Lecture 3: German History, 1806/1848/1871/1918-1933

1. Preliminary
   • Turn in journals; roll-call
   • discussion of article "What the Holocaust does not teach"

2. Explanations for the Holocaust
   1. Hitler and the Nazi Elite (see textbook, p. 163f)
      a) Intentionalism: Hitler's preformed plan, especially Jews, everywhere
      b) Structuralism: nature of power structure; opportunists around weak leader
      c) Functionalism: evolving solutions; "twisted road;" Jews among others
   2. The German people: national character ("blood"?) vs. cultural traditions
      Christopher Browning ("Ordinary Men") vs. Daniel Goldhagen ("Hitler's Willing Executioners")
   3. The Jews: character/behavior fosters antisemitism
3. Where did the Nazi/German character/mindset come from?
   • German history I (long-term): obedience, militarism, bureaucracy, antisemitism
   • German history II (middle-term): Germany's "special path" during industrialization
   • German history III (short-term): unique circumstances after World War I
4. Film clip (14 mins): US Army Signal Corps, "Here is Germany" (1945)
   • for soldiers going to occupy Germany, never released (Cold War: Germany became our ally).
5. Historical Overview (1806-1914)
   • Prussia vs. Germany (first Reich="Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation")
     • Frederick William I "Soldier King" of Prussia, 1713-40; Frederick "the Great," 1740-1786
     • "3 pillars of power:" militarists, large landowners, state officials
   • 1806-1819: dissolution of "first Reich" by Napoleon
     • Forced modernization of administration (bureaucracy), education, and army
     • "E pluribus unum:" German states move towards economic union
   • 1848: popular revolution; unification "from below" fails
     • Heinrich Gagern and Fredrick William IV (*1795; 1840-1858; d. 1861)
     • "Never will I let a scrap of paper come between me and my people!"
   • Bismarck (1815-1898): 1862 head of Prussian cabinet; 3 wars: unification in Versaillles
     "Great questions of the day will not be decided by majorities, but by iron and blood."
   • 1866-1871: In three wars Bismarck creates the "second Reich" (Kaiserreich) "from above"
     • Reich Chancellor Bismarck becomes a peacenik; booted out by William II in 1890
     • Economic boom and bust, 1871-1873-1890: industrialists="4th pillar" of power
   • Germany's "special path" (Sonderweg) (see textbook pages 77ff)
     • rise of mass politics: party spectrum in congress (Reichstag: imperial parliament)
     • Fast industrializing Germany seen as a model for other countries (e.g. social security system)
   • 1888: William I (*1797; 1871-1888), Frederick III (*1831-1888), William II (*1859; 1888-1918)
     • a crucial juncture (Weichenstellung: setting the switch of a train track)
   • 1914: Germany instigates what quickly becomes the "Great War" (World War I)
     • "Primacy of domestic politics" vs. "primacy of foreign policy"