About this course: The Holocaust was an inconceivable historical event, which forever robbed Western culture of its innocence. As civilized human beings, we fail to understand how events of such horror could have taken place, and how an idea so inhumanly warped could have spread like wildfire through an entire continent, instigating the systematic annihilation of millions of Jews. This free online course was produced jointly by Tel Aviv University and Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. The course tracks the history of the Holocaust and has two parts. "The Holocaust - An Introduction (I): Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World" is the first of the two courses and covers the following themes in its three weeks: Week 1: From Hatred to Core Ideology We will try to delve into Nazi ideology and the special place of Jews and Judaism in it. We will also discuss how the National Socialist Party converted the German Democracy of the Weimar Republic into a totalitarian regime within a short period of time, and its meaning for Jews and non-Jewish citizens. Week 2: The World and the Jews in World War II We will try to examine the broader contexts of the Holocaust and to place it, as part of World War 2. In this meeting we will also refer to the vital Jewish world to be found under various Nazi occupations and influences. Week 3: The Isolation Abyss - the Perspective of the Individual We will try to reveal different aspects of Jewish life in the face of the badge of shame, ghettos and segregation, as well as the formation of individual, societies’ and leader’s reactions in the face of a consistent policy of dispossession and discrimination. Once you’ve completed this course, you can continue your learning with The Holocaust - An Introduction (II): The Final Solution This online course is offered in an innovative, multi-level format, comprising: * Comprehensive lectures by leading researchers from Tel Aviv University and Yad Vashem. * A wealth of voices and viewpoints presented by guest lecturers. * Numerous documents, photos, testimonies and works of art from the time of the Holocaust. * Novel learning experience: Crowd sourcing – involving the learners themselves in the act of collecting and shaping information, via unique, exciting online assignments. REQUIREMENTS: This course is designed for anyone with an interest in the Holocaust, including students, teachers, academics and policy-makers.
Created by: Tel Aviv University, Yad Vashem
Taught by: Professor Havi Dreifuss, PhD, Professor
Havi Dreifuss is a historian of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe; senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at TAU; heads the Center for Research of Holocaust History in Poland, Yad Vashem.
Taught by: Dr Na'ama Bela Shik, PhD, Director, Educational Technology Department, The International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem
The International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem
| Commitment | 3 weeks of study, 1-2 hours/week |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Hebrew, Spanish |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
From Hatred to Core Ideology; From Democracy to a Totalitarian State; Nazi Germany and the Jews
We will try to delve into Nazi ideology and the special place of Jews and Judaism in it. We will ask ourselves what, if anything, it renewed regarding traditional hatred of Israel and modern anti-Semitism and analyze Nazi documents to see how it reflects in them. Also, in this lesson we will discuss how the National Socialist Party succeeded in converting the German Democracy of the Weimar Republic into a totalitarian regime within a short period of time, and the significance of this process for its citizens - Jews and non-Jews alike.
8 videos, 2 readings
- Video: Course trailer
- Video: Introduction: why the Holocaust, why history, why this course?
- Video: Why the Jews? Traditional anti-Semitism as a central background
- Video: The uniqueness of Nazi anti-Semitism and its place in the NS ideology
- Prompt de discussão: Hitler's Ideology
- Leitura: Saul Friedlander, Nazi Germany and the Jews
- Video: 1933: Gleichschaltung
- Prompt de discussão: Political Life under Nazi Rule
- Video: 1933-1939: Life in Nazi Germany
- Prompt de discussão: Why Didn't the Jews Leave Germany?
- Video: 1933-1939: Jewish life in Nazi Germany
- Leitura: Wolfgang Benz, “Exclusion as a Stage in Persecution: The Jewish Situation in Germany, 1933-1941”
- Video: 1938 - A Major Turning Point
WEEK 2
The World and the Jews in World War II
We will try to examine the broader contexts of the Holocaust and to position it as a part of a various global conflicts that took place during world war 2. In this context, we will focus in a number of unique realities that were formed and created in Occupied Poland and France using them to identify key practices of Nazi Germany, European companies and the Jews who lived among them. We’ll look at the different fates of Jews in various European countries before and during World War 2, through the lens of the enormous changes which the Jewish world underwent in modern times: emancipation, secularization, urbanization and emigration.
6 videos, 2 readings
- Video: Nazi military occupations and varying occupation policies
- Prompt de discussão: Nazi Policies
- Video: From the Historian's Desk - Visual Documentation
- Leitura: Judith Levin and Daniel Uziel, “Ordinary Men Extraordinary Photos – Photographs”
- Video: Focus on Poland
- Video: Focus on France and Paris
- Leitura: Denis Peschanski, “The Statues on Jews – October 3, 1940 and June 2, 1942”
- Video: A World at War and world Jewry
- Video: Europe and its Jews between the two world wars
- Prompt de discussão: Forum to Upload Photos
Graded: Check you’ve understood what you’ve learned so far
WEEK 3
The Abyss of Isolation - the perspective of the individual
Instead of policy, state and society at large, we’ll focus on the individual, the family and the Jewish communities across Europe, using a broad range of wartime accounts: official documents, diaries, letters, artwork and more. In this context, we will try to reveal different aspects of Jewish life in the face of shame, ghettos and segregation, as well as the formation of individual, societies and leaders reactions in the face of consistent policy of dispossession and discrimination. A variety of sources will help us create a complex puzzle consists of Jewish life in those dark days. In this context, we will try to reveal different aspects of Jewish life in the face of shame, ghettos and segregation, as well as the formation of individual, societies and leaders reactions in the face of consistent policy of dispossession and discrimination. A variety of sources will help us create a complex puzzle consists of Jewish life in those dark days.
7 videos, 3 readings
- Video: The Jewish Perspective and the Badge of Shame
- Video: Ghettoization
- Prompt de discussão: Diversity of the Nazi Ghettos
- Leitura: Instructions by Heydrich on Policy and Operations concerning Jews in the Occupied Territories, September 21, 1939
- Leitura: Miron, Guy and Shlomit Shulhani, "General Introduction", The Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos During the Holocaust
- Video: The Warsaw Ghetto
- Video: Isolation with no Walls
- Video: Leadership
- Video: Future Expectations and Rumors
- Video: The Holocaust - an introduction - Partial conclusions
- Prompt de discussão: End of course discussion
- Leitura: Michael Wildt, "Generation of the Unbound: The Leadership Corps of the Reich Security Main Office"
Graded: Check your understanding
FAQs
How It Works
Trabalho
Cada curso é como um livro didático interativo, com vídeos pré-gravados, testes e projetos.
Ajuda dos seus colegas
Conecte-se com milhares de outros aprendizes, debata ideias, discuta sobre os materiais do curso e obtenha ajuda para dominar conceitos.
Certificados
Obtenha reconhecimento oficial pelo seu trabalho e compartilhe seu sucesso com amigos, colegas e empregadores.
Creators
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is Israel's largest institution of higher learning – with over 30,000 students and more than 125 schools and departments in nine faculties. Global in outlook and impact, it is consistently ranked among the world's top 100 universities, as well as the top 20 institutions in terms of scientific citations. A spirit of openness and innovation is evident in all of TAU's teaching and research activities, breaking down barriers between disciplines, and boldly striving to address the twenty-first century's most pressing challenges.
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem, the world Holocaust remembrance center, stands resolute in its dedication to Holocaust education, remembrance, documentation and research. Located on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem continues to develop advanced educational tools and utilize cutting-edge technology in order to bring its world-class research facilities, flourishing archives, groundbreaking educational initiatives and steadfast commitment to Shoah remembrance to an ever-growing global audience.
Ratings and Reviews
Its an excellent course. I ll follow with the second part for sure!
A deeply moving course, which offers any and all that may wish to partake of it, valuable insight and information about one of the greatest calamities ever to befall mankind - The Holocaust.
This course was outstanding and was FULL of information that I had never known. Understanding all of the events that led up to the Holocaust helps to make the timing and series of events fall in to place. This course was the best source of information that I have e.
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GM
It was very informative and I told a Jesuit priest of my taking the course and he now is very interested.