April 4
From War to Dictatorship
Most historians would argue that Germany's defeat in World War I contained the seeds for the failure of Weimar democracy and the rise of fascism. Please describe in your own terms the possible reasons for Germany's failed attempt to establish a democratic nation. Consider the economic, political, social, and cultural forces that contributed to the failure of Weimar democracy. What political alternatives to the actual course of history could you envision?
Film: Rosa Luxemburg
What do you consider the main political obstacles that Rosa Luxemburg had to contend with during her life?
The Film addresses many of the difficulties that haunted Social Democracy during the Weimar Republic. Please discuss the party's development from a late nineteenth century working-class movement to an established political party before, during, and after WWI as it is portrayed in the film.
The figure of Rosa Luxemburg undergoes some changes during the course of her life. How do Rosa's love relationships affect her political attitudes? How is Rosa's private life germane for the understanding of the political issues addressed in the movie?
Rosa is an avid letter writer. The film quotes many of her letters to her intimate friends. What do these letters add to the presentation of Rosa's character?
Class distinctions made up the fabric of German society until after WWI. How do these class distinctions affect the behavior of the characters presented in the movie?
Rosa's relationships to some of the minor characters illustrate
her political point of view. How would you characterize her relationships
to a) August Bebel, b) Karl Kautsky, c) Clara Zetkin, d) Eduard Bernstein,
and e) Karl Liebknecht?
April 9<>
Luxemburg, "Founding Manifesto of the Communist Party
of Germany"
The "Founding Manifesto of the Communist Party of Germany"
calls for a revision of the views that guided the German social democracy
since 1895. What are Rosa Luxemburg's reasons for demanding such a revision?
What course of action does she suggest for newly formed KPD? How would
you describe her stance towards Engels, Kautsky and the Social Democratic
Party of her time?
Troeltsch, "The Dogma of Guilt"
According to Troeltsch the Versailles peace treaty is
the result of psychological warfare just as much as it is the result of
military action. Explain Troeltsch's position with regard to the treaty.
Name the psychological factors and the ulterior motifs of the allied powers
that contributed to "The dogma of Guilt." Explain also whether you find
Troeltsch's positon plausible.
Tucholsky: "The Spirit of 1914"
In contrast to many historians who blame both the political
and economic consequences of the Versailles peace treaty for the failure
of the Weimar Republic, Tucholsky accuses the German people themselves
for not having learned anything from history. What are the main points
of his accusations?
April 11
Mann: "The German Republic" (handout)
Thomas Mann addresses his speech of 1922 to the Germany's
youth. Mann attempts to explain what it means to be German by connecting
Weimar Democracy to Germany's past and its rich cultural history. He does,
however, encounter some difficulties in supporting his argument. Please
explain how he makes use of Germany's past to win Germany's youth over
for the democratic cause?
Mann: "Appeal to Reason"
Thomas Mann wrote his "Appeal to Reason" after the German
elections of 1930 in which the NSDAP and the KPD gained a tremendous amount
of votes at the expense of the democratic parties. Mann does not attribute
this overwhelming victory of the extremists on the political right and
left to the bleak economic conditions at the end of the decade alone (189)
but rather to a state of mind. How does he explain the radicalization of
a German people that "are by nature not radical?" (189) He views the current
state as an aberration from the German tradition. How does Thomas Mann
represent himself and the German nation in this tradition? Where does he
stand politically? What does he suggest as a possible solution to the current
crisis?
Walter: "The Misery of the New Mittelstand"
Hilde Walter compares the old middle class to the so-called
"New Mittelstand." Accordingly, the economic situation of white-collar
employees during the Weimar Republic cannot be compared to that of the
pre-WWI middle class. Which significant changes have taken place and how
did these changes affect the social behavior of the employer-employee relationships
during the Weimar Republic?
Geiger: "Old and New Middle Classes"
Theodor Geiger describes the social shifts that affected
the middle class during the Weimar Republic. Traditional middle-class cultural
values are no longer compatible with the the new middle-class's social
reality. Explain the reasons for these changes as well as their results
for the new middle-class mentality.
April 16
Mann: Tonio Kröger
Part I pp. 75-93
The first part of the novel introduces Tonio's family and friends. We thus learn about Tonio's social background. To what extent does Tonio's upbringing play a role in his personal development as an artist? What do Tonio's relationships to his friends (Hans and Inge) and to his classmates (for example, Irwin Jimmerthal) tell us about the main character? Refer to the incident at the dancing lesson (Magdalena Vermehren)!
Part II pp. 93-106
In Munich Tonio develops his own philosophy of art that he lays out in his talks with Lisabeta. How would you characterize his philosophy of art? How does he distinguish himself from other artists, such as Adalbert? Which significance do the stories of the criminal banker and the writing lieutenant have for his aesthetic values? What does Lisabeta possibly refer to when she calls Tonio a bourgeois manqué?
Part III pp. 106-132
At the end of summer Tonio expresses the desire to go
on a journey. Tonio decides that he wants to go to Denmark rather than
to Italy, as Lisabeta suggests. But before he takes the ferry to Denmark,
he spends a few days in his hometown (Lübeck) in northern Germany.
On the ferry to Copenhagen, Tonio has a somewhat amusing encounter with
a fellow traveler. Copenhagen does not keep his interest for long either.
After a short time he decides to travel northwards to Aalsgaard. What do
you make of Tonio's restlessness and his decision to go even further north?
What significance could Tonio's trip to Aalsgard have for his artistic
development? Refer to some of the experiences that Tonio has on his trip.
April 18
Kracauer: "Shelter for the Homeless"
When one compares the representation of bourgeois life
in "Tonio Kroeger" to the middle-class habits depicted in Kracauer's text,
one cannot help but notice substantial differences. These class-specific
cultural differences evolved during the first 30 years of the twentieth
century. How would you explain this development?
One could read Kracauer's text as an explanation for the rise of fascism in Germany. Do you agree with this assessment?
Kracauer: "On the Writer"
Kracauer describes new tasks that await the writer during
the time of political and economic crisis. Explain in your own words how
the new writers differ from the writers of the old kind. What kind of writing
does Kracauer possibly envision that would do justice to the social challenges
of the Weimar Republic?
Brod: "Franz Kafka's Posthumous Writings"
Without Max Brod many of Kafka's writings would not be
available today. Had Brod acted upon the writer's will, he would have burned
his manuscripts, many of which had never been exposed to the public. Many
of Kafka's diaries and letters are intensely personal. Do you think Max
Brod had the right to publish Kafka's works posthumously against the writer's
will? Do you think he violated the author's right to privacy?
April 23
Harvey: "Culture and Society in Weimar Germany"
The Weimar Republic had an extremely rich and diverse
cultural life. Describe some of the political and social impacts of modernist
art and mass culture. How did different segments of the population (such
as women, the bourgeoisie, the left etc.) respond to modernist art forms
and mass culture?
Benjamin: "Left-Wing Melancholy"
Walter Benjamin uses the poems of Erich Kaestner to criticize
the weakening powers of German left-wing intellectuals. He notices an increasing
commodification of left-wing art that in the process has lost a lot of
its revolutionary momentum. What are the reasons for this development?
Which possible altenatives does Benjamin offer?
Salomon: "We and the Intellectuals"
Ernst von Salomon positions himself and his readers in opposition to the intellectuals. Which audience does Salomon have in mind and what are the ultimate goals of the anti-intellectual movement that Salomon envisions?
Bloch: "Hitler's Force"
Ernst Bloch points out the dramatic shift of public opinion
in Bavaria after WW I when "from one day to the next the flag shops exchanged
the soviet star for the swastika." Such an unexpected political turnaround
of public opinion seems to suggest that the ideologies on the radical left
and radical right are practically exchangeable in their promise of the
empowerment of the people. Yet, as Bloch points out, the similarities between
Socialism and National Socialism are deceptive. Summarize what made these
ideologies so attractive to young people and delineate their false similarities.
April 25
Stephenson: "The Rise of the Nazis"
For the last fifty years historians have been trying to
come up with explanations why the Nazi's could come to power in such a
technologically advanced and culturally sophisticated country as Germany.
Some maintain that Germany had already been predestined by its so-called
Sonderweg
(special path) in European history. Others argue that the Treaty of
Versailles and the economically unfavorable conditions during the WR were
responsible for the rise of the Nazi-movement. Please select the most important
arguments and explain your point of view.
Kershaw: "Hitler and the Nazi Dictatorship"
Kershaw attributes the 'cumulative radicalization' of
the Nazi-dictatorship from the climate of hostility toward Jews and Marxists
during the Weimar Republic to total warfare and organized genocide to a
broad spectrum of factors. Name some of the most significant constellations
and events that made such an unprecedented escalation of violence possible.
April 30
Stargardt: "The Holocaust"
Stargardt presents the history of the Holocaust in light of a controversy between so-called 'Hitlerist' or 'intentionalist' explanations and so-called 'structuralist' or 'functionalist' ones. Please define these differing approaches and reiterate the most significant arguments that either point of view can claim.
May 2
Midterm Exam
May 7
Film: "A Love in Germany"
May 9
Questions on the Film ("A Love in Germany")
Questions:
Address at least three of the following questions!
The film's treatment of the Nazi period is very different
from that of most other movies about
this time.
a) How does the film contribute to our understanding
of the Third Reich in ways that
documentaries cannot?
b) What do we learn about German society?
c) Which significance does the film's structure (frame
narration, parallel action) have?
d) Do you find the flashback technique successful? Please
explain your opinion.
May 14
Roseman: "Division and Stability"
Choose one of the following four questions:
1. Many historians have pointed out the institutional, social, and personnel continuity that linked the newly founded Federal Republic to its pre-WWII predecessor. Yet inspite of its anti-democratic legacy, the FRG proved to be a very stable, reliable, and successful democracy. Please name the main reasons why the FRG was not doomed to failure, although its constitution was remarkably similar to that of the Weimar Republic.
2. How did the Cold War influence Germany's political, economic, and social development? What impact did western integration have on postwar Germany's attitude toward its past?
3. During and after the student movement from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s, the Federal Republic experienced some of the most severe political challenges of its history. Please explain some of the reasons for the drastic calls for reform which accompanied the extra-parliamentary portest movements of that decade.
4. Many European politicians "indirectly
expressed a wish that West Germany should retain its separate existence
and not aspire to recreating a single German nation." Please voice your
own opinion about these reservations based on the reading and your knowledge
about recent developments in Germany.
Böll: The Bread of those Early Years
Choose two of the following questions:
1. The relationship between politics and love may not be entirely obvious at first reading. What are the love story's possible political implications?
2. Memory is a recurrent motif in the story. For example, photographs are important memorabilia. When Walter first saw the negatives of photographs in the darkroom, he was shocked. His father tried to console him "by saying that there was only one true print of everything and that lay in a dark room that we did not know: in God's memory..." (57) Why do you think memory plays such an important role in the story?
3. Describe the first person narrator and at least three other people he knows (Walter, Ulla, Hedwig, Wolf, Wickweber, Fruhklar, Brolaski, Fundahl, Veronika, Walter's father, Hedwig's father).
4. The first person narrator rembers a lot of details about people and situations. Colors seem to play an important role. Please make a list of the items that are depicted in various colors, such as all the things that are red, green, white. Do you recognize a pattern?
5. Bread, money and passing time are often mentioned together.
The price of bread keeps changing. Explain the significance of bread and
money.
May 16
Fulbrook: "Ossis and Wessis"
Fulbrook claims that "perhaps the
most striking feature of German social history after 1945 is the growing
divergence of the two German societies." Name the most significant economic,
political, and social distinctions that set the two countries apart.
May 21
Carter: "Culture, History, and National Identity in the two Germanies"
Answer two of the following four questions:
1. The chapter traces the difficulties in overcoming the cultural legacy of authoritarian nationalism in both postwar Germanies. Name some of the key factors that contributed to a renewal of the nationalist tendencies in a reunified Germany.
2. How did the allied response to fascism contribute to the suppression of the Germans' awareness of their nationalist legacy. Refer to the two different approaches in East and West Germany.
3. Name some of the inadequacies of the humanist approaches in dealing with the Nazi past. Which problems do you envision in Germany's confrontation of national guilt?
4. How did the younger generation's (post 1968) approach
to dealing with the past distinguish itself from the postwar humanism of
the older intellectuals?
May 23
Questions on Film: "The Legend of Paul and Paula"
Choose one of the two following questions
1. Erich Honecker, who replaced Walter Ulbricht as East German leader, ushered in a new period of cultural openness in the GDR. "The Legend of Paul and Paula" not only documents this change but also addresses some issues that render the official cultural policy of the GDR government in a critical light. To what extend does the love story express a critical attitude toward life in the GDR in the early 1970s?
2. The old and the new, as well as the public and the
private sphere are conspicuous themes in "The Legend of Paul and Paula."
How do these two topics contribute to the films overall message?
May 28
Memorial Day
May 30
Plenzdorf: The New Sufferings of Young Werther
Choose one of the following two questions:
1. Both "The Legend of Paul and Paula" and "The New Sufferings of Young Werther" were written in the early 1970s when the GDR leadership under Erich Honecker decided to tolerate formerly vilified popular culture forms, such as rock music, western style dress, discotheques etc. How does Plenzdorf's novel present the western influence?
2. East Germany's officially backed predominant art form
was called Socialist Realism. The main objective of this art form was to
educate the population in the spirit of socialism. Therefore art had to
observe the following guidelines:
"1) [T]he author must describe the life of the workers,
their work, and the social and technical conditions under which they are
working; 2) he should attempt to educate his readers in the spirit of socialism;
and 3) he should attempt to depict not objective reality, but rather reality
in its revolutionary development toward the realization of the ideal of
the purely socialist society. To what extend does the film follow these
guidelines and where does it deviate from these guidelines?
June 6
Schlink: The Reader