botwinick texts (optional)
Week 5	Hitler's Eugenics Theory - A Rationale for Genocide Non-Jewish Groups Targeted Bystander Behavior Readings: Eugenics and Nazi race theory in practice, by George Mosse in The History and Sociology of Genocide, edited by F. Chalk & K. Jonassohn. A mosaic of victims: Non-Jewish victims of Nazism, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum pp. 102 - 111 The abandonment of the Jews, by D. Wyman in The Holocaust, edited by D. Niewyk (optional) Opinions and social pressure, by S. Asch in The Social Animal, edited by E. Aronson "Mastering the past": Germans and Gypsies, by G. Tyrnauer in The History and Sociology of Genocide, edited by F. Chalk & K. Jonassohn, (optional)
Week 6	The Path Towards Genocide: Ghettoization, Concentration Camps, Slave Labor Readings: From Ideology to Isolation, in Botwinick texts Response Paper I Due
Week 7	The Path Towards Genocide (continued) Genocide: Einsatzgruppen Operation Reinhard Camps Auschwitz Readings: The Genocide, in Botwinick texts One day in Jozefow: Initiation to mass murder, by C. Browning in Lessons and Legacies, edited by P. Hayes The Einsatzgruppen, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum Babi Yar, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jews, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum
Week 8	Genocide (continued) Response Paper II Due Midterm
Week 9	Resistance and Rescue Readings: Resistance and Rescue, in Botwinick texts Forms of Jewish resistance, by Y. Bauer in The Holocaust, edited by D. Niewyk Victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and rescuers in the face of genocide and its aftermath, by E. Fogelman in Genocide, War, and Human Survival, edited by C. Strozier & M. Flynn. In pursuit of Sugihara: The banality of good, by H. Levine in Genocide, War, and Human Survival, edited by C. Strozier & M. Flynn. The call to arms, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum The Warsaw Ghetto uprising, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum
Week 10	Resistance and Rescue (continued) Perpetration of Genocide: Personality Factors Perpetration of Genocide: Situational Factors Readings: A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison, by C, Haney, C, Banks, & P. Zimbardo in The Social Animal, edited by E. Aronson Behavioral study of obedience by S. Milgram in The Social Animal edited by E. Aronson The personality of the perpetrator in Mass Hate, by N. Kressel
Week 11	Perpetration of Genocide (continued) Torture: Perpetrators and Victims Readings: The psychology and culture of torture and torturers, by E. Staub in Psychology and Torture, edited by P. Suedfeld. Torture, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery Response Paper III Due
Week 12	Life on the Path to Genocide Readings: The will to witness, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres Excremental assault, in The Survivor by T. Des Pres At the mind's limit, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery Analysis Paper Due
Week 13	Life on the Path to Genocide (continued) Readings: Life in seath, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres Nightmare and qaking, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres Choiceless choices, in Witness to the Holocaust, edited by M. Berenbaum
Week 14	Liberation Beyond Survival: Life after the Holocaust Readings: How much home does a person need, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery Resentments, in At the Mind's Limit, by J. Amery Us and them, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres Radical nakedness, in The Survivor, by T. Des Pres Response Paper IV Due
Week 15	Beyond Survival (continued) Response Paper V Due
Week 16	Final Exam