Course Syllabus

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Remote Learning Schedule

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Understanding the Holocaust leads to understanding hate. Studying the rise of the Nazis and their extermination of the Jews and other social undesirables is an exploration into how ordinary people can, through mass persuasion and social structural constraints, be led into committing genocide, the ultimate horror in human behavior.  It is crucial that, through the examination of the extreme results of prejudice and intolerance of others, we begin to understand our individual responsibilities for moral and ethical acceptance of diverse peoples and perspectives.  The history of the Holocaust provides one of the most effective and most extensively documented subjects for an academic examination of basic moral issues.  An examination into Holocaust history yields critical lessons for all of us. Studying the Holocaust also addresses one of the central themes of social studies education in North Carolina, which is to examine what it means to be a responsible citizen.  Students will learn the history of Anti-Semitism, about the Jewish faith and culture, Hitler and the Nazi’s rise to power, what was done to the population of Europe, specifically the Jews during Hitler’s reign, and how the Holocaust affects us now. This class will include lectures, readings, research projects, essays, and films. Throughout this class we will explore and discuss the behavior and perspectives of perpetrators, victims, bystanders, and ourselves as human beings, while seeking to understand the nature of this twentieth century event and its significance.