HIS 437 - Studies in the Holocaust: Perpetrators and Victims, Rescuers, and Bystanders

Units: 3
When Offered: Fall (odd years)
The Holocaust was not only an event involving nations and groups, and the focus on six million who were murdered is not merely a passing statistic. This course takes a finer-grained look at individuals who were involved in these atrocities. Some were perpetrators, ordering and obeying orders to kill; others were victims, the targets of these attacks. Others were bystanders, those who did not directly participate, but stood by and allowed the killing to take place, and in some instances directly or indirectly benefited from the killing. Still others, much fewer in number, risked their status, their property, their liberty and even their lives and the lives of their loved-ones, to rescue those who were targeted for killing. Why and how did people decide to occupy these roles? We will take a close look at representative figures in all these categories, seeking to understand their positions, and what those figures and their lives teach us about ourselves and our options in the midst of contemporary troubles.
Grade Type: Letter Grade