The course explores the political, diplomatic, military, and socio-economic history of the Third Reich. It covers the period both chronologically and thematically, and provides and introduction of the major historiographical interpretations of the Nazi dictatorship and its place in German and wider European history.

A mixture of lectures and seminars

Students will be assessed by means of a combination of one essay relating to primary sources [20%], an assessed essay [30%] and an examination paper [50%].

Course assignments:

1. The essay relating to primary sources will contribute 20% of the final mark for the module and must be no longer than 1,000 words.
2. The Assessed Essay will contribute 30% of the final mark for the module. It is designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to review evidence, draw appropriate conclusions from it and employ the formal conventions of scholarly presentation. It must be no longer than 2,000 words.
3. The Examination will take place during the second assessment period [May/June] and will consist of an unseen two hour paper that will contribute the remaining 50% of the final mark for this module. Students must write 2 answers in total.  

Recent historiography

Führerprinzip

Volksgemeinschaft

‘Racial Hygiene’

Antisemitism and the Holocaust

War and Diplomacy

‘Colonial Warfare’

Occupation

Resistance

‘Vertreibung’

Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann,The Racial State: Germany 1933-45. Cambridge 1991.