History 518.02	Twentieth-Century Germany	Winter 2008
TR 11:30-1:18	Beyerchen

	The purpose of this course is to introduce the upper division student to the major events and issues in German history from the turn of the century to the present.  We will trace the intertwined themes of politics, culture and society through a blend of lecture, readings, video and discussion.  Grades will be based on a take-home midterm examination (40 percent), a take-home final examination (50 percent) and class participation (including quizzes; 10 percent).  Specific assignment sheets for the exams will be handed out approximately two weeks before their due dates.  My office hours are in Dulles Hall 369, Tues 2:30-3:18, Wed 1:00-2:00 and by appointment; office phone 292-5478; Department phone 292-2674; my email address is beyerchen.1@osu.edu.

	The following books, available at SBX on North High Street, constitute required reading in the order listed.  I have worked with SBX to obtain the least expensive editions and used copies wherever possible.  Graduate students should meet with me at the end of the first day of class to discuss additional readings and assignments.  

Required readings, in the order assigned during the quarter:

	Dietrich Orlow, A History of Modern Germany, 6th Ed. (designated as "O" below)
	Modris Eksteins, Rites of Spring
	Sebastian Haffner, Defying Hitler 	
	Richard Bessel, Nazism and War
	Barbara and David Bloomfield, Passageway West
Heinrich Boell, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum	
Petra Kelly, Fighting for Hope
	Timothy Garten Ash, The File.
 
Recommended reading:  Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History.

WEEK	TOPICS	ASSIGNMENTS	

Jan 3	Introduction	Skim O Preface and ch 1	

WEEK	TOPICS	ASSIGNMENTS	
			
Jan 8 & 10	Weltpolitik and the onset of war	O ch 2; Eksteins through ch II	

Jan 15 & 17	Transformation and trauma in war	O ch 3; Eksteins through ch VI	
			
Jan 22 & 24	Democracy amid the debris	O ch 4; Eksteins ch VII and VIII; Haffner through section 15	
			
Jan 29 & 31	End of Weimar and the rise of the Third Reich	O ch 5 & 6 to p. 186; Eksteins ch IX; finish Haffner 	

Feb 5 & 7	Nazi dream and Nazi reality	MIDTERM DUE Feb 5; O finish ch 6; finish Eksteins; Bessel to p. 91	

Feb 12 & 14	World War and Holocaust	O ch 7; finish Bessel; Bloomfield to p. 134	

Feb 19 & 21	"Hour Zero" in 1945 and the divided nation to 1961	O ch 8, 9 to p. 277 and 10 to p. 309; finish Bloomfield	
			
Feb 26 & 28	After the Wall:  Ostpolitik and "two states in one nation"	O finish ch 9 and 10; Boell; Kelly	
         
Mar 4 & 6	United Germany	O ch 11; Ash	

Mar 12 (Wednesday)
 		FINAL EXAMINATION due in our classroom noon.