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Sophomore Seminar: Appeasement and the Origins of the Second World War
HIST263 SP

In this study of Europe's crisis, 1933-1939, from Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany to the outbreak of the Second World War, attention will focus upon the reassertion of German power and its effects upon the diplomacy and politics of Great Britain and France. Specific topics will include Hitler's aims and actions; critical events concerning the Rhineland, Spain, Czechoslovakia, and Poland; pacifism and the French Left; Neville Chamberlain and British conservatism; and the debate over the immediate origins of the war in 1939. Readings will include memoirs and contemporary diplomatic documents, newspapers and journals.

MAJOR READINGS

Gerhard Weinberg, THE FOREIGN POLICY OF HITLER'S GERMANY: STARTING WORLD WAR II, 1937-1939 A.J.P. Taylor, THE ORIGINS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR Telford Taylor, MUNICH: THE PRICE OF PEACE Martin Kitchen, EUROPE BETWEEN THE WARS Graham Ross, THE GREAT POWERS AND THE DECLINE OF THE EUROPEAN STATE SYSTEM, 1914-1945 Andreas Hillgruber, GERMANY AND THE TWO WORLD WARS Donald Cameron Watt, HOW WAR CAME: THE IMMEDIATE ORIGINS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Four short papers (5-6 pages) on a subject assigned by the instructor plus a major research paper.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE

Last Updated on MAR-24-2000

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