General provisions

The Hugo Valentin Centre, Uppsala University, is responsible for the course.

Entry requirements

120 credits including 90 credits in a subject in the humanities or the social sciences. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

After the completed course the student will be able to

• critically analyse and describe the major events of the Holocaust in the context of the Second World War
• explain and use key theoretical concepts and methodological approaches in Holocaust history
• Analyse and critically assess primary sources regarding the Holocaust, and relate their content to wider historical and regional contexts
• independently compare and discuss various forms of persecution in Europe with special regards to the occupied Eastern European territories
• describe and analyse the role of different actors, based on the categories perpetrators, victims and bystanders
• independently and critically discuss different historiographic interpretations of specific events and processes
• compare the historiography in Europe to that in other parts of the world, in particular the United States and Israel

Content

The course aims to provide students with in-depth knowledge of the Holocaust, including its immediate prehistory and implementation in different political and social contexts throughout the European continent. The discussed topics include European antisemitism, fascism and national socialist racism and persecution in the Third Reich and its collaborationist states or occupied territories. Particular emphasis will be placed on the issues of deportations, the establishment of ghettos and camps, and mass extermination of the Jewish community. We will analyse key events, actors and contexts using primary sources and scholarly literature. In so doing, the student will learn how to identify regional differences in carrying out the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question". Particular attention is paid to Eastern Europe (including the Balkans), where the majority of ghettos and camps were located, and where mass extermination mainly took place. Comparisons to other victim groups will also be made, with a particular focus on minorities and civilian populations in the occupied territories. Moreover, we will discuss different conceptual frameworks scholars have developed to describe and explain the Holocaust. This will be done through critical assessments of the historiography in various parts of Europe over time, as well as through comparisons with the historiography in the United States and Israel.

Instruction

The course will consist of seminars.

Assessment

Assessment will be based upon written and oral assignments. Students that have missed a small number of mandatory assignments may complete them by the end of the term at the latest. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.