TITLE: History 3367, Sec. 01 – The Second World War
TIME: M-F, 10:00-11:50 a.m., 77 Holden Hall
First Summer Semester 2004, Texas Tech University
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. David L. Snead
Visit my web site at www3.tltc.ttu.edu/snead
OFFICE HOURS: M-Th, 12:00-1:00 p.m.; and by appointment. Generally, I am in my office by 7:15 a.m. and
stay to 3:30 p.m. everyday. If I am in my office, please feel free to stop by if you need to see
me. If it is not a good time, I will let you know. You can email me at david.snead@ttu.edu.
You can also call me at 742-1004 (ext 240).
Office: 49 Holden Hall
COURSE OBJECTIVES: To obtain a better understanding of the events, people, and ideas that helped shape the start, course, and consequences of World War II. More specifically, the goals of this course include:
1) To learn why a war of this magnitude could begin and be fought as it was. How could a second world war begin only twenty years after the worst war in human history? Why was the war fought so savagely in every theatre?
2) To gain an appreciation for the impact World War II had on the world. How did countries handle the nearly 50 million deaths that resulted from the war? Why did the war end the dominance of Europe in world affairs? How did countries mobilize to fight the war? You will find answers to these questions and more in this class.
3) To recognize the monumental importance of World War II to the development of the world as it is today. How did the war influence the development of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union? Why did the weakening of European countries during the war lead to the end of colonial empires? How did advances in communication, transportation, and technology during the war alter the world power structure?
COURSE MATERIALS:
1) Text – Lyons, Michael J., World War II: A Short History, 4th Ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004).
2) Supplementary Readings
a) Hitler, Adolf. Gerhard L. Weinberg (ed.). Hitler’s Second Book: The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf (New York: Enigma Books, 2003).
b) Fritz, Stephen G., Frontsoldaten: The German Soldier in World War II (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1995).
c) Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Members of this class will be responsible for all material addressed in this course, including lectures, readings, discussions, and films. The final course grade will be based on the following:
1) One midterm test – the test will be worth 30% of your final grade. It will cover chapters 1 through 13 in the text, Weinberg’s Hitler’s Second Book, and any material covered in class.
2) 6 quizzes - 7 quizzes will be given based on your readings from the text. However, I reserve the right to give a quiz on any material covered in class. Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. There will be no make-ups, except for extreme circumstances (A missed quiz will be recorded as a zero). The quizzes will be worth 20% of your final grade.
3) One paper - each student will be required to write one 3 to 5-page paper. It will focus on Fritz’s Frontsoldaten. The paper will be worth 20% of your final grade. The assignment is attached at the end of the syllabus.
4) A final exam - the final exam will be cumulative in the sense that the study of history is based on what is already known. However, emphasis will be given to the material covered since the last test, including chapters 14 through 26 and the Aftermath in the text. There will also be an essay on Sledge’s With the Old Breed. The exam will be worth 30% of your final grade.
Grade Schedule: A+ (98-100), A (92-100), A- (90-91), B+ (88-89), B (82-87), B- (80-81), C+ (78-79),
C (72-77), C- (70-71), D+ (68-69), D (62-67), D- (60-61), F (0-59).
****All
work done in this class must adhere to Texas Tech University’s honor
code.****
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular attendance is expected. Every absence, whether excused or unexcused, will be recorded. Any student missing either three or four classes will have his/her final average automatically lowered one full letter grade. If a student misses more than four classes, he/she will automatically fail. A student arriving late or leaving early is subject to being counted absent. Texas House Bill 256 requires institutions of higher education to excuse a student from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day. The student shall also be excused for time necessary to travel. An institution may not penalize the student for the absence and allows for the student to take an exam or complete an assignment from which the student is excused. You must notify the instructor in advance of the days you will miss as soon as possible at the beginning of the semester.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES (Americans with Disabilities Act): I will make every reasonable accommodation to assist students with disabilities. It is the responsibility of the student to let me know of the disability as soon as possible (preferably within the first few days of classes) and to help develop the best program for accommodating his/her needs. Students should provide appropriate verification of need for assistance from the Office of Disabled Student Services in West Hall.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE ASSIGNMENT:
6/3 – Problems of the Innerwar Years and the Rise of Mussolini in Italy Read Ch. 3
6/4 – Totalitarians – Rise of the Military in Japan and Germany Read Ch. 4
6/7 – Steps to War in the 1930s Read Ch. 5-6
6/8 – Blitzkrieg in Poland, the Phony War, and Planning the Invasion of France Read Ch. 7
6/10 – Great Britain Survives/Hitler Revises Plans, and Operation Barbarossa Read Ch. 10-11
6/11 – Deterioration of U.S.-Japanese Relations and Pearl Harbor Read Ch. 12-13
6/14 – Japan at the Peak of Its Power
6/17 – Early fighting in North Africa and Operation Torch Read Ch. 16
6/18 – READING DAY
6/23 – Battle of the Atlantic and the Pacific Submarine Campaign
6/24 – Southwest Pacific Campaigns Read Ch. 24-25
Paper Due – Fritz’s Frontsoldaten
6/25 – Central Pacific Campaign and the Battle of the Philippines Read Ch. 20-21
6/28 – The Eastern Front to Bagration and D-Day Read Ch. 22-23
6/29 – Liberation of France and the end of the war in Europe Read Ch. 26
6/30 – Battle of Okinawa, the Atomic Bomb, and the Defeat of Japan Read Aftermath
7/1 – The Holocaust and the Legacies of the War
Final
Exam - Saturday, July 3, 8:00-10:30 a.m.
Paper 1: Frontsoldaten
History 3367, Sec. 01
Dr. Snead
Directions: In Frontsoldaten, Stephen Fritz argues that when studying the German soldier from below,
“the historian has to provide a face for the anonymous Landser (the common infantryman in the German Army) and examine his dual role as both perpetrator and victim. As perpetrators, whether out of conviction or not, these common men existed as part of a great destructive machine, ready and willing to kill and destroy in order to achieve the goals of a murderous regime. In the role of victims, they lived daily with the physical hardships, the psychological burdens, and the often crushing anxieties of death and killing that constitute the everyday life of all combat soldiers.” (p. 3)
How well does Fritz articulate these themes? Explain with specific examples.
Due
Date, Rough Draft, and Format:
1)
Your paper is due on Thursday, June 24.
2) The paper must be typed, doubled-spaced with margins on each side of approximately one inch, and be between 3 and 5 pages in length. In addition, you must turn in a typed and hand-edited rough draft. Any final paper not containing a typed and hand-edited draft will be penalized 5 points. Any paper turned in after the due date will be assessed a ten point penalty for each day it is late, including weekends.
3) Please see Professor Snead’s web site at www3.tltc.ttu.edu/snead for tips on writing your essay. With very few exceptions, the best essays in this class will be the ones that undergo several revisions. You will only have to turn in one rough draft, but I expect that you will make several. In your revisions, check for grammatical errors, organizational problems, and the persuasiveness of your arguments. Papers failing to meet the minimum standards presented on the website will be graded accordingly.
4) If you have any questions and/or problems at any stage of this assignment, it is your responsibility to seek assistance from me.