HIST 4365 Modern Germany 1815-Present Fall 2010

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HIST 4365 Modern Germany 1815-Present Fall 2010

Tuesday, 18:30-19:20 WH 216

[ACM1]A. Introduction. Germany has played a decisive role in the development of modern Europe and the world. Germans have formulated political and economic philosophies that have been adopted as organizing concepts throughout the world, and pioneered scientific, technical and educational innovations that have had a profound influence on the lives of people everywhere. The struggle to create a unitary German state in the nineteenth century, Germany's initiation of two wars of conquest, and the recent reunification of Germany have had political repercussions that have fundamentally shaped diplomacy far beyond the European continent. The objective of this course will be to examine the rise of Germany as a nation state, as a military power of world rank, as an economic dynamo, the disasters that it has inflicted on itself and its neighbors, and its new role in a reforming Europe.

B. Accommodation Statement. Any person with special circumstances covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act should register with the Office of Disability Accommodation, Suite 322, University Union Building and also inform the instructor of the class. Reasonable adjustments will be made to accommodate the special needs of students with disabilities where such adjustments are necessary to provide equality of educational access. Students who have registered with ODA should make an appointment to discuss their disabilities accommodation requests with the instructor. Students with special circumstances covered by ADA may also consult with the History Department’s ADA Liaison, Professor Clark Pommerleau, WH 238.

C. Reading Material. Please obtain the following five books.

Peter Fritzsche. Germans into Nazis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1998.

Mary Fulbrook. A Concise History of Germany. NY: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990.

Ian Kershaw. Hitler. Profiles in Power. New York: Longman, 1991, 2000.

Alfred C. Mierzejewski. Ludwig Erhard. A Biography. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2004.

A.J.P. Taylor. Bismarck. The Man and the Statesman. New York: Vintage, 1967.[ACM2]

Henry A. Turner, Jr. Germany from Partition to Reunification. Rev. ed. New Haven: Yale, 1992.

D. Grades. You will be asked to sit for one mid-term examination and a final. Immediately prior to the examination, one question will be chosen by an impartial method for you to answer. In addition, you will be asked on each examination to identify five items that you will select from a list of ten provided to you. Instructions for the paper will be distributed separately.

Examination21. September25%

Paper30. November25%

Final14. December50%

E. Assistance. My office is located at Wooten Hall 236. I will hold office hours at the times listed below. Appointments may be made to see me at other times. My office telephone number is 940-369-8928. My e-mail address is .

Tuesday 17:30-18:30, Thursday 17:30-18:30

F. Class Schedule.
31. AugGermany in 1815. The German Confederation. The Restoration Regimes in Prussia and Austria. Read: Fulbrook, Chapters 1-4.
7. SepThe Revolutions of 1848. The Reaction of 1850-1862. Read: Fulbrook, pages 104-122.
14. SepThe Unification of Germany. The Balance Regime in Habsburg Austria. Read: Fulbrook, pages 122-131; Taylor, all.
21. SepExamination.

5. OctThe Economic Rise of United Germany: 1850-1914.

12. OctThe Bismarckian Reich. Read: Fulbrook, pages 131-137.

19. OctThe Wilhelmine Reich. Read: Fulbrook, pages 137-154.
26. OctGriff nach die Weltmacht. Germany and World War I.

2. NovThe Weimar Republic. Read: Fulbrook, pages 155-179.

9. NovThe Rise of the Nazis. Gleichschaltung und Aufrüstung. Read: Fritzsche, all.

16. NovHitler's Drive for War. Read: Fulbrook, pages 178-187.

23. NovThe Hitler Reich and World War II. Read: Fulbrook, pages 187-203.

30. NovOccupation. The Federal Republic of Germany to 1966. Kanzlerdemokratie and Wirtschaftswunder. The German Democratic Republic. Read: Fulbrook, Chapter 7; Turner, Chapters 1-4; Mierzejewski, all. Paper Due.

7. DecDisillusion and Reunification. Conclusion. Read: Fulbrook, Chapter 8, Turner, Chapters5-7.

14. DecFinal.

[ACM1]1The early lectures up to 1871 need to be expanded. More information can be included on individual political parties and figures, especially in the Vormärzzeit. Also, more information can be included on social developments. Maps should be included for the post 1848 situation and for the 1864, 1866 and 1870/71 events. Note that these talks are too short. Overall length runs at about two hours. Should be about three hours. I.e., they should be expanded by at least half again.

[ACM2]1762 pages of reading