K.

Simpson NCSA Vienna

EXPLAINING EVIL: VIENNA AND HITLERS GENOCIDE

Kevin Simpson, PhD Professor of Psychology Concordia University-Portland Contact Hours: 45 Language of Instruction: English Email: ksimpson@cu-portland.edu Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know. -- William Wilberforce English Abolitionist and Reformer (1759-1833) Course Description: This interdisciplinary course traces the origins of the worst genocide the world has ever known: the Holocaust. Poignant lectures and timely readings in history, social psychology, and literature further reveal Austrias unique position in this period of history. Experience the profound measures of social control and propaganda required to elicit obedience to immoral orders for mass extermination. And wrestle with the question of whether humanity has an inborn propensity for evil. With the city of Vienna as your classroom, explore the best and worst of the human experience and seek out solutions to one of humanitys longest-lasting challenges: genocide. Course Objectives: This seminar aims to deepen students knowledge of the underlying explanations for extreme human behavior: the extraordinary evil contained in genocide and mass killing; To familiarize students to the major psychological theories drawn from empirical research on genocide, group conflict and social persuasion processes; To expose students to the related interdisciplinary literature and historical evidence of the Holocaust as evidenced in Austria, Vienna, and central Europe, along with other forms of genocide; Students are expected to grasp the importance of the following social psychological concepts in the emergence of genocide: conformity and group influence, social persuasion, prejudice and aggression, altruism and conflict resolution; Further develop student skills in reading, writing, and critical analysis of the processes of social influence and control, and inter-group relations; And to broaden students self-exploration through direct encounter with primary evidence and personal testimony of experiences of genocide.

Nota Bene: Students should note that for this course, there is an intentional overlap in the reading list with other courses at the AHA Vienna center (Vienna 1900, Unified Regions, international relations) Instructional methodology: This course will be taught in a seminar-style format with an emphasis on informed discussion. Regular attendance and diligent adherence to the reading schedule will be an important requirement for successful completion of the course. Brief lectures, PowerPoint slides, small-group discussion, film/documentary samples, excursions, impromptu group presentations, student journals, reflection papers, and final exam will comprise the main methods of teaching, learning, and assessment.

Method of evaluation/grading: 1. Take home final exam (50% of grade; 50 points). This exam will employ short answer and brief essay questions pertaining to course material covered from the readings, lectures, discussions, and course excursions. 2. Student journal with responses from guided discussion questions given in-class and on-excursion (20% of grade; 20 points). 3. Two critical reflection papers (30% of grade; 15% each; 15 points each): Students will write a critical analysis paper for two topic areas following completion of the relevant course reading(s) and excursions. Paper topics will be distributed during the class period prior to the due date (see schedule). The papers will be a minimum of 4 typed pages in length, in 10 or 12 point font, with 1 inch margins and careful attention to detail. Simply put: proofread thoroughly. Use citations as needed to support your interpretations and assertions. You are expected to draw

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upon course readings and excursions to illustrate your work. Lastly, I highly recommend keeping a travel journal (in addition to your class journal) of your experiences this term which will serve as more than a reminder of your play; you will also use it as source material for your papers. Reflection paper #1: Read the Salon interview with James Waller, PhD, author of Becoming Evil (weblink TBA). Also, read chapter 7 (esp. the Church of Ntamara section) from his book, Becoming Evil. After the readings and the excursion to Schloss Hartheim (memorial of the National Socialists euthanasia projects) compose a reflection paper which addresses the following areas: Provide a 1-2 page overall reaction to these phenomena. What are your thoughts and feelings about seeing this part of history? In the remaining section (2-3 pgs.), respond: How does the actions of thousands of Rwandans and the German state-sanctioned elimination of the unfit illustrate our study of obedience and aggression? Also: Comment on why evidence of altruism was generally missing during the Rwandan genocide? In your writing, you should be precise, including specific examples from our readings, combining these examples with elements from the excursion. DUE: Week 5 4 to 6 pgs total, APA style. Reflection paper #2: General topicCompare and contrast the Holocaust with the more recent genocide in the former Yugoslavia. Further details TBA. DUE: Week 10 4 to 6 pgs total, APA style. 4. Grades will be calculated on an A-F scale (A= 93+; B= 83-87%; C= 73-77%; etc) and a plus-minus system will be applied if the final grade is within 4 points of a grade level. 5. Plagiarism and Attendance: Any use of anothers work without proper citation will not be tolerated. Your active engagement with the course is also expected: any absences beyond a maximum of one will result in a reduction of your final grade. Further, I rate your involvement in completing the assigned readings and the in-class discussions as a means to move students either up or down between grade levels. Therefore, your energetic and excited participation will make this class memorable so keep up with your readings and be ready to actively contribute!

Required Course Readings: [Advance Reading:] David Engel, The Holocaust: The Third Reich and the Jews (Longman, 1999; 160 pp., $14) James Waller, Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing (Oxford UP, 2007; 384 pp., $16) Supplemental Reading Excerpts (all provided by instructor via hard copy and/or pdf files): Victoria Barnett, Bystanders: Conscience and Complicity During the Holocaust (Praeger, 2000) Robert Edsel, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History (Center Street Press, 2009) Sigmund Freud, selections from The Interpretation of Dreams and Civilization and Its Discontents (Norton, 1989) Brigitte Hamann, Hitler in Vienna: A Dictators Apprenticeship (Oxford UP, 2000) Steve Hochstadt, Sources of the Holocaust (Palgrave McMillan, 2003) Lonnie Johnson, Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends (Oxford University Press, 1996) Chapter 10: Spheres of Influence I, Germany and the Soviet Union, and Chapter 11: Spheres of Influence II, East and West or "Yalta Europe". Ruth Kluger, Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered (CUNY Press, 2003) memoir of journey of Viennese Jew from Vienna to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz) Robert J. Lifton, Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide (Basic Books, 2000) Armand M. Nicholi, Jr, The Question of God (Free Press, 2002) Chapter 1: Protagonists The Lives of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, and Chapter 3: Conscience: Is There a Universal Moral Law? Ervin Staub, The Psychology of Good and Evil (Cambridge UP, 2003) Projected excursions (in addition to those specified on the course outline): Mauthausen concentration camp and nearby Linz (quarry site for materials for parade grounds at Nuremberg and hometown of Hitler) Prague: A walk around Josefov (Jewish Quarter), old ghetto, Pinkas synagogue, and Ceremonial Hall; o Terezin: Site of Theresienstadt concentration camp and the Nazi propaganda film completed for the Red Cross (time/travel permitting);

K. Simpson NCSA Vienna

Krakow and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Death camps (ancillary to other courses as well).

Course Outline and Reading Schedule: Week #1 Topic: Course overview; Introducing the Discipline of Social Psychology and the Power of the Situation Readings: Waller-- Introduction: A Place Called Mauthausen; Hochstadt reading on confiscation of Jewish property in Vienna; and Nicholi chapter 1: Introduction to the Lives of S. Freud and C.S. Lewis Excursion: Stadtempel (Vienna Synagogue) Activities: From the Vienna Jewish Archive, an audio account of the 1938 annexation: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11983444

Week #2 Topic: Modernity as a Facilitator of Genocide (science and technology, emergence of nation-states, bureaucracy, nationalism) Readings: (a) Waller chapter 1: The Nature of Extraordinary Human Evil and "Nits Make Lice" (b) Freud excerpt (Interpretation) (c) Nicholi chapter 3: Freud and Lewis debating the essence of human nature and the tension between the rational and the faithful. Excursion: Visit to Vienna Freud Museum Activities: View Young Dr FreudLife in Vienna for a Jew before the Anschluss

Week #3 Topic: Architecture of Death: The Aryanization of Austria Readings: Waller chapter 2: Killers of Conviction: Groups, Ideology, and Extraordinary Human Evil and Dovey's Story; and Johnson, Central Europe (chapters 10 and 11) Excursion: Visit to the former Gestapo HQ at Morzinplatz Activities: View exemplary samples of Nazi propaganda used in Vienna and throughout Austria and Germany

Week #4 Topic: Social Influence: Group Influence, Persuasion (and propaganda), and Conformity Readings: Waller chapter 3: The "Mad Nazi": Psychopathology, Personality, and Extraordinary Human Evil and The Massacre at Babi Yar; and Hamann, Hitler in Vienna Excursion: Walking Tour-- Hitler in Vienna at the end of the fin-de-sicle. Activities: View excerpts from Triumph of the Will to illustrate social persuasion and propaganda processes

Week #5 Topic: Obedience and Social Control Readings: Waller chapter 4: The Dead End of Demonization and The Invasion of Dili (East Timor); and Lifton, Nazi Doctors Excursion: Schloss Hartheim, memorial to the T4 and other racial hygiene projects of the NSDAP in Austria (before this visit, please visit the online exhibit listed immediately below) Activities: Visit the internet exhibit, Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race (USHMM online exhibition) at http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/deadlymedicine/ Activities: Critical reflection paper #1 due

Week #6 Topic: The Human Condition: Prone to Destruction? Readings: Waller chapter 5: Beyond Demonization: A Model of How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing and The Tonle Sap Massacre; and Freud excerpt (Civilization)

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Excursion: Visit to the Judisches Museum (Vienna Jewish Museum; and the ruins of a 15th century synagogue) Student Journal Due (first half)

Week #7 Topic: Choiceless Choices: Victims, Perpetrators, and Collaborators Reading: Staub, The Psychology of Good and Evil Excursion: (tentative; by appt.) Simon Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (primary source documents) Activities: Tentative (TBD): Testimonies Holocaust survivor and Rescuer

Week #8 Topic: Facilitation of Genocide: Moral Disengagement, Dehumanization, Blaming the Victims Readings: Waller chapter 7: Psychological Construction of the "Other": Social Death of the Victims and The Church of Ntarama; and Edsel, The Monuments Men Excursion: Visit to the Aspanger Bahnhof (site of train deportations for Jews and other undesirables) Activities: The Nazi Attack on Culture View The Rape of Europa (discussion topic: Theft of Gustav Klimts famed Gold Portrait in 1938)

Week #9 Topic: Altruism: Bystanders, Rescue and Resistance Reading: Barnett, Bystanders: Conscience and Complicity During the Holocaust Excursions: Museum and Archives of Austrian Resistance at the Altes Rathuas (Old Town Hall)and the related controversy

Week #10 Topic: Group Influences and Conformity Readings: Waller chapter 8: Social Construction of Cruelty: Power of the Situation and The "Safe Arena" of Srebrenica Excursion: Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau (if scheduled by program) Activities: Critical reflection paper #2 due

Week #11 Topic: Memory and Memorialization Readings: Kluger, Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered Excursions and Activities: Zentralfriedhof cemetery (Walk along Stones of Memory path) and the Judenplatz (the Whiteread memorial)

Week #12 Topic: Conflict and Peacemaking Solutions and Future Directions (preventing genocide) Readings: Waller chapter 9-- Conclusion: Can We Be Delivered From Extraordinary Human Evil? Activities: Student Journal Due (second half) and turn in the Take Home Final exam (@ final class session)