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The Holocaust - An Introduction (I): Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World

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The Holocaust - An Introduction (I): Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World

Tel Aviv University, Yad Vashem

About this course: The Holocaust was an inconceivable historical event, which forever robbed Western culture of its innocence. As civilized human beings, we fail to understand how events of such horror could have taken place, and how an idea so inhumanly warped could have spread like wildfire through an entire continent, instigating the systematic annihilation of millions of Jews. This free online course was produced jointly by Tel Aviv University and Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. The course tracks the history of the Holocaust and has two parts. "The Holocaust - An Introduction (I): Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World" is the first of the two courses and covers the following themes in its three weeks: Week 1: From Hatred to Core Ideology We will try to delve into Nazi ideology and the special place of Jews and Judaism in it. We will also discuss how the National Socialist Party converted the German Democracy of the Weimar Republic into a totalitarian regime within a short period of time, and its meaning for Jews and non-Jewish citizens. Week 2: The World and the Jews in World War II We will try to examine the broader contexts of the Holocaust and to place it, as part of World War 2. In this meeting we will also refer to the vital Jewish world to be found under various Nazi occupations and influences. Week 3: The Isolation Abyss - the Perspective of the Individual We will try to reveal different aspects of Jewish life in the face of the badge of shame, ghettos and segregation, as well as the formation of individual, societies’ and leader’s reactions in the face of a consistent policy of dispossession and discrimination. Once you’ve completed this course, you can continue your learning with The Holocaust - An Introduction (II): The Final Solution This online course is offered in an innovative, multi-level format, comprising: * Comprehensive lectures by leading researchers from Tel Aviv University and Yad Vashem. * A wealth of voices and viewpoints presented by guest lecturers. * Numerous documents, photos, testimonies and works of art from the time of the Holocaust. * Novel learning experience: Crowd sourcing – involving the learners themselves in the act of collecting and shaping information, via unique, exciting online assignments. REQUIREMENTS: This course is designed for anyone with an interest in the Holocaust, including students, teachers, academics and policy-makers.


Created by:  Tel Aviv University, Yad Vashem
Tel Aviv UniversityYad Vashem

  • Professor Havi Dreifuss, PhD

    Taught by:  Professor Havi Dreifuss, PhD, Professor

    Havi Dreifuss is a historian of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe; senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at TAU; heads the Center for Research of Holocaust History in Poland, Yad Vashem.

  • Dr Na'ama Bela Shik, PhD

    Taught by:  Dr Na'ama Bela Shik, PhD, Director, Educational Technology Department, The International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem

    The International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem
Commitment3 weeks of study, 1-2 hours/week
Language
English, Subtitles: Polish, Hebrew, Spanish
How To PassPass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings
4.8 stars
Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said
Syllabus
WEEK 1
From Hatred to Core Ideology; From Democracy to a Totalitarian State; Nazi Germany and the Jews
We will try to delve into Nazi ideology and the special place of Jews and Judaism in it. We will ask ourselves what, if anything, it renewed regarding traditional hatred of Israel and modern anti-Semitism and analyze Nazi documents to see how it reflects in them. Also, in this lesson we will discuss how the National Socialist Party succeeded in converting the German Democracy of the Weimar Republic into a totalitarian regime within a short period of time, and the significance of this process for its citizens - Jews and non-Jews alike.
8 videos, 2 readings
  1. Video: Course trailer
  2. Video: Introduction: why the Holocaust, why history, why this course?
  3. Video: Why the Jews? Traditional anti-Semitism as a central background
  4. Video: The uniqueness of Nazi anti-Semitism and its place in the NS ideology
  5. Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Hitler's Ideology
  6. Leyendo: Saul Friedlander, Nazi Germany and the Jews
  7. Video: 1933: Gleichschaltung
  8. Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Political Life under Nazi Rule
  9. Video: 1933-1939: Life in Nazi Germany
  10. Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Why Didn't the Jews Leave Germany?
  11. Video: 1933-1939: Jewish life in Nazi Germany
  12. Leyendo: Wolfgang Benz, “Exclusion as a Stage in Persecution: The Jewish Situation in Germany, 1933-1941”
  13. Video: 1938 - A Major Turning Point
WEEK 2
The World and the Jews in World War II
We will try to examine the broader contexts of the Holocaust and to position it as a part of a various global conflicts that took place during world war 2. In this context, we will focus in a number of unique realities that were formed and created in Occupied Poland and France using them to identify key practices of Nazi Germany, European companies and the Jews who lived among them. We’ll look at the different fates of Jews in various European countries before and during World War 2, through the lens of the enormous changes which the Jewish world underwent in modern times: emancipation, secularization, urbanization and emigration.
6 videos, 2 readings
  1. Video: Nazi military occupations and varying occupation policies
  2. Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Nazi Policies
  3. Video: From the Historian's Desk - Visual Documentation
  4. Leyendo: Judith Levin and Daniel Uziel, “Ordinary Men Extraordinary Photos – Photographs”
  5. Video: Focus on Poland
  6. Video: Focus on France and Paris
  7. Leyendo: Denis Peschanski, “The Statues on Jews – October 3, 1940 and June 2, 1942”
  8. Video: A World at War and world Jewry
  9. Video: Europe and its Jews between the two world wars
  10. Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Forum to Upload Photos
Graded: Check you’ve understood what you’ve learned so far
WEEK 3
The Abyss of Isolation - the perspective of the individual
Instead of policy, state and society at large, we’ll focus on the individual, the family and the Jewish communities across Europe, using a broad range of wartime accounts: official documents, diaries, letters, artwork and more. In this context, we will try to reveal different aspects of Jewish life in the face of shame, ghettos and segregation, as well as the formation of individual, societies and leaders reactions in the face of consistent policy of dispossession and discrimination. A variety of sources will help us create a complex puzzle consists of Jewish life in those dark days. In this context, we will try to reveal different aspects of Jewish life in the face of shame, ghettos and segregation, as well as the formation of individual, societies and leaders reactions in the face of consistent policy of dispossession and discrimination. A variety of sources will help us create a complex puzzle consists of Jewish life in those dark days.
7 videos, 3 readings
  1. Video: The Jewish Perspective and the Badge of Shame
  2. Video: Ghettoization
  3. Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Diversity of the Nazi Ghettos
  4. Leyendo: Instructions by Heydrich on Policy and Operations concerning Jews in the Occupied Territories, September 21, 1939
  5. Leyendo: Miron, Guy and Shlomit Shulhani, "General Introduction", The Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos During the Holocaust
  6. Video: The Warsaw Ghetto
  7. Video: Isolation with no Walls
  8. Video: Leadership
  9. Video: Future Expectations and Rumors
  10. Video: The Holocaust - an introduction - Partial conclusions
  11. Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: End of course discussion
  12. Leyendo: Michael Wildt, "Generation of the Unbound: The Leadership Corps of the Reich Security Main Office"
Graded: Check your understanding

FAQs
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Creators
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is Israel's largest institution of higher learning – with over 30,000 students and more than 125 schools and departments in nine faculties. Global in outlook and impact, it is consistently ranked among the world's top 100 universities, as well as the top 20 institutions in terms of scientific citations. A spirit of openness and innovation is evident in all of TAU's teaching and research activities, breaking down barriers between disciplines, and boldly striving to address the twenty-first century's most pressing challenges.
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem, the world Holocaust remembrance center, stands resolute in its dedication to Holocaust education, remembrance, documentation and research. Located on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem continues to develop advanced educational tools and utilize cutting-edge technology in order to bring its world-class research facilities, flourishing archives, groundbreaking educational initiatives and steadfast commitment to Shoah remembrance to an ever-growing global audience.
Ratings and Reviews
Rated 4.8 out of 5 of 445 ratings
Damon Todd Roman

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned from this short course. I originally was just taking it to refresh my memory on the Holocaust due to my wife's German and Jewish heritage. I came away with a fresh perspective that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Gloriana Blanco Gonzalez

This was my first course in Coursera. I took it as a recreation course and it definetely caught me. The proffessor´s explanation is great and the material included is very interesting. The secuence of the course leads you to understand the topic without knowing more than general culture about the holocaust. I definetely recommend it.

ys

as an Israeli student you may fell like the things discussed in this course are sometimes common knowledge, especially after learning about the topic in various ways and along quite a few yeas. this course has provided me some new fruits for my thought as well as more historical information that must be examined in context. i enjoyed the way the course is implemented and the historical new insights it has given me .

LZ

Excellent course and really well taught.



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