Dachau: prisoners ca. 1938 /
memorial from 1968
The Holocaust:
Interdisciplinary Perspectives

(UCSB Hist 33d)
by Professor Harold Marcuse
(homepage)
contact: marcuse@history.ucsb.edu
page created Sept. 13, 2003; last updated: May 25, 2005

Note Sept. 2005: This page has been superceded by the 2005 33d homepage.

Announcements
(at top)
Old Announcements
(at bottom)

Course description
and goals

Course materials:
syllabus, reader, videos, lectures

Final Web Projects
suggested topics

Links: other sites;
other courses;
(suggestions welcome)
my other courses
Grading policies

Announcements (old announcements move to bottom, where there are also visitors stats)

  • May 25, 2005: The course is full and I am keeping a waitlist. I have closed the enrollment on GOLD, so trying to get in via GOLD as spaces open up will NOT work. You need to e-mail me to get on the list. I may give some codes out in mid-June, but probably not until classes start.
  • May 12, 2005: Fall 2005 in HSSB 4020, T-Th 9:30-10:45, and Bldg 387, rm 103, W 6-9pm.
    enrollment code 51276. If a waitlist is necessary, e-mail me and information will be posted on this page.
    Note: the syllabus (2003 syllabus) and readings will change for this new offering; information on this site should be used as a guide only!
  • March 10, 2005: I will be teaching this course again during Fall quarter 2005, probably on Tue-Thu (my first three time choices are: starting at 11, 9:30 or 12:15), with an enrollment of 40-50.
  • Nov. 13, 2004: Fred Diamant, noted Holocaust survivor, died today. The hanging of Fred's brother was described by Elie Wiesel in his memoir/novel Night. See this excellent LA Times obituary.
  • Sept. 2004: Rosenstrasse filmLast month a new German film about the Feb. 1943 protest by Christian German women of the arrest of their Jewish husbands in Berlin was released in the US: The Women of Rosenstrasse.
  • Apr. 27, 2004: A newspaper series in the Toldeo Blade about an elite troop of US soldiers ("Tiger Force") who committed massacres of civilians over an extended period in 1967 was awarded a Pulitzer prize. Especially the present-day interviews with the men (who were 19 back then) illuminate some of the theories about how "ordinary men" can commit genocide. See esp. days 3 and 4 of the series (link). [or just google: toledo blade tiger force]
  • April 21, 2004: I added a "professor's note" to the Nazi Women web project, one of the better student projects available from this course. A visitor to this site noted that it had similiarity to a published book that was not cited, and thought it might be plagiarism. It was NOT--as explained in that introductory note. But it presents an interesting lesson on how slippery the issue can be (link).
  • Dec. 15, 2003: The final grade distribution is as follows (point totals are WITHOUT the 10 participation pts):
                     # students 77-79pts=B+     9 67-69pts=C+   2 D    0  
    83-85pts=A    12 73-76pts=B       5 64-66pts=C     2 D-  0 missing/incomplete: 2
    80-82pts=A-    9 70-72pts=B-     3           pts=C-   0 F    0 total:   44
    If you think your grade contains an error, please see my grading policies section, below.
  • Dec. 14: I'll be updating the web projects page soon
  • Dec. 14: Final Web Projects Handout uploaded
  • Dec. 14: L16 Denial, 17 Art, 19 Anne Frank & Conclusion outlines added (some images still to come; added 12/14/03, 3pm)
  • Dec. 10: last year's final point and grade distribution can be found on the old course web site (link).
    See also the grading policies section, below.
  • Dec. 9, 10am: Project index page is now operational: WEB PROJECTS INDEX PAGE
  • Dec. 3: The first uploaded web project is on Nazi Medicine; Persecution of Homosexuals; Anne Frank Reviews; Review of Goldhagen; 1920s project; burden of survival; Nuremberg Trials; survivors; US and Holocaust; France; Skokie; Protocols of the Elders of Zion; Auschwitz Camp; euthanasia nurses; David Irving Trial;

Course Description and Goals (back to top)

Hitler Reichstag fire, Bush 911 compared
What relevance does history hold for today? It can help us to see current events in context.

This lecture course is designed for undergraduates of all disciplines (natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, fine arts) with no prior college-level coursework in history. It has two goals: to introduce students to the history of one of the most complex and troubling events of the 20th century, and to explore some of the different ways people have attempted to explain it.

I understand the Nazi Holocaust to be the development and systematic implementation of a program to eradicate entire groups of people. This course begins with an examination of several case studies, which raise the question of causation: Why did those events transpire as they did? We will examine various attempts to answer this question by scholars in different disciplines, comparing, assessing, and combining different perspectives to come up with one of our own.


Course materials and lecture outlines (back to top)

Reader Table of hist 33d reader coverContents
Journal assignment handout:
professor's 1999 journal
, prof's 2003 journal, page of links to media sources
Final Web Project Handout


Web projects: suggested topics (back to top)


E-mail announcement list (back to top)
  • I would like everyone to sign up for an e-mail mail server. This will enable me (or you) to send messages to the whole class by using the address hist33d@history.ucsb.edu.
  • To sign up: go to the site: https://mail.lsit.ucsb.edu/mailman/listinfo.cgi/hist33d. At the bottom, enter your e-mail and select a password. After I've confirmed, you're done.
  • Did you forget your password? No problem! Just go to that same page, and all the way down at the bottom, in the "Edit Options" box, type in your e-mail and click the button. Your password will be e-mailed to you. (You only need your password to change your options or view the list of subscribers.)

Links to interesting web sites [updated: 9/22/03] (back to top)


Some on-line Holocaust/Germany courses [updated: 9/22/03] (back to top)

Explore some of these on-line courses to see some of the different emphases set by instructors of Holocaust/Nazi Germany courses.

Materials from Prof. Marcuse's other Holocaust courses (back to top)


GRADING (back to top)

NOTE: The Fall 2002 final grade distribution is published on the old course web site.
Grading can serve many purposes. Among them are: motivating students to do the work by providing feedback and rewarding effort, assessing how well students have done the work, and ranking students relative to each other.
I personally hate grading. I'm interested in what you have to say, and want you to put in the effort to develop interesting thoughts and express them well. I hope you will be motivated to learn enough factual material to have a solid basis upon which you can develop your thoughts. If you need the prospect of a better grade to do the learning and thinking, fine. For various reasons, I have to grade to assess your work anyway (if I write letters of recommendation, for instance, I need some data on relative strengths and weaknesses, and effort expended). The grade distributions I give my courses are also monitored by the department and the University.
My bottom line: I want the grades I give to be a FAIR reflection of the effort and learning you show, and to give a rough indication of where you stand on those factors relative to others in the class.

If you are think your grade does not reflect your work or effort:

  • First, please note that I grade YOUR WORK, not you.
  • If you feel that the grade you received on your paper or exam does not correspond to the quality of work that you submitted, or the effort you put into it, you have two options:
    1. Print out, complete, and submit the following
      Grade Change Application Form
      ;-),
      OR:
    2. Write a page (or paragraph, whatever it takes) explaining WHY you think your work is better than the grade assigned to it. Please refer to the blue assignment sheet (for journals and web projects), and make sure you did the assignment.
      • Then resubmit the work in question with your explanation, and I will regrade it and get back to you.
      • Be sure to put some contact address on your explanation sheet, so that I can be in touch with you.
      • Note that I reserve the right to lower your grade, if I feel that is warranted by closer examination

Picking up your work

I keep all student work for at least one quarter after the course is over. If you would like to pick up your work, please come to my office. During my office hours is usually best for me, but if you would like your work left in the envelope outside my door, or to arrange a different pick-up time, send me an e-mail or leave a note.


Old Announcements (back to top)

  • Flyer for German 10a, "Readings in German on the Holocaust"May 8, 2003: For students registering for this course for Fall 2003: German 10A will explore authentic German text and film material related to the topics discussed in Hist 33D. It is open to all students; no prior knowledge of German is required. If you want to get the most out of Hist 33D: I highly recommend concurrent enrollment in German 10A. Students who took the equivalent German course last year had among the highest grades in the class. (Meets M,W, 2-3:15.) One student did a number of interviews for my Holocaust Oral History Project (see page with Jeremy Garsha's work). [Note 10/1/03: none of the students in 33D ended up taking this course. One who went to the first meeting said that the 4-unit commitment was too much.]
  • May 31, 2003: I've selected 3 of the 4 books for Fall 2003. The textbook is new this year, namely: Enzo Collotti, Hitler and Nazism (Interlink Illustrated History).
    Cover of Collotti's Illustrated History, Hitler and Nazism Art Spiegelman's Maus: Cover Cover of Gerald Markle's Meditations of a Holocaust Traveler
    $9-15 at amazon
    $9- at fetchbook
    $18-20 at amazon
    $6- at fetchbook
    OUT OF PRINT
    photocopies will be in reader
    Art Spiegelman's Maus (both volumes) and Gerald Markle's Meditations of a Holocaust Traveler will remain the same as last year. I have yet to select a memoir (check back in late August).
  • June 16, 2003: 52 students are enrolled, and the course has been closed to new enrollment. The course needs to shrink to 40-50 because of funding.
    E-mail Prof. Marcuse (me) if you want to be placed on a waiting list.
  • Aug. 30, 2003: One book (at right) is out of print, so I'll provide the relevant chapters as photocopies in the reader. We will be doing web projects as the culminating assignment this year (see sample topic, below). I'm still selecting the memoir that we will read. 12 students are now enrolled in German 10A.
  • Sept. 13, 2003: I'm starting work on a new web page for this year. The old page has now moved here.
  • hist 33d reader coverSept. 23, 2003: The Course Reader will not be available (at copy services in the library) before Wed., 9/24 in the morning.
    Link for readings before tonight's films.
  • Sept. 25, 2003: The Course Reader is available at copy services in the library. It costs ca. $31.35 ($34 including tax).
  • Sept 30: Two films in Buchanan 1920 tonight (6:30-8pm): The Wave, 46mins., and 40 mins. from a 1961 biography of Adolf Hitler.
  • Sept. 29: I'm trying to make an important Oct. 1 deadline, so I'm a little behind with uploading the lecture outlines and my sample journal entries. Hopefully caught up by Friday, 10/3.
  • Sept 30/Oct. 1: Lecture 2 outline (no images yet) and Lecture 3 outline (with images) added.
  • Oct. 5: 2 journal entries are due on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 11am. See blue handout for details.
  • Oct. 5: L4 outline uploaded
  • Oct. 5: please sign up on the class e-mail listserver (link). Only 13 people have signed up so far. (10/7, 10pm: 18 including me; 10/19: 25; 10/22: 26)
  • Oct 6: prof's sample journal entries uploaded (link).
  • Oct. 7: start reading Maus, vol. 1. See these resources: my study questions; links page
  • Oct 7: L5 uploaded
  • Oct 7: Question 1 on Thursday, 10/9, about Kristallnacht reading by Friedlander (Reader pp. 13-20, 13 book pages)
  • Oct. 8: I'm sorry, but because of a meeting I have to cancel my office hours today (Wednesday). Please e-mail me to make an appointment.
  • Oct. 19: talk by Elinor Langer today (Sunday), 3pm, Corwin pavillion, on her book "100 Little Hitlers"
  • Oct. 19: Q2 on Tuesday, 10/21, re: Hoss and Fest readings
  • Oct. 19: L6, L7 and L8 uploaded (map for L8 still to come; added 10/21).
  • Oct 22: L9 (Hoess) added.
  • Oct 22: On Oct. 23 I will pass around a sign-up sheet to organize the cars for the field trip to LA. Be sure to attend!
  • Oct 24: L10 (Battalion 101) added.
  • Oct. 22 (dates modified 10/24): Only 26 people are signed up for the class e-mail server (10/28: 29 people). The fourth midterm question will be announced on e-mail only, so be sure to sign up by 10/28!! (link). If you have trouble, send me an e-mail and I'll subscribe you. (admin link)
  • Oct 28: L11 (Collaboration) added.
  • Oct 28: Field Trip Sunday Nov. 2: meet at 8am at UCSB bus loop (or 10:15 at Museum of Tolerance) to go to 10:30-1:30 tour at LA Museum of Tolerance.
    We will then drive to the LA Museum of the Holocaust (link) for 2-4pm tour and discussion with a survivor.
    Return to UCSB, arrive ca. 6pm.
    Bring: LUNCH (no meal times calculated in!), and a photo ID for museum entrance.
  • Nov. 1, 6pm: sorry, but I had absolutely no time to update the directions pages. I'll try to do some before we leave, and I'll bring printouts for the drivers.
    If you can't make the field trip, this article about the MOT will give you some of the analytical perspective.
    Addresses: MOT: 9786 West Pico Blvd.
    LA Museum of the Holocaust: 6006 Wilshire Blvd.
  • Nov. 9: L12, L13, and L14 on Jewish, German, and theoretical analysis of resistance have been added, also midterm evaluation form
  • Nov. 9: Nov. 11 is the Veterans' Day holiday. On Nov. 13 Holocaust survivors will come to speak to our class.
    For Nina Morecki's story, please read: 12 page "letter"
    (I'll post an updated message on Wednesday, Nov. 12).
  • Nov. 9: The Art & Fascism lecture, originally scheduled for Nov. 13, will be combined with the Anne Frank lecture on Nov. 20. Please adjust the readings accordingly. This hypertext version of Susan Sontag's review essay on Fascist Aesthetics has more illustrations that the one in the reader (link).
  • Nov. 11: Nina Morecki and Lili Schiff will visit our class on Thursday, 11/13. To prepare, please read Nina's story 1920-1945, and 1945-present, and Lili's story. Please think of some questions you would like either of the survivors to answer.
  • Nov. 12: I must cancel my office hours today, since I'll be going to Pomona to pick up Nina Morecki. Contact me via e-mail to set up an appt. for Friday, after 11am.
  • Nov. 17: On 11/18 I'll return your journals, which will be due again on 12/2. We'll also discuss the final projects, which are due Thursday, and make appointments for next week (before Thanksgiving).
  • Dec. 1: sorry for my neglect of this page--surgery in the family on the day before Thanksgiving put a major crimp in my work plans, and I was unable to work on the handout for the final project. Here's some brief info:
    1. I will return your projects at the end of morning class Tuesday, 12/2.
    2. At our 6:30 class on 12/2 we will meet in 2626 Ellison (computer classroom) to prepare our web projects for publication.
    3. Since almost all of these projects were so excellent, the final examination has been changed to final presentations of the web projects, in HSSB 1174 on 12/9, noon-3pm.
    4. More info in class Dec. 2.

author: H. Marcuse
counter
visitors since Sept. 25, 2002

(this counter counts each unique computer only once per day)
1860 at start of Fall 2003 classes


usage during Fall 2002:
roughly 500 hits/month
during the quarter
(17 hits/day by 85 students, so each student checked about once every 5 days)

usage during Fall 2003:
roughly 360 hits/month during the quarter
(12 hits/day by 44 students, so each student checked about once every 4 days)

[assuming only students checked the site, which, given the hits/day after the course was over, isn't quite true]

42 on Oct. 8, 2002,
80 on 10/10/02
318 on 10/17
359 on 10/20
439 on 10/25
460-474 on 10/29
500 on 10/31
593 at end of 11/5
606 on 11/6, 9pm

636 on 11/9, 10pm
675 on 11/13, 10am
705 on 11/15, 8pm

756 on 11/20, 9am
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1032 on 11/30, 3pm

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Dec. 13 was final due date

1500 on 12/16
grades due on 12/1
7/02
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end of 2002-3 site
1860 on Sept. 23, before class
[first class=Sept. 23, 03]
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11/13=visit by survivors
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final exam 12/9, noon
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9/15 early: H-Germ message
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[3/16: link added to homepage]
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