University of Galway

Course Module Information

Course Modules

Semester 1 | Credits: 5

This module deals with the origins, course, and aftermath of Nazi Germany. It is divided into three sections: the first deals with the origins of Nazism and Nazi government until the outbreak of war in 1939; the second section looks at different groups within society, to see how they responded to Nazism; the last section deals with the war and the Holocaust, as well as efforts to come to terms with the Nazi past in the post-war period. The course will pay special attention to questions that have caused controversy among historians - such as whether Nazism represented a continuity or discontinuity in German history, the role of ordinary Germans in implementing the regime's racial policies, and the implications of the recent emphasis on their own wartime suffering.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Outline the main events, developments and people associated with the history of Nazi Germany
  2. Summarise the historiography on Nazi Germany and evaluate conflicting views on various controversial questions
  3. Examine historical events and processes related to Nazi Germany in terms of their causality, impact, typicality and significance
  4. Write essays with due attention to spelling, grammar and scholarly referencing
Assessments
  • Written Assessment (67%)
  • Continuous Assessment (33%)
Teachers
Reading List
  1. "A Concise History of the Third Reich" by Joseph Bendersky
    Publisher: Rowland and Littlefield
  2. "A concise history of the Third Reich" by Wolfgang Benz; translated by Thomas Dunlap
    ISBN: 0520234898.
    Publisher: University of California Press
  3. "The Third Reich: A New History" by Michael Burleigh
    ISBN: 9780330487573.
    Publisher: Pan
  4. "Nazi Germany" by edited by Jane Caplan
    ISBN: 9780199276875.
    Publisher: Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2008.
  5. "The Coming of the Third Reich" by Richard J. Evans
    ISBN: 1594200041.
    Publisher: Penguin Books
  6. "The Third Reich in power, 1933-1939" by Richard J. Evans
    ISBN: 1594200742.
    Publisher: Penguin Press
  7. "The Third Reich at War" by Richard J. Evans
    ISBN: 9781594202063.
    Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
  8. "The Nazi dictatorship" by Ian Kershaw
    ISBN: 0340760281.
    Publisher: Arnold ; 2000.
  9. "Hitler" by Ian Kershaw
    ISBN: 0141035889.
    Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
  10. "Weimar Germany" by edited by Anthony McElligott
    ISBN: 9780199280063.
    Publisher: Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2009.
  11. "Inside Nazi Germany" by Detlev J. K. Peukert; translated by Richard Deveson
    ISBN: 0300038631.
    Publisher: Yale University Press
The above information outlines module HI337: "Nazi Germany" and is valid from 2016 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.