Holocaust History and Historiography

About the course

The course provides you with in-depth knowledge of the Holocaust, including its immediate prehistory and implementation in different political and social contexts throughout the European continent. Topics discussed include European antisemitism, fascism and national socialist racism and the 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 the mass extermination of the Jewish community.

We will analyse key events, actors and contexts using primary sources and scholarly literature. In so doing, you will learn how to identify regional differences in the carrying out of 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 exterminations 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 which 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.