HIST 4365 Modern Germany 1815-Present Spring 2020

Wednesday, 18:30-21:20 WH 112

A. Introduction. Germany has played a decisive role in the development of modern Europe and the
world. Germans have formulated political and economic philosophies that have been adopted as
organizing concepts throughout the world, and pioneered scientific, technical and educational
innovations that have had a profound influence on the lives of people everywhere. The struggle to
create a unitary German state in the nineteenth century, Germany's initiation of two wars of conquest,
and the reunification of Germany have had political repercussions that have fundamentally shaped
diplomacy far beyond the European continent. The objective of this course will be to examine the rise
of Germany as a nation state, as a military power of world rank, as an economic dynamo, the disasters
that it has inflicted on itself and its neighbors, and its new role in a reforming Europe.

B. Accommodation Statement. Any person with special circumstances covered by the Americans
with Disabilities Act should register with the Office of Disability Accommodation, Suite 322,
University Union Building and also inform the instructor of the class. Reasonable adjustments will be
made to accommodate the special needs of students with disabilities where such adjustments are
necessary to provide equality of educational access. Students who have registered with ODA should
make an appointment to discuss their disabilities accommodation requests with the instructor. Students
with special circumstances covered by ADA may also consult with the History Department’s ADA
Liaison, Professor Clark Pommerleau, WH 238.

C. Grades. You will be asked to sit for one mid-term examination and a final. Immediately prior to
the examination, one question will be chosen for you to answer by an impartial method. In addition,
you will be asked on each examination to identify five items that you will select from a list of ten
provided to you. Instructions for the paper will be distributed separately.
Examination 08. March 33%
Paper 26. April 33%
Final 10. May 33%
Exams will consist of an essay question and five identifications. The essay question will be chosen
using an impartial method from a list of three potential questions distributed with this syllabus.
Students will choose five identifications from a list of ten shown on the exam sheet.
 2

I strongly recommend that you attend class.

I strongly recommend that you adhere to the university honor code.

D. Learning Objectives.
1. Learn the basic characteristics of traditional society in Germany before 1848.
2. Learn why there was a revolution in 1848.
a. Learn why the revolution failed.
3. Learn the basic factors that lead to German unification, 1864-1871.
4. Learn how and why Germany industrialised in the mid-nineteenth century.
5. Learn the basic characteristics of Bismarck’s foreign policy.
6. Learn the basic characteristics of Bismarck’s domestic policies.
7. Learn the basic characteristics of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s domestic policy.
8. Learn Germany’s role in the start of World War I.
9. Learn the basic characteristics Germany’s international position in 1919.
10. Learn why the Weimar Republic collapsed in 1933.
11. Learn the effects of the Great Depression on Germany.
12. Learn how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party gained power in 1933.
13. Learn how the Nazi Party transformed Germany’s domestic policy between 1933 and 1939.
14. Learn how and why Nazi Germany launched a war of racial conquest in 1939.
15. Learn why Nazi Germany lost World War II.
16. Learn the role played by the Allies in the post-war transformation of Germany.
17. Learn the basic reasons for the economic miracle in West Germany, 1948-1966.
18. Learn the basic characteristics of the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany.
19. Learn the basic characteristics of the political system of the German Democratic Republic.
20. Learn why the German Democratic Republic collapsed in 1989.
21. Learn about the role that Germany has played in European integration.
22. Learn how German domestics politics have developed since reunification in 1990.

E. Assistance. My office is located at Wooten Hall 236. I will hold office hours on Tuesday and
Wednesday at 17:30-18:30. Appointments may be made to see me at other times. My e-mail address
is alfred.mierzejewski@unt.edu. In the event of an emergency, you will be notified using the UNT
email system.
 3

F. Reading Material. Please obtain the following five books.

Peter Fritzsche. Germans into Nazis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1998.
Mary Fulbrook. A Concise History of Germany. NY: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990.
Ian Kershaw. Hitler. Profiles in Power. New York: Longman, 1991, 2000.
Alfred C. Mierzejewski. Ludwig Erhard. A Biography. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2004.
A.J.P. Taylor. Bismarck. The Man and the Statesman. New York: Vintage, 1967.
Henry A. Turner, Jr. Germany from Partition to Reunification. Rev. ed. New Haven:
Yale, 1992.

G. Class Schedule.
15. Jan Germany in 1815. The German Confederation. The Restoration Regimes in
Prussia and Austria. Read: Fulbrook, Chapters 1-4.
22. Jan The Revolutions of 1848. Read: Fulbrook, pages 104-122.
29. Jan The Reaction of 1850-1862.
05. Feb The Unification of Germany. The Balance Regime in Habsburg Austria. Read:
Fulbrook, pages 122-131; Taylor, all.
12. Feb The Economic Rise of United Germany: 1850-1914.
19. Feb The Bismarckian Reich. Read: Fulbrook, pages 131-137.
26. Feb The Wilhelmine Reich to 1914. Read: Fulbrook, pages 137-154.
04. Mar Examination.
18. Mar Griff nach der Weltmacht. Germany and World War I.
25. Mar The Weimar Republic. Read: Fulbrook, pages 155-179.
01. Apr The Rise of the Nazis. Gleichschaltung und Aufrüstung. Read: Fritzsche and
Kershaw.
08. Apr Hitler's Drive for War. Read: Fulbrook, pages 178-187.
15. Apr The Hitler Reich and World War II. Read: Fulbrook, pages 187-203.
22. Apr Occupation. The Federal Republic of Germany to 1966. Kanzlerdemokratie and
Wirtschaftswunder. The German Democratic Republic. Read: Fulbrook,
Chapter 7; Turner, Chapters 1-4; Mierzejewski, all. Paper Due.
29. Apr Disillusion and Reunification. Conclusion. Read: Fulbrook, Chapter 8, Turner,
Chapters 5-7.
06. May Final, im gewohnten Zimmer.