The history of the “Third Reich” is still an ever expanding field of research with hundreds of books being published
every year. However, we will analyze three key aspects of the history of Nazi Germany: domination, society, and
mass murder. We will focus on the building of the Nazi state from 1933 until the end of the war. In this context we
will take a look at different theories which try to explain the stability of Nazi domination until its military defeat. The
Nazi vision of a racial pure and hierarchically organized “Volksgemeinschaft” as a specific form of German society
is the second field we will analyze. Various inclusion and exclusion mechanisms will be considered as well as
different historical approaches. The Holocaust and the mass murder of gypsy and other ethnic groups as well as
the terror against political enemies of the Reich, materialized in the system of Nazi concentration and
extermination camps, will be the last field of research we will deal with. The seminar will be strongly text based.
You will be asked to read one or two texts and be asked to answer guiding questions for each session.
vondracek@mua.cas.cz
Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (03.07.2023)
The history of the “Third Reich” is still an ever expanding field of research with hundreds of books being published
every year. However, we will analyze three key aspects of the history of Nazi Germany: domination, society, and
mass murder. We will focus on the building of the Nazi state from 1933 until the end of the war. In this context we
will take a look at different theories which try to explain the stability of Nazi domination until its military defeat. The
Nazi vision of a racial pure and hierarchically organized “Volksgemeinschaft” as a specific form of German society
is the second field we will analyze. Various inclusion and exclusion mechanisms will be considered as well as
different historical approaches. The Holocaust and the mass murder of gypsy and other ethnic groups as well as
the terror against political enemies of the Reich, materialized in the system of Nazi concentration and
extermination camps, will be the last field of research we will deal with. The seminar will be strongly text based.
You will be asked to read one or two texts and be asked to answer guiding questions for each session.
vondracek@mua.cas.cz
Learning resources -
Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (28.06.2023)
Dams, Carsten and Stolle, Michael: The Gestapo: Power and Terror in the Third Reich, Oxford 2014.
Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich in Power, 1933-1939, London 2005.
Fraenkel, Ernst: The Dual State. A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship, Oxford 2017.
Lüdtke, Alf (ed.): Everyday Life in Mass Dictatorship: Collusion and Evasion, New York 2016.
Lüdtke, Alf and Templer, William (eds.): The history of everyday life: reconstructing historical experiences and ways of life, Princeton 1995.
Sofsky, Wolfgang: The order of terror: The concentration camp, Princeton 2007.
Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (28.06.2023)
Dams, Carsten and Stolle, Michael: The Gestapo: Power and Terror in the Third Reich, Oxford 2014.
Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich in Power, 1933-1939, London 2005.
Fraenkel, Ernst: The Dual State. A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship, Oxford 2017.
Lüdtke, Alf (ed.): Everyday Life in Mass Dictatorship: Collusion and Evasion, New York 2016.
Lüdtke, Alf and Templer, William (eds.): The history of everyday life: reconstructing historical experiences and ways of life, Princeton 1995.
Sofsky, Wolfgang: The order of terror: The concentration camp, Princeton 2007.
