History 323: The Holocaust Essay
Assignment #2 Prof. J. Popkin
Due Date: Thurs.,
Mar. 6
Write a 750-1000 (3-4 pp doublespaced) word essay on one
of the following questions. Your essay
should be based on the material in our class readings and lectures for the
period 11 Feb.—6 Mar. As always in a
history class, you should give footnotes or citations in parentheses to
indicate the sources of your information, especially when quoting directly.
- The
period from Nov. 1938 to June 1941 is often considered an “intermediate
period” in the unfolding of the Holocaust, different from both the
experience of the German Jews up to Kristallnacht and from what was to
happen when the stage of outright killing began after the invasion of
Russia. What were the characteristics
of the treatment of the Jews during this “intermediate period”? How and why was the treatment inflicted
on Jews in Poland different from what had happened to the Jews in Germany?
- Explain
the significance of the documents on the start of the killing process in
Dawidowicz, pp. 68-82. What do
they tell us about the roles of the German Army (Wehrmacht), the Einsatzgruppen,
and other parts of the German government in carrying out the ‘Final
Solution’? Was the Wannsee
Conference of January 1942 the moment when the ‘Final Solution’ was
officially planned? Why, or why
not?