Hitler, The Holocaust and Genocide

Ramapo College of New Jersey

AHST 346-01
Paul H. Elovitz, PhD

Spring, 2006

I. REQUIRED PAPERBACK READINGS:

David Beisel, The Suicidal Embrace: Hitler, the Allies, and the Origins of the Second B World War (Nyack, NY: Circumstantial Productions Publications, 2003).
Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity (NY: Touchstone, 1986) L
Alice Miller, Photocopy on Hitler, available in class M
Rudolph J. Rummel, Death by Government (New Brunswick: Transactions, 1994) R
Robert G. Waite, The Psychopathic God: Adolph Hitler (NY: De Capo Press, 1993) W

II. RECOMMENDED READINGS:

Omer Bartov, Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity (NY: Oxford, 2000)
Rudolph Binion, Hitler Among the Germans (NY: Elsevier, 1976)
Tadeusz Borowski, This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen (NY: Penguin Books, 1979)
Lucy Davidowcz, The War Against the Jews: 1939-1945 (NY: Bantam Books, 1975)
Anita Brostoff, Flares of Memory: Stories of Childhood During the Holocaust (Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002)
Eva Fogelman, Conscience and Courage: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust (NY: Anchor Books, 1994)
Daniel Goldhagen, Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996)
Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews (NY: Harper and Row, 1961)
Robert Jay Lifton, The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide (NY: Basic Books, 1986) [Available in the bookstore]
Terrence Des Pres, The Survivor, an Anatomy of the Death Camps (NY: Oxford University Press, 1976)
Jackson Spielvogel, Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001)
Vamik Volkan, G. Ast, and W. Greer, The Third Reich in the Unconscious: Transgenerational Transmission and its
Consequences (NY: Brunner-Routledge. 2002)
Sulia Wolozhinski Rubin, Against the Tide: The Story of an Unknown Partisan (Jerusalem: Posner and Sons, 1980)
Helm Stierlin, Adolf Hitler: A Family Perspective (NY: Psychohistory Press, 1976)

III. COURSE DESCRIPTION;

A psychohistorical investigation of the Holocaust, Adolph Hitler, and the Nazi movement which left much of Europe in flames and ashes in 1945. This course will explore Hitler’s childhood and personality, trace his rise to power, and explain how and why he caused so much destruction before committing suicide. Jewish reactions to anti-Semitism and the Holocaust will be analyzed using psychological studies of psychic defense, survivor’s guilt, obedience to authority, and group delusion/illusion. The course will start with the general issue of genocide and will cover the issue of homicidal and suicidal millennialism.

IV. COURSE OUTLINE

1/31 Introduction

Why Study Genocide, the Holocaust, and Hitler?
Course Requirements
Have You Ever Met a Survivor of Genocide? A Victim?
Background in Psychohistory: The Influence of First Experiences

2/3 Fear and Hatred as the Prelude to Murder Rv-xxiii, chapter 1

“The Faces of the Enemy” (Rummel cited by ch.)
Who is Included and Excluded in a Group’s Definition of Humanity
Discussion on the Nature of Hatred
Sign up for Student Led Discussions Leadership

2/7 How do People Cope with Painful Emotions, Ideas and Events? R2

Student Led Discussion on How People Cope with Trauma
Mechanisms of Defense and Other Psychohistorical Concepts
Patterns and Repetitions

2/10 Genocide in the 20th Century and Your Lifetime R3

Student Led Discussion on Rummel’s Concept of Democide (chapters 1-3)
R.J. Rummel on Genocide and Democide

2/14 Student Led Discussion on Soviet Democide R4

Psychohistorical Concepts
Map Quiz
2/17 Questions About the Holocaust Levi 1-39
Primo Levi’s Experience in the Holocaust
Psychohistorical Concepts Useful for the Study of the Holocaust
Coping Methods: Compiling a Proper Bibliography: How to Identify a Primary Source Is Your Outline
Psychohistorical? How to Get it Right the First Time

2/21 A Very Old Hatred: The History & Theory of Anti-Semitism Levi 40-64

What is a Jew? The Nazi Answer
Viktor Frankl in Auschwitz Frankl ReCreation
Primo Levi in the Camps

2/24 Student Led Discussion on Chinese Communist Democide R5

Traditional Shtetl Life Levi 65-108
Concentration of Jews by the Nazis
The Habits of Obedience in Your Life: Migram’s Obedience to Authority Study
(When Have You Regretted Not Standing Out?)

2/28 Life and Death in Work Camps Josef Mengele ReCreation Levi 109-144

Nazi Doctors
Mobile Killing Units and the SS
Do You Think You Would Have Survived in the Camps?
TOPIC SELECTION DEADLINE: Due Date for Detailed Outline and Bibliography

3/3 The Bureaucratization of Death—Deportation and Dehumidization Levi 145-189

The Organized Murder of Children: How Can People Kill Innocent Children?
Killing Center Operations, the Killers, and Paperwork Killers
Primo Levi Samuel Pisar
Return and Analysis of the Outline and Bibliography

3/7 Student Led Discussion on Nazi Genocide in Europe R6

Rescuers: Their Experience and Psychology Tadeusz Borowski
Resistance Movements
Survival Rates in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Poland, etc.
The Collapse of Nazi Power: The Final Days in the Camps

3/10 The Relationship of the War to the Killing in Germany

Why the World Watched?
Survivor’s Guilt
Holocaust Denial and Anti-Semitism
Student Led Discussion on Chinese Nationalist Democide R7
Review for Midterm

3/14 MIDTERM TEST

3/17 TBA View Schindler’s List

3/21-24 Spring Break: No Class

3/28 The Dispersal of Nazis: Former Nazis in America, Austria, Germany and the USSR

Displaced Persons Camps and Reactions to the Holocaust
Rebirth in Israel and the Impact of the Holocaust on the Thinking of Israelis
The Legacy of the Holocaust in the Middle East
Return and Analysis of the Midterm Test W Preface, I
Two page (600+ words) Description and Analysis of Schindler’s List or Triumph of the Will is Due

3/31 Student Report on Japanese Genocide in the Far East R8

Learning about Hitler by Reading The Psychopathic God: Adolph Hitler W2
The Background of Hitler’s Family and Hitler’s Mythic View of His Life

4/4 Hitler’s Adolescence and Personality W3

Hitler’s Military Service and Political Awakening
Student Led Discussion on Major Psychological Explanations of Hitler (Be sure to include the Binion Thesis in Waite)
Miller’s Analysis of Hitler’s Psychodynamics

4/7 Hitler’s Ideology (Koenigsberg) W4 Rise go Power: The Child is Father of the Man

Identification with the Aggressor at Home and Abroad
Student Led Discussion on Genocide in Cambodia R9

4/11 Hitler as an Orator and Leader W5

Nazi Seizure of Power
Weimar Republic and Erich Fromm, The Escape From Freedom
The Popular Totalitarian State in Germany
World at War, Götterdammerung
Student Report on Genocide in Armenia, Vietnam, and Poland R10-12
No Fault Grading Research Paper Due Date (With the Original Outline and Bibliography)

4/14 TBA

4/18 Why Did Germans Follow Hitler, and to the Bitter End of WW II?

Student Led Discussion on Democide in Pakistan & Yugoslavia R13-14

4/21 Hitler’s Fatal Attraction Film B Skim for an overview (Come to class early if possible) Assignment Sheet

4/25 Chronology of Interwar (1919-39) Diplomacy B xiii-xvi, 1-11

Due: In One Sentence for Each Theme B 271-78, 286,87 Identify the Main Themes of Chapter I
Student Report North Korea, Mexico, Medieval Russia R115-17

4/28 “Munich: The Piece of Paper” Film B 35-78, 280 [Come to class early if possible]

Due: In One Sentence for Each Theme, Identify the Main Themes of Chapters III & IV

5/2 Hitler, Germany, & Belgium Discussion B 79-114, 279, 83-85

Fantasies and Realities B 27-34, 125-43
Due: Type a Page on the Relationship Between Leader and Led in Nazi Germany

5/5 Fantasies of the Family of Nations and Foreign Affairs B 27-34, 145-170, France, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia B 189-206, 286-87

Due: In One Sentence for Each Theme, Identify the Main Themes of Chapters VII & IX

5/9 Conclusions on Fantasies and Foreign Affairs B 239-69, 287-88, French Leaders, Mussolini, and Stalin B 170-76, 216-20 Summation of Beisel B 154-56; C 188-90

5/12 Review for the Final Examination

Due Date for Research Paper with the Original Outline and Bibliography

5/16 FINAL EXAMINATION

V. COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Attendance and participation in class discussion. Your class participation grade will be based upon attendance, preparation of the materials, the quality and quantity of class discussion, and cooperativeness. Lateness twice equals one absence. When I get to know students by sight, I will not announce attendance so you should speak to me after class about marking you present but tardy.

2. All students should view a video of the Academy Award winning film, “Schindler’s List” or the Nazi propaganda film, Triumph of the Will, before March 28th. On that day they should hand in a two or more typed page description and analysis of one of these films.

3. Students must do a research paper on a subject relevant to the course and approved by the professor. This term paper must be 12+ pages (typed, double spaced and averaging 300+ words per page). The 12 pages do not include the title page, endnotes and bibliography. The topic must be selected by February 28th and the paper is due on May 12th. Students are strongly urged to do “Early Submission No Fault Grading,” handing in the papers on April 11th and resubmitting them after I have read through the papers and said what to change and improve. On February 28th hand in a title page, a detailed, informational outline and a bibliography. The bibliography must be divided into primary and secondary sources, starting with primary sources. The original outline will be returned and must be resubmitted with the completed paper. No two students should work on the same topic. Endnotes, footnotes (at the bottom of the page) or parenthetical citations must be provided and should include page numbers. If parenthetical citations are used, the number must be listed on the front page. Page numbers of books and articles must be included except where they are not available as is sometimes the case with sources taken from the Internet. Typically there are 30-100+ endnotes in a paper of this length in a 300 level class. A partial listing of possible term paper topics is included below. Remember to include the following information on the title page of the paper: Your telephone #, e-mail address, and a word count (excluding the word count in the notes, bibliography, and any outline submitted).

4. OUTLINE: The informational outline is due February 28th and it must be typed on 8 ½ X 11 inch paper and include the following information:
(1) The title on a cover sheet with your name, tel. #, e-mail address, course information, etc.
(2) A detailed informational outline (For a paper on Hitler’s personality, this means that you write his life dates, the names, occupations, and life dates of his parents. List siblings. Note his characteristics as described by specific observers, etc., etc.)

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY: The detailed bibliography is also due February 28th on a separate page. (1) List primary and secondary sources separately, starting with primary sources. Primary sources are a vital part of your paper and should be read first. (2) Articles and books should be in separate categories. (3) Be sure to italicize or underline titles of books, newspapers and magazines. Also, put quotation marks around the titles of articles.

6. Note that the outline and bibliography will be written on and returned in the following class by your professor. Staple the original outline/bibliography, not a copy because I want to see that you followed my directions for improvements, to the end of your paper when you submit it on April 11th and/or May 12th. If an Outline/Bibliography Improvement Form is given to you, make every correction required.

7. Rules and Regulations of this Class Include:

Read your syllabus consistently. It is your guide to what you are responsible for each day. Changes may need to be made orally in class which you are responsible for keeping track of. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get the information from another student.
Bring the books discussed to class on the days assigned and until we have finished the subject.
Look up the topics under discussion working from the table of contents and index of your source book. Then read all the relevant materials.
Come on time. Lateness disrupts the class which is why it is penalized.
Do not eat in class. You may bring drinks if you deposit the cans and bottles in the trash after class.
Do your work on time to avoid lost points, as indicated below.

VI. GENERAL INFORMATION:

1. CALL FOR FACILITATORS. Students wishing to help coordinate historical re-enactments, etc. should speak to the instructor. You will earn extra credit and help make it a better course. Ask for details.

2. Grading is A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, F, H+, H. Grading is assignment is as follows:

Research Paper 300
Outline and Bibliography 40
Class Participation 200
Midterm Examination 100
Final Examination 160
Discussion or Debate Participation 50
Map, Movie Report, Beisel Papers 150
+ 25 points for being Timekeeper
+ 20 points of bonus credits for an extra credit debate or student led discussion filling in for another student
– 10 points each time for missing more than three classes
– 10 points each time for being late more than 3 times (Class begins precisely at 8:30)
– 20 points per class your research paper is late, whether or not you have told me about the lateness ahead of time.

Note that points in some categories may have to be juggled somewhat. For example, if due to a snow day or speaker, we miss a quiz that is not made up, then those 50 points will be added to the class participation grade. This point system puts a premium on earning full credit for each aspect of the course. The only exception to this grading system is when a student is unable to write at an appropriate college level. For example, I will not give an A to a student who can only write at a C+ level since an A indicates excellence in all areas. Fortunately, thus far I have never had to apply this grade reduction in this course. Outlines and bibliography are initially graded as S (satisfactory), O (omitted) or U (unsatisfactory) and then assigned 20 points each. Note that the outline and bibliography are graded separately. All O and U grades must be resubmitted in the next class with the appropriate corrections so that they can be re-graded and the points assigned. Note that late work is penalized or, after a certain point, not accepted. Bonus points are quite valuable under this grading system: They are given for designated extra credit oral reports and to the Class Timekeeper.

3. The schedule of lectures/discussions will not necessarily be adhered to in class. If we fall behind, we may cover additional topics in one class. Be prepared for readings that were assigned and not covered in the previous class. Please bring the books under consideration.

4. Testing (Quiz) Procedure: Arrive a few minutes early and put away all notes, papers and books. Bring two pens and two #2 pencils. Be sure that all notebooks are closed. Where possible, sit in alternate seats. Maintain quiet throughout the examination or quiz. Do not leave and return to the room during the test or quiz. Do not use or consult any electronic devices whatsoever, since unfortunately, several students have tried to cheat using electronics.

5A. Some possible research paper topics:

The genocide in Darfur
Massacre up close and personal in Rwanda
General Romeo Dallaire’s Rwanda Dilemma and Guilt
The ethnic cleansing of Milosevic
Milosevic on trial in The Hague
Comparing and contrasting the democide of Stalin and Hitler
Hitler as a millennial leader: Homicidal/suicidal millennialism
Using the Koenigsberg’s study of Hitler to understand other millennial leaders
The traumatic effects of WWI and the rise of Hitler
The children of survivors German war guilt
Hitler and Dr. Bloch Leading Nazis:
Theories of anti-Semitism Eichmann
Anti-Semitic theorists Göring
Hitler’s anti-Semitism Hess
Why the world watched Mengele
Nazi mobilization of youth Speer (only with great caution)
Depersonalization in concentration camps Höss (Hoess)
Milgram’s studies on obedience to authority Children of the Nazis
Hitler’s relationship with his mother
Zionism and personal identity
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Jewish perceptions of the Nazi prior to the Holocaust
The Holocaust in film Displaced Persons (DP) Camps
The Nazis in film Children in the Holocaust
The road to Munich Primo Levi
Strategies of survivors: Anne Frank
Tadeusz Borowski Samuel Pisar
Survivors’ guilt Emmanuel Ringelblum
Eli Weisel
A comparative study of rescuers
Psychology of Holocaust denial
The psychology of the true believer under the Nazis and among terrorists
Victims and victimology
Psychological impact of the Holocaust on Israelis
Genocide in Cambodia compared to the Holocaust
Genocide in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Rwanda, or elsewhere compared to the Holocaust
Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia compared to the Holocaust
Kübler-Ross on Death & Dying: Denial/Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, & Acceptance

5B. YOUR RESEARCH PAPER MUST BE PSYCHOHISTORICAL, AND BASED MOSTLY ON PRIMARY SOURCES: Each student must write a research paper on a psychohistorical theme related to the course and approved by your professor. (Some of the materials below are repetitive of earlier instructions to emphasize the points.)

Students should do some original research in the primary sources (e.g. autobiographies, diaries, letters, speeches, interviews, newspapers, government documents, etc.) rather than relying mainly on secondary sources (e.g. biographies, histories, monographs, etc.). Examples of primary sources are a speech by Hitler and the autobiography of a Holocaust survivor, such as Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz.
Secondary sources are works by people who were not participants in the events they wrote about. For example, Robert G. Waite, The Psychopathic God: Adolph Hitler is a secondary source. First read primary sources to get your own sense of the subject and later read the secondary sources. Interviewing of subjects is encouraged.
No two students should work on the same topic.
The research paper should be twelve (12+) pages at 300 words per page (3600 word minimum) and is due no later than May 12nd. It must be typed and double-spaced and typically have 30-100+ endnotes. There should be no fewer than 30 endnotes and no more than one quarter of them may be taken from the Internet. Be sure to paginate (provide page numbers) and provide a word count of the text on the front page. The twelve pages (3600 words) does not include the title page, endnotes, bibliography and any appendices.)
Each student must submit a detailed outline (see above) by February 28th, which will be returned and then resubmitted with the completed paper.
Some of the areas of inquiry and concepts making a paper psychohistorical are the inclusion of materials and interpretations based on unconscious motivations, childhood, emotions, personality, the mechanisms of defense, psychic trauma, group delusions, dreams, sexuality, the repetition compulsion, and the difference between conscious intention and unconscious desire. Refer to this listing often in writing your paper as well as in studying for exams. Read this section, reread it, and refer back to it often, because not making a paper psychohistorical is the most common reason for students having to do major rewriting and/or getting a lower grade.

6. Information relevant to the research paper and other written assignments: Keep duplicate computer disc copies of all papers to avoid duplicating work. Note that if you leave papers under my door, and do not receive the graded papers back within a week, something may be amiss (students have been known to inadvertently take each other’s papers). For twenty years I have graded quizzes, tests and papers after each class and given them back in the next class after I receive them, so ask me for them if you miss the class when I handed them back. Spelling and grammar should be correct. If information from CDs and/or the Internet is used as sources, please provide copies with proper citations. Citations must include all the bibliographic information you can provide. From the Internet, include web site, browser used, date of the materials and date downloaded or printed. For material from the Internet be sure to include the date the material was taken from it and the web site.

*The endnotes and bibliographies must be done correctly. For the bibliography, the first section must be on primary sources (autobiographies, diaries, newspapers, state papers, etc.) and the second section on secondary sources (biographies, histories, materials by those who came after the events). It is important that you do the endnotes correctly, and labels the two sections as “Primary Sources” and “Secondary Sources.” Some more hints regarding what to include and to avoid are:

A. PROPER FORMAT

A paper of this length normally has 30-100 endnotes
1. The notes must be correctly listed, for example, Alexander L. George, ed., Avoiding War: Problems of Crisis Management (Boulder: Westview Press, 1991), p. 284. The second reference would be: “George, Avoiding, p. 77.” A more detailed sample will be listed on Luminis and or the course website.

TO BE AVOIDED:

Not using primary sources for your notes (This paper will not be acceptable)
Taking your endnotes from mostly the same few sources
Having a bunch of continuous notes from the same source, with the next group of endnotes from another source, etc. You need to use a variety of sources and endnote with diversity
Not having page numbers in your notes, not taken from the Internet
Not putting your endnotes on a separate page or two, labeled “Endnotes” and then divided into “Primary” and “Secondary” sources as separate headings

*Following are abbreviations commonly used in grading examinations and papers:

e.g. for example
i.e. that is
cf compare
sp spelling
lc lower case
caps needs capitalization
__ O An underline or circle normally indicates thatsomething is wrong or at least dubious. Foreign words
and titles of books must be in italics.source? Answer this query by citing your exact source for your point.
garbled An unfair or misleading selection of the facts.
chronology The sequence of events is wrong or misleading.
redundant Unduly repetitive; superfluous.
^ Left out; insert
pp Paragraph
circa An approximate date; about (also c., ca.)

7. Teaching techniques: I sometimes use a variant of the Socratic method so students arrive at the “truth” by probing their own minds after carefully preparing the readings. Students should take notes on class discussion and movies as well as lectures. During movies think of questions, and relate materials historically and psychologically to the Holocaust and genocide.

8. No tape recorders are allowed without the expressed consent of the instructor. If consent is granted, recordings are only for the use of the student for study purposes and are then to be destroyed.

9. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IS A MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE. It usually takes three forms:

A. PLAGARISM: Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of another person without proper acknowledgement. Students must put quotation marks around another person’s words, or paraphrase them so that there is no plagiarism. One distinctive term, or three or more continuous words (of any length) by another person must get quotation marks and an endnote. Students need to learn to paraphrase, rather than quote at great length. This professor does not like long quotes.
B. Substituting another student’s paper as your own, or taking work off the web and presenting it as your own, are even more serious offenses than other forms of plagiarism.
C. Letting someone else contribute so heavily to your work that it ceases to be primarily your ideas and phrasing, is academically dishonest.

Punishments: The penalty for academic dishonesty ranges from a zero on the paper to expulsion from Ramapo. Cases of suspected dishonesty are reported to an academic vice president who has special search engines to identify dishonesty. She maintains a file on all students caught cheating. Penalties become progressively harsher and a part of a student’s permanent record available to graduate schools and employers who you authorize to see your record.

10. Directions for writing a psychohistorical critical analysis of a book: These points are also helpful hints for writing research papers and examination questions in psychohistory classes like this one. There are three elements involved in writing a critical analysis of an outside reading or of a book: the subject matter, the author(s), and the reviewer. All three elements should be fully considered since each has an enormous impact on the final product which must be a well-written, fully integrated essay. In good literary form the critical analysis should answer the following

questions:

What is the main thesis (idea)?
How well is this thesis developed?
What types of evidence are used to prove the thesis?
Is the thesis well documented?
What approach is used in presenting the thesis, how logical and convincing is it?
What other approaches might be used for the same material?
How is the book psychohistorical? What materials are there on unconscious motivation, childhood, emotion, personality, family background, dreams, sexuality, group dynamics, delusions, mechanisms of psychic defense, psychic trauma, the repetition compulsion, and the differences between conscious and unconscious motivations?
How well written is the book? Does the author’s literary style enhance or obstruct his points?
The critical analysis must have an introduction, conclusion, and specific historical examples.
Proper sources of information must be provided.

11. Students are encouraged to form study groups to help them master the materials covered in this course.

12. My office is B210, my e-mail is Paul H. Elovitz, PhD, and my telephone # is 201-684-7415. Leave a message on Voice Mail (with your telephone #(s), when you are available, and the purpose of your call) if I am not available and you are eager to contact me. Note that I can access e-mail from off campus though not Voice Mail. This semester I am regularly on campus Tuesday and Friday, as well as Wednesday afternoon.

13. Students are encouraged to attend History Club events that are on alternate Tuesdays at 1:00 pm. Certain lectures relevant to the course sponsored by the History Club or the Holocaust Center will be required of all students.

14. Some students may find it of interest to attend an international scholarly conference. Certain groups welcome student participants as attendees or even presenters and ten of my students have participated. On June 7-9 of this year the International Psychohistorical Association meets at Fordham University Law School in New York City. The IPA even offers a prize to student presenters and on four occasions Ramapo students have won the Bernabei Award ($100-$300 stipend) in competition. Through the years 14 of my students have attended these events, making presentations.

15. Early Submission (No Fault Grading) (Due Date April 11th and resubmitted May 12th ). Each student taking this option will normally write and revise the term paper, provided it is properly handed in on April 11th. I will try to grade it for the next class, returning it to the student. If the paper is acceptable, I will give you a tentative grade and tell you what to do to get a higher grade if it is resubmitted with all the required or recommended changes on or before May 12th. On May 12th the original paper must be resubmitted with the revised paper and the changes must be clearly indicated by being bolded or covered with a light yellow high- light marker so that I can tell at a glance what is the new material and can skim some of the materials previously read. If the paper is revised promptly according to my directions, the final grade is the only one that will count; otherwise, the temporary grade becomes permanent. If the paper is missing vital elements such as a bibliography, endnotes with page numbers, and significant psychohistorical content, then no grade will be given until these are added. Write NO FAULT GRADING at the top of the title page and put your telephone and e-mail address on the title page. A paper handed in on April 11th must be completed for me to grade it: It must meet all of the requirements in terms of length, number of endnotes or footnotes (with page numbers), bibliography, etc. I will not accept a rough draft for no fault grading. To avoid confusion caused by separated or misplaced items, papers should be submitted in folders with pouches with your name written on the outside.

16. Possible publication of your writing. I encourage student publications and I will use my position as editor of Clio’s Psyche to publish selections from appropriate (usually on childhood, personality and personal experience), well written papers which would be of interest to our readers. As of this date, five students have published articles amidst the writings of professors from such major universities as UCLA, Yale, Harvard, Rutgers, Kansas State University, Brandeis, and so forth. See me for details.

17. Students affiliated with the Office of Specialized Services should see me if certain accommodations are needed.

18. Find Holocaust Internet sites: Please be careful to use all Internet materials with great caution–neo Nazis use the Web as well as survivors and scholars–and attach copies of the material taken from them to your paper. (Always list Internet sites in precise detail and give the dates used.) Note that no paper, beyond one on the Holocaust on the Internet, may take more than one quarter (1/4) of its materials from Internet sources. Submit copies of materials which you take from the Internet.

19. Some myths about the Holocaust to be avoided:

That the Holocaust never occurred. (There are many variants on this theme including that there were no gas chambers and anyone who died was a normal casualty of wartime.)
That genocide like the Holocaust could never occur again.
That Hitler alone was responsible.
That Hitler’s psychological reasons for promoting the Holocaust constitute an excuse for his actions.
That Germans did not know about the Final Solution.
That Jews did not fight in WW I or were not patriotic Germans.
That Jews caused Germany’s defeat in WWI.
That Jews controlled the Weimar Republic or the economy.
That Jews were all capitalists, subversives or “degeneratives.”
That the communists or socialists were all Jews, and that most Jews were left wingers.
That concentration camp personnel realistically had to fear for their lives if they asked to be transferred away from the killing.
That Western leaders did not know about the Holocaust.
That Western leaders could do nothing to stop, diminish, or disrupt, the killing of Jews except by defeating the Nazis through a policy of military victory leading to unconditional surrender.
That Soviet communism was the consistent enemy of Nazism.
That the U.S. did the most to defeat Hitler.
That only Jews died in the Death Camps.
That the majority of people who died as a result of Hitler’s aggression, racism and wars were Jewish.
That Jews never fought back.
That Gentiles never saved Jews.

If you do not understand why any of these are listed as myths, then ask me in class as we cover the subject, or in my office during my office hours.

20. Concepts Helpful in the Study of Psychohistory, and the Holocaust

PSYCHIC TOPOGRAPHY (The structure of the psyche)
id (it) the pleasure seeking impulse
superego conscience
ego the realistic mediator between desire and prohibition

FEELINGS You must understand the differences among feelings, thoughts and actions. The most basic of emotions include: love, hate and envy.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS

unconscious psychosis voyeurism
empathy paranoia repetition compulsion
transference masochism chosen trauma
sublimation sadism survivor’s guilt
anxiety psychogenic stages of mourning
narcissism historical group fantasies conversion reactions
neurosis fantasy analysis countertransference
obsession psychoanalysis (the talking cure) agoraphobia
fear of success self defeating behavior disclaimed action
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) time collapse
Kubler-Ross on Death and Dying: Denial/Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, & Acceptance

MECHANISMS OF DEFENSE (This is an incomplete list)

denial reaction formation
projection undoing
regression displacement
suppression idealization
identification identification with the aggressor
intellectualization projective identification

21. DIRECTIONS FOR DISCUSSION LEADERS: This is a discussion class. All students, not only the discussion leaders, should do the assigned readings prior to the discussion. For each discussion topic, two or three people serve as Discussion Leaders. These students must work together. Every student in this course must to do this on at least one occasion this semester.

When each student has been a discussion leader on one occasion, volunteers can do it again, earning up to 20 bonus points for each added instance of discussion leadership.

Rationale: Those who are shy or who hate to speak in front of groups may wonder about this course requirement. Students should remember that in college you are being trained to be a professional person. This means you need to be able to read, think, learn, organize, research, and speak at a higher level than you did before you came to college. Understanding and verbally expressing complex ideas are vital skills on the road to success. You will use these abilities throughout your professional life. At job interviews, shy people are not hired after being exempted from speaking. Rather, the job goes to the person best able to express their ideas for serving the employer’s goals. Speaking before the class may be difficult for some students, but it will pay dividends in life. After a while you will “get the hang of it” and wonder why it used to make you nervous to speak in public. So hang in there.

Discussion leaders model themselves on the professor, doing the following:

A. Prepare at least three or four questions regarding the subject/reading assignment and ask them of the other students. Avoid yes-or-no questions; ask open-ended questions requiring thoughtful answers.
B. Begin the discussion with a question. A classmate will answer it, or you will need to find another way of phrasing it.
C. After another student has given an answer or opinion in response to the question, your responsibility as discussion leader is to ask other students to help understand the subject, to contribute their thoughts and knowledge. The discussion will stop when you believe the question is answered completely, and after all who have wanted to speak have said their piece.
D. Then the next discussion leader now takes over. Every discussion leader has their turn until the questions are exhausted.

Discussion leaders must have actually, actively led a discussion to earn credit for it. Sitting before your fellow students, praying they will speak just will not do it. The credit you get is based on what you do. If you do next to nothing, you get no credit. If you don’t do it properly, you get to do it over again in the hope you will then earn credit.

Successful discussion leaders are not mean, but they are tough. Mean is to say, “You didn’t answer my question, your answer is ridiculous!” Tough is to not settle for simplistic or vague answers. It is to inquire, “How did you arrive at your answer?” or “What is the meaning of that?”

The mark of a good discussion leader (and teacher) is to be both tough and kind.
Examples of Questions and Answers for Discussion Leaders:

If you are leading a discussion on why Osama bin Laden came to hate Americans and of his early history, you might ask a question like:
What led him to hate Americans? [Wait for all answers] Did he really know Americans, or were his opinions based on popular prejudice in his society? [Wait for all answers] Were there events in his childhood, education, and personality predisposing him to hatred? The trick is to not ask the next question until all the answers to the previous question are exhausted.
If you are leading a discussion on the spread of the Protestant Reformation in 15th century Germany, based upon the reading of common practices within the unreformed Church, as discussion leader you might ask questions like:
“What were the common practices within the church? How do you think ordinary Christians felt about these practices? Do you think they resented the financial costs involved? Do you think they really wanted a separate church from Rome?”

I hope you have got the idea by now. If not, speak to me about it, so I can give you additional tips.

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