Germany 1890-1945: simulation, presentations, & connections
Post date: Oct 16, 2018 1:49:12 PM
The best way to learn history is to live it. Lacking a time machine or perhaps the desire to put ourselves through the atrocities of the World Wars and the Holocaust, we can at least try to imagine our way into the past through the perspective of the generation ordinary Germans who lived through the war.
By taking our knowledge of the German Empire and creating a character, we can imagine how lives would have changed by the events in the years leading to the Hitler's Third Reich. We will help one another create these stories by giving short, interactive slide presentations to give us source material and by making connections to what we learn as we go through them.
If we do it with enough care to detail, we will be able to see the world through the eyes of ordinary Germans and answer the big questions: Why did Germany fight the 'Great War'? Why did their post-war democracy fail to survive? Why did Germans follow Hitler? Why did the Second World War and the Holocaust happen? And after the war ended, how would the surviving participants reckon with the legacy?
And all of that work will help us answer the ultimate question: how do we identify and respond to hate, genocide, and other crimes against humanity?
To assess your achievement in this endeavor, I will ask you to do the following:
- Historical fiction - (test grades, due every two weeks on Sunday PM)
- A presentation of film - (counts as two test grades, due whenever your topic comes up as we proceed through the timeline of topics below.)
- Connections - (Your classwork mark, based on your contributions to class discussions and connections you make during presentations and films made by others.)
- Oral history project - (More on this later)
Here are the details for the first 3...
i. Historical fiction
Every second Sunday night, you will be responsible for submitting an additional chapter of the story of the circle of people you create. Your task is to strive for accuracy and to demonstrate comprehension of whatever periods of history we have covered during that time. Please adhere to the following parameters and requirements:
1. Each chapter should be no longer than 2-3 pages with the most recent entry at the top of the doc. The native format of the google doc is fine, so there's no need to mess with fonts, spacing, margins, etc.
2. Please make at least three references, either explicit or implicit to events covered in class presentations during that two week window. If you miss class, there are sufficient resources linked on this website to allow you to create that part of the narrative.
3. Bold every instance in the text where you reference the influence of an event we've studied on your character or someone they know, e.g. losing a job, being drafted, or learning that a friend was sent to a labor camp, a marriage, etc. References to primary source materials also help, e.g. quoting a law or a speech that appeared in somebody's presentation. Remember, the impacts of world events can be as direct as being vaporized by a volcano, but impacts can be indirect, too, and sometimes the causes and impacts of events are not even perceived by those who are most affected by them.
Scoring criteria:
These stories count as test grades. As a general rule, I will be giving equal weight to both knowledge and understanding of history and your craft at telling a story. More specifically, your score will reflect the degree to which I see evidence that you understand the history well enough to create a believable scenario and have written it well enough to make it immersive. To that end, here are some areas to think about to help you craft the most effective stories:
- Beginning & ending (or an arc to the story of the character, both within the chapter and across the course.)
- A clear sense of who the narrator is and why they are writing the story, if it is a journal, memoir, letters, court testimony, a recalled conversation, or an omniscient narrator, etc.
- Plot points related to a conflict & resolution that are central to the point
- Showing, not telling how the history played out in the life of your character. Believable connections between the characters to events from the era we have studied including quotations from primary sources and historical figures who your character(s) would have encountered or been affected by. Prove that you understand how it would have been understood by your central character and how the events would have manifested themselves in their life.
- Characters with an arc that is central to the point or lesson of the story. A knowledge of monomyth and character types might be helpful.
- Description of the setting, characters, action, and imagery that drive the story, appeals to all five senses, and that reveal the impact of history and reinforce the point you're making
- Active, not passive voice
- Dialogue between characters that sparkles, rings true to life, and drives the plot & themes.
- Since the story will ultimately cover about 50 years (from 1905-1945), if your central character dies, feel free to pick up the story from the perspective of a relative, friend, or some other person close to them. Just make it clear to your reader that that's what you're doing.
- Anyone who later in life successfully gets substantial portions of their madman journal turned into a TV series, feature film, or video game will receive a retroactive A+ in Madman as Hero with honors-level distinction.
Please create a shared space to write:
Before going any further, you need to create a space for your work. Please follow these directions:1. Google "google drive." Login using your er9 id and password.
2. Click the blue "new" button and then click "google doc."
3. In the new doc, click "untitled document" in the upper left corner and retitle it using this formula:
M1, your last name, Madman story
Example: M1, Lightman, Madman story
4. Click the blue "share" button on the upper right corner and give rsmith@er9.org access.
5. Each chapter of your story will go into this same document. Please place the most recent entries at the top with the oldest at the bottom.
ALSO....
II. A presentation or film
Each of you will take responsibility for presenting a 10-15m interactive talk on one of the topic areas below. We will sign up for topics after reading these directions.
1. First, please create a slide deck in which to work. Please sign in to google drive using your er9 account. Click the blue "new" button in the upper left. Choose "google slides" under the menu that appears.
2. In the slide show click "untitled presentation." Rename it with 1. your class "M1," 2. your last name, and 3. the name of your rebel.
e.g. M1, Lightman, Treaty of Versailles slides
3. Click the orange "share" button on the upper right corner. In the lower left, click "change" and choose "Anyone in this group with this link can view." Copy that link to your clipboard.
4. On this google sheet, please write the name of your presentation in column B and paste a link to your presentation or film in column C so everyone in the class has access to it.
Here are some general parameters about what to include...
- Cover the basics up front: Who did what, where, when, and why? What were the motives, actions, and consequences for everybody involved?
- Your talk needs to prove a moral. Unsure about how to find one? Look here.
- Accurate information include at least 3 images, one for motives, one for actions, and a third for consequences. You may need to cover these for all sides involved in the incident you're covering.
- Quote some primary-source material, too.
- The talk should serve to teach a thesis, in this case a moral of the story. The first two steps of this task can show you more about how to do that. "It was like this because of that, and that is why we should do something." Where you introduce it in the talk is up to you.
- LINK ALL INFORMATION TO THE MORAL OF YOUR TALK.
- Past-present connections help prove that your moral is relevant to today.
- Also include at least 3 quotations from primary sources.
- Give us something to do, ideally a discussion question or something to debate. Stick to hows and whys. Click here for advice on how come up with a worthy question.
- The rubric used to evaluate your work can be found here. It combines the relevant elements from Barlow's 3C rubrics, Community, Complexity, and Communication.
- Make sure your slides are actually legible. Type should be bold and should stand out against the background. If your background is dark, the text should be white and when the background is light, use black text. - Limit yourself to about 25 words per slide. It is wise to assume that 1/3 of the class will not be wearing the corrective lenses they need or will have an outdated prescription, and size your text accordingly.
- Images should not be stretched or distorted, unless the manipulation helps underscore a point that you are making. You can avoid this by resizing them by grabbing the corner, not the side.
- MEMORIZE your remarks. I operate with the bias that if you can't explain something, you haven't actually learned it, so you will be scored accordingly.
- Did you share your slides with Smith? If it's not shared with him when it's your turn to talk, YOU WILL FAIL!
When you're not presenting, please keep track of everything in detailed notes in the fields below your slides. Ask questions when you're confused. The information will help you create your stories and prepare you for the exam. If you're absent, it's your obligation to reach out to those who presented and to look up anything from talks you miss.
III. Connections
You will receive a significant 100-point classwork mark for making connections during presentations. When listening to the presenter and you think of a connection between what's being said to things you've learned in Western Civ., geography, East Asian, debate, American gov., AP Psych., U.S. History, AP Comp Gov., or anything in English, recent history, current events in the news, raise your hand and make your case. If the connection is not already in the slides, it's factually valid, and it's not superficial, I will record it as a connection.A - Make four or more connectionsB - Make three connectionsC - Make two connectionsD - Make one connectionF - Make no connections
1. The Second Reich before 1914:
From the story of German Unification in 1871, rapid industrialization and expansion into Africa, the Second Reich also called the "Kaiserreich," "German Empire," or "Wilhelmine Germany" had almost as many names as it did stories.To start your story, please create a detailed day in the life of somebody living somewhere in the late period of the German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm II:
Please fold in all of the following details: 1. their name, 2. their ethnic ancestry and languages spoken, 3. where they live - region, rural or urban, north or south, east or west, 4. their gender, 5. age, 6. education, 7. social class, 8. economic status & occupation, 9. views on religion, 10. family members and relationship backstory, 11. romantic relationships, 12. circle of friends, acquaintances, co-workers, clients, servants, etc. 13. physical and mental well being, 14. political views, 15. possible connections to people or backstory in the colonies and/or abroad, and 16. their conceptions of their past and 17. their hopes and fears for the future.
Try to make your story as believable as possible. Layer in details based on all the primary and secondary materials we have collected thus far along with these concepts:German wars of unification
The Second Reich
The Genocide of the Second Reich - film
Stumped? Google "Germany 1910," click the image tab and find a photo of somebody that grabs your attention. From there, think about the before that brought them to that moment.
2. The Great War:
How was your war? How was the life of your character transformed by events between the beginning of the war and the armistice? Consider how their attitudes toward political, economic and culture might have changed? If your character died, you must say how and why. You must then start again creating a new storyline based on the life of the person closest to him or her such as a spouse, child, sibling, friend, lover or parent.
We will scutinize and discuss these primary sources in class using a CSI reading first past.
3. What comes next? The German Revolution 1918-19
Karl, the German Great War veteran described in one of your primary source document was not alone in saying that because of the war, "everything must be changed, utterly changed."But to what?
What side would your character be on among the various factions in the German Revolution of 1918-19 including the SPD, military Freikorps, Kaiser loyalists, or the Spartacists?
The Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union
You also may with to consider the views of the last survivors of the war. They've had longer to think about it than anyone in history:
Harry Patch, 106 meets Charles Keuntz 107, 87 years after they fought one another in the Battle of Passchendaele:
The last surviving WW1 Veteran:
4. The crises of early Weimar, 1923:
Write the story of your character's response to (or involvement in) the following events in the early years of the Weimar Republic. What would they believed caused these events, what would they do about them and what would they expect based on them?A. The Treaty of Versailes (1919) - Rothenberger
B. The rise of the SPD-led democratic, liberal & socialist government of the Weimar Republic and its ratification of the Versailles Treaty.
C. Mussolini up through 1923, especially his Blackshirts and the March on Rome
D. The Occupation of the Ruhr
E. The hyperinflation crisis of 1923
F. The Sturhmabteilung & the Bierhall Putsch
G. Mein Kampf
5. From Bust to Boom to Bust, 1924-1929:
The 1924 Dawes Plan and 1925 Locarno Treaties reduced the Versailles burden and got American money flowing into Weimar Republic, leading to a boom. How their lives would change during these new circumstances as the booming 'Golden Years' of the roaring '20s in the Weimar Republic came to a roaring stop? Where would your character be in all this?A. How did competitive devaluation and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 put your character change your character’s life? - ColemanB. Given that the German budget was stretched too thin to provide decent unemployment benefits, what would happen to your character?C. Even if your character retained a job, the vast majority had their wages cut in half. Also keep in mind that half of the people your character knew are still unemployed and will depend on your help. Under these circumstances, what would your character do?6. Elections of 1932-33:
With unemployment soaring and little hope on the horizon, the radical politics of the previously fringe parties like the KPD and NSDAP are becoming more accepted while simultaneously becoming more violent on the streets.Heinrich Bruning
German Federal election, November 1932
German Federal election, March 1933
German Federal election, November 1933
A. How will your character vote? Will they take a more active role in the election as a candidate, party member, or lobbyist?
B. Given the results of the election and everything that transpires during the election cycle, what would your character's views of the future be impacted?
7. 1933: The birth of the Third Reich
The transformation of the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich was relatively quick, but was it legal or moral?How did each of the following impact your character? How did they perceive these events?
The Reichstag Fire
The Enabling Act
8. 1935-8: Life in the Third Reich
The transformation of the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich was relatively quick, but was it legal or moral?A. How did each of the following impact your character:
The lives of women in the Third Reich
The Rome-Berlin Axis
The Spanish Civil War & Guernica
Ordinary life in pre-war Nazi Germany
9. 1938: The Third Reich expands
Hitler sought to make good on the promise of Lebensraum, and his first target was Czechoslovakia and it didn't stop there. Peace in our time? Read the story of the Czech crisis and describe how your character's life would have been impacted. How would they perceive the events? What would they do about it?
10. September 1939-42: World War II in Europe commences
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Within weeks, the UK, France, Russia and several other small countries were dragged into the conflict. Would your character or somebody they know be involved directly or indirectly in the war? How would they perceive the events? What would they do about it?
11. 1942-45 the rest of World War II
After some early successes, the tide of the war shifted against Germany, but Hitler was determined that his country would fight to the last. A broader question raised is the question of whether or not the scope and scale of horrors of this period can be balanced by the heroism exhibited by the forces on all sides charged with carrying out their nation's war policies?
12. The Holocaust
Many details of the Holocaust or "Shoah" are well known, but the central debate has been whether the genocide was planned for the start or was the product of "cumulative radicalization."
A related debate is the issue of whether or not Germany's war policy was actually distinct from the Holocaust or it was just one part of a broader policy of realizing an imagined "Großdeutschland."
The answers to these questions have huge implications for how the world would go about anticipating, preventing, and responding to future atrocities.
The German Question, "Großgermanisches Reich," "Generalplan Ost (GPO)"
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Jewish-German participation in the Great War
American eugenics & Madison Grant
Concentration & extermination camps &
Jehovah's Witnesses & the Holocaust
Local survivors: Anita Schorr, Agnes Vertes
13. Resistance and collaboration
In April 1945, the women at right marched through the streets of Milan, signifying the end of fascist control of Italy. Many ordinary people outside of governments and formal armies worked to try to end the war and the Holocaust and mitigate its impacts, both inside and outside of German-controlled territory. Others tried to help the Nazis achieve their goals. Their stories have plenty to teach us. What would your character's relationship with these groups be and how would the be manifested in their story?
Jewish Resistance, Italian Resistance, German Resistance, French Resistance, Greek Resistance, Dutch Resistance, (or any other place or group)
Pro-Axis Collaborators (pick any place or group)
Pope Pius XII, the Vatican, & the Catholic Church
A Night at the Garden, 2/20/39.
14. After the War
Hitler dies and Berlin fell in April, 1945, but most of the problems that caused the war in the first place still remained or had gotten worse since 1939. Within a few short years, decisions made by the world community would create structures that would resolve many of those issues and helped shape the destiny of the world for decades.
The death of Hitler
Nuremberg Trials and other camp tribunals
The division of Germany, including 4 occupation zones, famine, mass rape, denazification, disarmament, refugee camps, deportations & repatriations, Marshall plan, establishment of the FGR (BRD) & GRD or DDR.
The founding of the United Nations
Progress toward UN development goals
The European Union
2012 Nobel Peace Prize and Lecture
