Munich under National Socialism

Class Description

“What is past is not dead. It is not even past.” The opening line of Christa Wolf’s novel, A Model Childhood, captures the import of this course, which provides a historical perspective on a contemporary problem: authoritarianism. This course opens with a presentation on the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism. Built on the site of the former Nazi headquarters, the Centre’s four floors provide historical narratives, film footage, photographs, and print media from World War I through the postwar era—all detailing how Hitler was able to coopt the media, the courts, the universities, cultural institutions, unions, businesses and citizens. The parallels to the US today are stunning, and unnerving. Our readings from the interwar era focus on Germany, and Munich in particular, under National Socialism and confront two types of solidarity: the tacit cooperation among Munich residents that sanctioned Nazi atrocities, and the loose, often unknowing alliance among those who resisted. They provide a complex understanding of solidarity and insight into how democracy can fail.

Pamela L. Caughie is Professor Emerita of English and Gender Studies at Loyola University Chicago. A former president of the Modernist Studies Association, Professor Caughie has taught and published widely on literature and culture of the early 20th century.

What to Expect

Format: In Person 

Class Capacity: 18 

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged 

Materials List

Required

• Daniel Kehlmann, The Director. Simon and Schuster, 2023. ISBN: 9781668087794

• Erika Mann, School for Barbarians. Modern Age Books, 1938. ISBN: 9780486781006 (Available on the Internet Archive)

• Inge Scholl, White Rose. Wesleyan University Press, 1983. ISBN: 9786613214744

• Colm Tóibín, The Magician. Scribner, 2021. ISBN: 9781476785080

• Christa Wolf, A Model Childhood. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1976. ISBN: 9780374211707 (Available on the Internet Archive)

First Assignment

• Read Colm Tóibín, The Magician (2021)

A Brief Syllabus

1. The Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism
2. Growing up under National Socialism
3. Education under National Socialism
4. Art and Culture under National Socialism
5. Resistance under National Socialism

Cost and Registration

5 Sessions, $200 ($180 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($200), Community Supported ($185), and Sponsor ($215) Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

Having trouble signing up? Take a look at our step-by-step guide to registration by clicking here.

The views and opinions expressed in this class and/or by the instructor are not necessarily representative of the Newberry. We aim to ensure that in our classes, participants can have respectful disagreement to foster critical thinking. This is a space to challenge and expand our own worldviews to work towards better understanding and appreciating humanity.

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