The Genocide of the European Jews, 1933-1945

Module overview

This module explores the mass murder of the Jews of Europe between 1933 and 1945. At its core is an examination of the nature of National Socialism, its genocidal drive, and the stages by which its practice of antisemitic persecution evolved into a continent-wide genocide in the context of war. It examines the development of Nazi persecution and the explanations of this. It examines the radicalisation of Nazi violence under the impact of war. It treats individual national or regional case studies in depth. It explores the collaboration of non-German actors and it explores Jewish life in the camps, in ghettos and in hiding. Its focus is on understanding the capacity of the National Socialist regime to mobilise broad sections of German society behind its genocidal policies and the consequences of this for the Jewish population of Europe.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

engage with historiography and theoretical frameworks, contributing to the debates relating to the genocide of the European Jews.
apply your developed knowledge of the genocide of the European Jews, structuring your ideas and research findings into well-ordered essays.
undertake a thorough critical analysis and assessment of a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

use to good effect textual, visual and material culture sources, synthesising this material to develop cogent and persuasive arguments.
research complex historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written essays.
utilise and develop your time-management skills.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

a wide variety of secondary source material relating to the genocide of the European Jews, including theoretical frameworks used in the field.
a wide variety of primary sources relating to the genocide of the European Jews.
the history of the genocide of the European Jews, in particular the nature of National Socialism and the stages by which its practice of antisemitic persecution evolved into a genocide.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include seminars.

Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.

Study time
Type	Hours
Seminar	48
Preparation for scheduled sessions	100
Completion of assessment task	100
Wider reading or practice	52
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

David Cesarani (2015). Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews, 1933-1949. London.

Raul Hilberg (2003). The Destruction of the European Jews. New Haven, CT,: Yale University Press.

Anna Hájková (2020). The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt. Oxford: OUP.

Helen Whatmore-Thompson (2020). Nazi Camps and their Neighbouring Communities. History, Memory, Memorialisation. Oxford: OUP.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	100%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Resubmit assessments	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External