Politics and Society in Central Europe, 1933–45

The aim of this course is to examine the social history of Central (or East-Central, if you wish) Europe in the period between the onset of National Socialism in Germany and the end of World War II. With regard to the geographical focus, we will zoom in (though certainly not limit ourselves) on Germany, Czechoslovakia (Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovakian Republic), Poland, and Hungary. When it comes to the wartime and immediately postwar period, the emphasis is typically given to large international and domestic political events and to political figures, especially men. What we want to explore here is the often “invisible” majority societies, and the everyday life in undemocratic regimes of wartime Europe. While exploring the realities on the ground, this class also raises important questions about how much the “troubled past” shapes current societies – and the larger politics as well. In short, while this course is grounded in history, it explores larger questions about the role of the past in the present day.

February 18: Introductory Class: Syllabus Reading / Presentation Assignment

February 25: Nondemocratic Regimes in Theory and Political Practice

Required reading: Michael MANN, Fascists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, s. 31–91.

Possible presentation topics: “The Myth of Middle-Class Liberalism” (NYT, January 22, 2020), “A Study Guide to Authoritarianism” (The Atlantic, August 29, 2018), etc.

March 3: Interwar Europe, Interwar Czechoslovakia

Required reading: Michal FRANKL, Prejudiced Asylum: Czechoslovak Refugee Policy, 1918–60 in Journal of Contemporary History, vol. 49, no. 3, 2014, pp. 537–55.

Possible presentation topics: “Foreboding Historical Rhymes Alert Us to Dangers to Peace and Stability” (The Hill, June 9, 2019), “Europe’s Shifting Borders: Migration Returns to the Continent” (Foreign Affairs, February 11, 2017), etc.

March 10: Nazi Germany, the Youth … and the Women

Required reading: Michael BURLEIGH – Wolfgang WIPPERMANN, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 201–41.

Possible presentation topics: “My Grandmother Kept Telling Us About the Nazis. Now I know Why” (NYT, January 23, 2020), “Why Jojo Rabbit Should Win the Best Picture Oscar” (The Guardian, January 29, 2020), etc.

March 17: Territorial Revisionism

Required reading: István DEÁK, The Worst of Friends: Germany’s Allies in East Central Europe – Struggles for Regional Dominance and Ethnic Cleansing, in Territorial Revisionism and the Allies of Germany in the Second World War, ed. Marina CATTARUZZA, Stefan DYROFF, Dieter LANGEWIESCHE, New York: Berghahn Book, 2018, pp. 17–29.

Possible presentation topics: “Pacifist Germany defies Europe’s nationalist tide” (Financial Times, February 7, 2018), “The Far-Right Is Going Global” (Foreign Policy, January 21, 2020).

March 24: Public or Popular Opinion in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Regimes

Required reading: Ian KERSHAW, Consensus, Coercion and Popular Opinion in the Third Reich, in Popular Opinion in Totalitarian Regimes: Fascism, Nazism, Communism, ed. Paul CORNER, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 33–46.

Possible presentation topics: “Germany’s Post-Nazi Taboo” (NYT, February 7, 2020,” “Germany AfD: How far right caused political earthquake” (BBC, February 6, 2020), etc.

March 31: Collaboration in the Protectorate and Slovakia

Required reading: Hana KUBÁTOVÁ – Jan LÁNÍČEK, The Jew in Czech and Slovak Imagination, 1938-89: Antisemitism, the Holocaust, and Zionism, Boston, Leiden: Brill, 2018, 62–79, 88–92.

Possible presentation topics: “Jako Židovka není součástí tragédie” (Respekt, January 26, 2020), “How a Slovakian Neo-Nazi Got Elected” (The Guardian, February 13, 2019), etc.

April 7: Jews and Gentiles in Poland

Required reading: Dariusz STOLA, Review Article: Jedwabne: Revisiting the Evidence and Nature of the Crime, in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, vol. 17, 2003, no. 1, pp. 139–52.

Possible presentation topics: “Poland Is Becoming a Global Capital of Chutzpah” (Foreign Policy, February 7, 2020), “Russia and Poland Are Playing Political Games with the Holocaust” (Washington Post, January 23, 2020), etc.

April 14: Final Paper Outlines Due / No Class

Students hand in their one-page outlines by email.

April 21: Religion and Nationalism in Hungary and Beyond

Required reading: Paul A. HANEBRINK, In Defense of Christian Hungary: Religion, Nationalism, and Antisemitism, 1890-1944, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006,

pp. 135–63.

Possible presentation topics: “Anti-Semitism: Hungarian Villagers Resent Flow of Jewish Pilgrims” (The Times, February 2, 2020), “New Holocaust Museum in Budapest Divides Hungarian Jews” (The Times of Israel, January 26, 2019), “Hungary’s Ugly State-Sponsored Holocaust Revisionism” (Tablet Magazine, March 13, 2017).

April 28: Porajmos

Required reading: Michelle, KELSO, ‘And Roma Were Victims, Too.’ The Romani Genocide and Holocaust Education in Romania, in Intercultural Education, vol. 24, 2013, no. 1-2, pp. 61–78.

Possible presentation topics: “Forgotten by whom? Why it’s more important than ever to remember the Roma Holocaust” (Prospect, February 3, 2020), “Nazis murdered a quarter of Europe’s Roma, but history still overlooks this genocide” (The Conversation, January 24, 2020), etc.

May 5: What is Forgotten and What is Remembered?

Required reading: Tony JUDT, Postwar, New York: Penguin Books, 2006, pp. 803–31.

Possible presentation topics: “Yad Vashem apologizes for distortions favoring Russia at Holocaust forum (Times of Israel, February 3, 2020), “Vladimir Putin wants to rehabilitate Stalin’s pact with Hitler” (The Economist, January 23, 2020), etc.

May 12: Class Discussion: Are There Any Long-Term Legacies of World War II?

Required reading: Jonathan HOMOLA, Miguel M. PEREIRA, and Margit TAVITS, Legacies of the Third Reich: Concentration Camps and Out-group Intolerance. American Political Science Review, doi:10.1017/S0003055419000832 (online first)

No presentations scheduled for the class.

The final paper is due May 19.

Course Requirements:

Active participation 20% (20 points)

Presentation 20% (20 points)

Final paper 60% (60 points)

Please note that this class requires active participation and is designed as a collaborative and explorative endeavor.

The aim of the group presentations (maximum of 3 students) is to explore public history of the topic and need to incorporate the required reading for the particular class. Students are encouraged to have a presentation and/or prepare handouts. They are welcome to consult the topic of their presentation with the instructor beforehand and need to email the presentation beforehand. Presentations are to be around 10 minutes long, definitely no more than 15. Presentations are evaluated as a group.

Final papers (15 pages) are to extend on the topic of the presentation and are to include/answer a research question. You are welcome to adopt a historical/political science framework. You are also free to choose the citation style, just please be consistent throughout the paper. Papers are submitted by email.

Students are allowed a maximum of two absences.

Please speak to me if there are any issues that I should be aware of – literally any issues that might hinder your performance in class – in the first week of the semester. Are you religious and know you will miss some of the classes because of any religious/traditional obligations? Is it difficult for you to speak in front of a class? Do you need more time to respond to a question? Let me know.

Evaluation is performed in accordance with the Dean’s Provision.

To access the course Moodle site, go here.