Chosen Issues in Holocaust History

In this chapter, the first of the course, we will learn together with Professor Guy Meron about Nazi Germany between 1933-1939. The chapter begins with an overview of the state of European Jewry during the interwar years. It will explore the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi regime to power, as well as the implementation of anti-Jewish policies until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

Under the direction of Professor Dan Michman, this chapter will focus on Nazi Germany's anti-Jewish policies, from the outbreak of the war until 1941. We will identify different regime patterns in countries under German occupation and their anti-Jewish policies. We will also learn about the so-called "Jewish Council" (Judenrat), the establishment of ghettos and the lives of Jews within and outside of them during the Holocaust.

Together with Dr David Silberklang, in this chapter, we will discuss the formulation and implementation of the "Final Solution". Dr Silberklang will explain different historiographical approaches to the development of the "Final Solution", will discuss Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the mass murders. We will also explore the establishment of the death camps, as well as the life of prisoners in the various camps.

In this chapter, Dr Robert Rosett will describe the development of antisemitism throughout the ages and the evolution of the image of the Jewish figure within it. We will explore modern, political and racial antisemitism in the 19th century, as well as Nazi ideology.