HST2100: Gender, Race and Class in Nazi Germany 1933-1945

HST2100:  Gender, Race and Class in Nazi Germany 1933-1945

20 credits (Semester 1)

Module Leader: Professor Benjamin Ziemann (2024-25)

Module Summary

This module analyses German society from 1933 to 1945 from the perspective of gender, race and class. We will examine the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion under the Nazi dictatorship through the lens of the agency of ‘Aryan’ women and men, the persecution of ‘racially’ defined minorities and by probing into the connections between social class and both consent and popular dissent. While racial categories were pivotal for Nazi policy, their application and their outcomes intersected with issues of gender and class, whether in the forced sterilization of (mostly) women, or in labour market policies that limited gainful employment of women. Through the focus on gender, race and class as dimensions of policy, collective agency and experiences in Germany from 1933 to 1945, the module will offer an introduction into key aspects of the Nazi dictatorship and its dynamics.

Topics will include, among others:

• Nazi family policy

• Youth in the Third Reich

• ‘German women in the East’: women as agents of racial policy

• The Wehrmacht and military masculinity

• German Jews and their persecution

• The forced sterilization of women and men

• The persecution of the homosexuals

Assessment

Please see this page for assessment details: Level 2 assessment

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of race, gender and class as categories of historical analysis and their relevance to interpreting Nazi Germany 1933-1945.

• Distinguish and critically discuss different strands of and approaches to historiography on the Nazi dictatorship.

• Demonstrate enhanced essay-writing skills, presenting nuanced arguments based on extensive scholarly readings.

• Organise and express views and ideas fluently in written and oral communication.

Selected Reading

• Bernhard Gotto and Martina Steber (eds.), Visions of Community in Nazi Germany, Oxford 2014

• Jane Caplan (ed.), Nazi Germany, Oxford 2008

• David Crew (ed.), Nazism and German Society: 1933-1945, London. New York 1994

• Lisa Pine, Nazi Family Policy, Oxford 1997

• Claudia Koonz, Women in the Fatherland. Women, the Family and Nazi Politics, London 1987

• Matthew Stibbe, Women in the Third Reich, London 2003

• Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, The Racial State. Germany 1933-1945, Cambridge 1991