Announcements (old announcements move to bottom, where there are also visitor statistics)

• Jan. 3, 2012: This page has been superceded by the Winter 2012 Hist 133d course page.
• Oct. 31, 2010: New Genocide textbook: Adam Jones (ed.), Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction (Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2nd ed., 2010), 644 pages. (textbook website, with excerpts, topical bibliography, annotated filmography organized by country, excellent syllabus, etc.)
• July 19, 2010: Germany is still having problems pursuing the Nazi perpetrators living in its midst. See this July 16, 2010 Daily Sun artcile "Nazi Executioner Strolls in Park."
• Feb. 18, 2010: After class lecture on Tuesday, 2/23, *5pm* in the UCen Flying A Studios Room. (On the syllabus I indicated that Prof. Mahlendorf would be speaking after 7pm).
  • Prof. Mahlendorf'stalk, "Hauntings: Ghosts from a Nazi Childhood," will be about a reader of her book who also knew her Hitler Youth teacher Lotte Treptow/Turnow (a pseudonym).
    Pay attention to mentions of this teacher.
  • Before the talk you should read at least 3 chapters from her book:
    • The introduction, chaps. 5 and "8" (9 in the book) can be accessed on the web from this page on my website.
    • Pdfs of chaps 6, 7, 8 are on eres at the library, **password: ocean**: eres.library.ucsb.edu/eres
• Sept. 26, 2009: Some links that I might use if I make pages for lecture topics:
  • Der Spiegel Sept. 2009 series "The Road to World War II"
  • Yad Vashem has online courses, e.g. Germany 1918-1943

Course Description and Goals (back to top)

There are many reasons to study the Holocaust, which I understand to be the systematic, state-run mass murder of entire groups of people. In this course we will not only study what happened, but also investigate why those events happened. My courses also emphasize historical skills: assessing and interpreting historical sources, and presenting the results of research.

Some useful sites and interesting links (back to top)

• Nazi propaganda documents (originals with English translations), at an excellent site created in 1999 by Randall Bytwerk at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, author of Bending Spines: The Propagandas of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic (2004; $17 at amazon). There is also a section on pre-1933 Nazi propaganda.
• German History in Documents site: The German Historical Institute in Washington has specially prepared translated documents, maps and images about Nazi Germany online.
• The US Embassy in Germany has History of German-American Relations, 1901-39 and 1939-45 pages with excellent and easily navigable collections of documents.
• ThirdReichRuins.com compares photographs of many historical sites "then" and "now." It was made by Geoff Walden, with many of the "then" photos stemming from his father, who was stationed in Germany in 1945-46.
• ScrapbookPages.com is another private initiative that gives excellent photographs and information about many Holocaust sites, with some then-and-now perspectives as well.

Materials from Prof. Marcuse's previous Hist 133D & 33D courses (back to top)

• Fall      1996:                  syllabus
• Fall      1998: homepage; syllabus
• Fall      1999: homepage; syllabus
• Winter 2000: homepage; syllabus
• Fall      2001: homepage; syllabus
• Fall      2002: homepage; syllabus (33D)
• Fall      2003: homepage; syllabus (33D)
• Fall      2005: homepage; syllabus (33D)
• Winter 2008: homepage; syllabus
• Winter 2010: homepage; syllabus

Grading policies (back to top)

Grading can serve many purposes. Among them are: motivating students to engage with the material (by providing feedback and rewarding effort), assessing how well students have done the assigned work, and ranking students relative to each other.
I personally dislike assigning grades. I'm interested in what you have to say, and want you to put in the effort to develop interesting thoughts and express them well. I hope you will be motivated to learn enough factual material to have a solid basis from which you can develop your thoughts. If you need the prospect of a better grade to do the learning and thinking, fine. For various reasons, I have to grade to assess your work anyway (if I write letters of recommendation, for instance, I need some data on relative strengths and weaknesses, and effort expended). The grade distributions I give my courses are also monitored by the department and the University. (see grade distributions for some of my other lecture courses on my Grading Data & Policies page)
My bottom line: I want the grades I give to be a FAIR reflection of the effort (attendance, doing assignments, meeting deadlines) and learning (content of submitted work) you show, and to give a rough indication of where you stand on those factors relative to others in the class.
To give you an idea of typical grade distributions for my upper division lecture courses, I include two examples here (more are on my Grading Data page)

• March 31, 2008: Here is the distribution of grades for my 2008 Hist 133d course according to the total point scores (see note on grading, below; also my Grading page):

  # students	86-87pts=B+   2	C+   0	D   0
  93-108pts=A  23	84pts     =B      2	69-70pts=C     1	F    0
  89+-92pts=A-  6	81-82pts=B-    3	C-    0	incomplete:     0	total:  37

• Mar. 29, 2006: Here is the distribution of grades for my 2006 Hist 133c course according to the raw point scores (see note on grading, below):

  # students	87-89pts=B+   6	77-78pts=C+   2	62-67pts=D   2
  93-100pts=A    6	83-86pts=B     2	71-76pts=C     3	F    1
  90-91pts=A-    2	79-82pts=B-    5	68-70pts=C-   1	incomplete:     1	total:  31

• Mar. 23, 2004: Here is the distribution of grades for my 2004 Hist 133C course according to the raw point score without the participation grade (95 possible points [well 101, if you count the double extra credit for the outside events]):

  # students	86-85pts=B+     2	75-71pts=C+   4	D   0
  94-90pts=A    5	84-80pts=B      10	70-62pts=C     2	D-  0	graduate student: 1
  89-87pts=A-   5	79-76pts=B-      4	pts=C-   0	F    0	total:   33

If you are think your grade does not reflect your work and effort:

• First, please note that I grade YOUR WORK, not you.
• If you feel that the grade you received on your paper or exam does not correspond to the quality of work that you submitted, or the effort you put into it, you have two options:
  1. Print out, complete, and submit the following Grade Change Application Form ;-),
     OR:
  2. Write a page (or paragraph, whatever it takes) explaining WHY you think your work is better than the grade assigned to it. Please refer to the appropriate assignment sheet (for book essays and web projects), and make sure you did the assignment.
     • Then resubmit the work in question with your explanation, and I will regrade it and get back to you.
     • Be sure to put some contact address on your explanation sheet, so that I can be in touch with you.
     • Note that I reserve the right to lower your grade, if I feel that is warranted by closer examination

Picking up your work

I keep all student work for at least one quarter after the course is over. If you would like to pick up your work, please come to my office. During my office hours is usually best for me, but if you would like your work left in an envelope in the envelope outside my door, or to arrange a different pick-up time, send me an e-mail or leave a note.

Old Announcements (back to top)

• 10/9/08: most of the old announcements have been removed, you can still find them on the 2008 133d homepage
• Jan. 21, 2008:
  • I've started the 2008 Books for Essay page.
• Jan. 24-Feb. 2, 2008: Santa Barbara International Film Festival. There are four films being screened that have Holocaust themes (thanks to Mackenzie for the reminder):
• Feb. 17, 2008: Some late-breaking tips on the book essay:
  • Just to clarify, since several students have asked: the 1-2 page summary is part of the book essay; the whole thing is due Tuesday. It is worth 20% of your course grade.
  • The Web Option Handout is now available on the web (I'll pass it out in class next week). However, if you look at sections IV and V you'll get some tips on avoiding my pet peeves and my formatting preferences. You don't have to do these now, but I appreciate them nonetheless. In any case, §5 and §6 on the blue book essay assignment handout are more important. (Be sure to number the pages, by hand if necessary, and turn in your prospectus as well.)
• Feb. 28, 2008: Thesis statements were the biggest problem on the papers. If you're unclear on the concept (as I noted in my comments on your paper), please refer to this 1-page printable handout from my favorite guide to writing in history, Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 5th ed. 2007), 47-49. hi-res print version (tip: set your browser's file > print options to landscape before printing)
• Mar. 3, 2008: A student pointed out a discrepancy on the Web Option handout, and I'd like to take the opportunity to clarify what tomorrow's submissions should include.
  • In I.2. I say name your file AuthorslastnameYourlastnameYear_083.doc, then give the example MarcuseFrankl2006_083.doc. What I really want is:
  • AuthorslastnameYearofPubYourlastname083.doc
    if you want (and your name is short) you can also include your first initial or whole first name. Thus the example should be:
    Frankl2006HMarcuse083.doc
    or, to use an actual example:
    MullerHill1997TMitchell083.doc
  • Also, I do NOT want your electronic version e-mailed yet, but rather the printout of the new stuff, AND the old version and reviews that I returned to you.
    In class I said that if you had marked clearly on the old printout what you were changing, and it wasn't that much beyond what I had marked, you do not have to print out the paper itself a second time, just the new items II. 1-5,7 (but not the text of the essay with the tracked changes, 6.
    What's important is that I can see somehow what you've changed.
• Mar. 6, 2008 [Mar 11]: Midterm Survey Results, conducted Feb. 18-Mar. 3. The original questionnaire was on surveymonkey.com; 29/37 students had taken it when I downloaded the results on Monday, March 3.
  1. Attendance: 47% always attend, 53% missed one or two classes
  2. Readings: 28% did all, 56% most, 12% some, 3% little/none
     22% did them on time, 28% on time if Q, 3% random (=53%--did I miss an option?)
  3. Textbook: 41% found it excellent, 56% good, 19% ok (=116%, what's going on?)
  4. Anticipated grade: 72% A/A-, 28% B+/B
  5. Compared to other lecture classes, I learn: more 55%, same 39%, less 6%
  6. What would improve lectures? slower 6%, more images 24%,
     more in-depth stories 33%, more broad context 33% (is that the opposite?)
     more videos 22%, more class discussion 18%
  7. I found my book for essay: 44% great, 41% satisfied, 16% ok
     I picked it from: 52% prof's list, 24% amazon, 12% library, 12% prof's suggestion
  • comments: please put in e-mail when you send e-mail your web option
  8. Biggest gripe? (27 responses):
     • classroom: 7 (Why, specifically? What can we change?)
       arrange tables facing front; use chairs with desks around walls
     • too much analysis and theory: 5
     • e-mailing of Questions: 3
     • too little discussion: 2; too much discussion: 2
     • more focus on readings: 2
  9. Best Features:
     • Qs/no midterm: 6 (1: Qs detract from enjoying reading)
     • guest speakers/outside events, images/video, readings, lecture style
• Oct. 28, 2009: In case students registered for the Winter 2010 offering of this course come to this site, I want to emphasize that we will be using a different textbook (namely Ronnie Landau, The Nazi Holocaust; $17 at amazon), and have different secondary readings (although I again want to use Maus).
• Dec. 23, 2009: See books, below for the Winter 2010 course books (you can save a good bit by ordering them online before the course starts, BUT TAKE NOTE: you will need the textbook and the Fritzsche book during the first week of classes.
• Jan. 5, 2010: The W'10 133D syllabus is now available (also as pdf).
  • Enrollment logjam: There are NO spaces available, and the room and my grading capacity are full and overloaded, respectively. However, I have asked the dept. chair about expanding the course. Don't get your hopes up though.
  • If any spaces open up, the following 10 (+2) students may participate in a lottery (roughly chronological order):
    [removed 3/2/2015]
• Jan. 8, 2010, 1pm: I just heard that we now have a new, larger classroom: Bren 1414. We will meet there starting Tuesday, Jan. 12. That MAY mean that I can admit more students, but I am trying to find out whether I can find someone to help me do grading for the course. SO: check back here for updates.
• Jan. 10, 2010, Sunday 3pm: I sent the following message out over GauchoSpace
  • Our classroom has been changed to Bren 1414, on the far side of campus towards Goleta Beach. You'll find it in square E5 of this map: http://www.aw.id.ucsb.edu/maps/ucsbmap.html
    We will meet there starting THIS TUESDAY, 1/12.
    This is a 100 seat room, so we will have room for the students trying to crash. I will send an email to those who were on the priority list during the first class meeting.
  • Also, the anonymous intro surveyI mentioned in class is ready. Please take it asap, by Tuesday at noon preferably. There are 5 questions, plus an optional comment box. I really appreciate your participation in this.It is VERY simple. The URL is:
    http://www.feedbackfarm.com/surveyengine/s.php?i=3jd
  • Finally, a student said that the textbook (Landau) is sold out in the campus bookstore. There are a number of new and used ones available online. I could also put in a group order on amazon, where I get free 2-day shipping. The price there is about $13. If you are interested in having me order one for you, email me by Monday at 4pm and there is a chance I'll have them by Thursday's class.
• Jan. 13, 2010: Here are the pdfs of the last 2 lectures: 2: Defining Genocide; 3: Namibian Genocide. Note that I don't always get to all slides. I tend to overprepare, but am including the additional slides here anyway.
  • Also, I just sent the following email out via GauchoSpace:
    I have just received 2 copies of the course textbook (Landau, The Nazi Holocaust) from the publisher. These are in addition to the 9 I ordered, which, as I said in class, are expected to be delivered between 1/21 and 1/27.
    I can do 3 things:
    1. Sell them to the first people who asked me to order them one;
    2. Sell them to two people chosen from among all those who asked, at random, or because they have some priority reason that makes getting a copy from the library reserve room difficult for them
    3. put them on reserve in the library for everyone
    I'll ask in class whether there is general sentiment for option 3; those on the list should know their position--if you are at the top and feel it is ok to wait, or if you're not at the top but could really use the textbook this week, let me know.
  • Also, there are 3 copies of the textbook available for checkout in the SB public library system. One is in Goleta on Fairview, the others can be ordered "ILL" for $.50 and come within a few days. All you need for a library card is proof of a local address (driver's license or utility bill, bank statement, etc). See info at: http://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/default.aspx
  • Next, the add codes have arrived, and I'll have them in class on Thu. Not sure I can get there early, as I have a meeting beforehand, but I'll try.
  • Finally, midterm Q1 on GauchoSpace will be due next Tuesday. I've waited because not everyone can get on GSp yet. I want to base it on the Fritzsche book, and will ask about its availability in class tomorrow.
• Jan. 17, 2010: Q1, due Tuesday 1/19, by 3:30
  I've created the assignment on GauchoSpace. Here is the text you'll find there:
  In chapter 3, Landau outlines numerous sources/conditions/causes/reasons for the existence and evolution of antisemitism in 19th & early 20th century Europe.
  In 5 numbered bullet points, briefly describe five of those factors.
  Then, based on chapter 4, add two bullet points on why Nazism became successful after World War I.
  NOTE: Please type these in a word processor, copy and paste them into this assignment, AND ALSO bring a printout to class for discussion.
• Jan. 19, 2010: Q2, due Thursday 1/21, by 3:30 (Fritzsche)
  • Below I've pasted in the text of Q2, due this Thursday before class starts. You should bring your notes--a hard copy of what you upload--to class as well. I will call on students to read your selection aloud.
  • While you're reading and making your selection, please note also what evidence Fritzsche musters to make his point, and be prepared to present that in class.
  • I realize some of you are having difficulty getting the book. In addition to the copy in the reserve room, I have been able to get two additional copies. Since I doubt the library can make them available in a timely way, I'll loan them out tomorrow during my office hours. Students will get priority if they can show that they'll be able to share their loaner with at least one other student--let me know by email, and come by HSSB 4222 between 1 & 2pm to pick up the book.
  • Here's Q2, as posted on Gauchospace:
  • In Fritzsche, Germans into Nazis, chapter 1 ("July 1914," pages 9-82), for each of the subsections
    p. 29, August Days
    p. 36 Everybody's War
    p. 51 Peace of the Fortress
    p. 66 The Turnip Winter
    give a quotation that states the author's main point (thesis) for that section. Please include a page number, and in addition to uploading here, bring a hard copy to class.
  • For example, for the preceding section, I might select:
    p. 28: "Over the course of four wartime winters, Germans would mobilize their energies, vitalize public life, and rearrange their political conceptions around the nation rather than the state or the monarchy."
    Of course, other quotations are possible. Further down on that page:
    "During this public emergency traditional allegiances to the monarchy withered while new conceptions of the national community ... proliferated."
    (I'd say that one is not as good as the first, but still acceptable.)
• Jan. 23, 2010: the library reserve room now has the second copy of Fritzsche: DD238 .F74 1998
  • Q3 is due Tuesday, Jan. 26. Here is the text:
    Write three short paragraphs, in each one summarizing the main argument that Fritzsche puts forth in each of the three chapters (on Nov. 1918, January 1933 and May 1933).
    There is an upload space for it on Gauchospace.
    Please remember: do not include your name or any other header, and if you see a lot of formatting codes when you paste in your text, delete it before hitting "submit."
  • The book proposal guidelines handout is available (.doc file for self-printing), but I didn't have time to add more books to the Books for Essay page yet. I hope to get to that Sunday evening.
    The proposal itself is due on Thursday.
  • A web page with the Introductory Survey Results is now available
• Jan. 26, 2010: I've updated the 2010 Books for Essay page. See the Book Proposal handout.
  • Textbook order. As of Jan. 25, amazon (phone info) says the supplier hasn't supplied the textbooks as promised yet, they have no idea when. I'll ask in class & probably cancel the order.
    Addendum, Jan. 28: I have cancelled the entire order.
• Jan. 31, 2010: Some more genocide books added to the Books for Essay page.
  Proposals are graded; if there were problems, I've posted comments on Gauchospace.
• Feb. 3, 2010: Please don't forget the film showing this evening, 6:30-9:45 in Phelps 1160.
  • Be sure to keep up with the reading, by tomorrow's class, you should have read the Landau textbook up to p. 148 , as well as appendices C, D, and E.
  • Also, I've posted pdfs of L8: Hitler and L9: 1930s. More coming soon.
• Feb. 7, 2010: Guest lecture on Tuesday, 2/9
  The guest lecture I mentioned in class, about the 1995 genocide in Bosnia, will indeed happen. I'll paste in the announcement text below.
  Please visit the History Dept. Event page for some links to read in preparation, including the transcript of a 2006 interview with the speaker, and some video clips of the author.
  This event is open to the public, so feel free to notify and bring friends.
  Under the U.N. Flag: The International Community and the Genocide in Srebrenica
  lecture by Hasan Nuhanovic (UN translator, survivor and author), Bren 1414, 3:30-4:45pm
  Hasan Nuhanovic is visiting California for a lecture in the UCLA Human Rights Colloquium Series and joins us at UCSB to give a talk on the events surrounding the fall and genocide of the town of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia in July 1995. Nuhanovic is a Bosnian Muslim who worked as a translator for the United Nations. As such he worked very closely with the Dutch Battalion (DutchBat3) tasked with protecting the unarmed population of Srebrenica. His mother, father and brother were all killed in the genocide after the Dutch Battalion refused to grant them, or any other civilians refuge within the UN compound, as mass executions by the Serbian forces were taking place.
  Mr. Nuhanovic's book, Under the U.N. Flag: The International Community and the Genocide in Srebrenica (2007) offers the first publicly available account of the terror and inhumanity experienced by those seeking sanctuary from genocide who placed their lives and their trust in the hands of the peacekeepers. Unarmed, starved and deprived of basic human needs the people of the 'safe haven' of Srebrenica placed their complete reliance on the promise of protection by the United Nations. This book is compiled from firsthand experience of the events by Hasan Nuhanovic as well as other survivors of the genocide. It provides a detailed chronology covering the days leading up to the notorious days in July 1995 when the genocide of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica began and the subsequent period during which the world media continued to propagate the message that nothing sinister was going on: it took the best part of six years before genocide was officially deemed to have taken place in 2001. This unique account is both an exhilarating read and a major work of historical reference. (amazon.uk page)