70 Post WWII Soviet invasion of Germany left terrain completely devastated Germany was also economically struggling 60 million casualties over the course of the war 23rd of which were civilians including 6 million Jewish people ID: 647652
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Slide1
The Reader
Courtney Allred, Ketaki Deo, Tarika Sivakumar, Vanessa Ma, Kristine ChenSlide2
70%Slide3
Post WWII
Soviet invasion of Germany left terrain completely devastated
Germany was also economically struggling
60 million casualties over the course of the war (2/3rd of which were civilians, including 6 million Jewish people)Slide4Slide5
Yalta Conference
GOALS:
a) destructure Germany
b) administer policy of denazification- getting rid of Nazi cultureSlide6
Initially, the Allied powers played huge role in (West) German internal affairs
RECOVERYSlide7
RECOVERY PT. 1
Administered
Marshall Plan
to help struggling Germany
called
Wirtschaftswunder
, or “economic miracle”)
Several 5 Year Plans in GDRSlide8
RECOVERY PT. 2
Several trials against Nazis
Nuremburg TrialsSlide9
Eventually, German became far more involved in the process of recovery
GERMAN INVOLVEMENTSlide10
Germans became more aware of horrors of past & established pacifist attitude
Large protests in the 1950s-1990s when Germany/GDR began to build armies for NATO/Warsaw Pact
GERMAN INVOLVEMENT PT 1Slide11Slide12
Trials where German judges persecuted anyone with Nazi affiliation (~70% of population)
It was not uncommon to see a friend/relative at trial
GERMAN INVOLVEMENT PT 2Slide13
Recovery process also involved 2nd generation
Attempt to teach children about horrors of past
(1946 documentary)
GERMAN INVOLVEMENT PT 3Slide14
How do you teach an entire generation about the war crimes that their parents, grandparents, etc. committed?
About
50%
of German youth interviewed today had little understanding of what the Holocaust was, as the lesson plan focuses more on the Third Reich as a whole.
Is this right?
Is there any
good
way to teach a genocide?
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT...Slide15
Post WWII
German
Culture
Denazification
(
Entnazifizierung
): Allied initiative to rid Germany of any remnants of Nazi ideology from German society, culture, press, economy, and politics Slide16
Post WWII: Denazification
removed past Nazi party
members from positions of power
restricted past Nazis to manual labor
removed physical symbols of Nazism (swastika)
millions of Germans questioned, tried, and punishedSlide17
Split into 5 categories
V.
Persons Exonerated
-No sanctions.
IV.
Followers
- Possible restrictions on travel, employment, political rights, plus fines.
III.
Lesser Offenders
- Placed on probation for 2–3 years with a list of restrictions. No internment.
II.
Offenders
- Activists, Militants, Profiteers, or Incriminated Persons- Immediate arrest and imprisonment up to ten years, plus reparations or reconstruction work
I.
Major Offenders
- Subject to immediate arrest, death, imprisonment with or without hard labourSlide18Slide19
Post WWII: Denazification
US Army also used media to denazify
By July 1946- Information Control Division of the US Army took control of German newspapers, radio stations, theaters, cinemas, magazines, book publishers, and book dealers and printers
art related/dedicated to Nazism also taken into custodySlide20Slide21
Post WWII: Collective Guilt
Kollektivschuld
- idea of “collective guilt” that was popular post-Holocaust period.
later established, did not occur right away
increased sense of responsibility after footage of concentration camps releasedSlide22
Case Study
The Case of Maria Kaufman
Born in a small town 50 miles north of Berlin on May 26th, 1921.
Loving parents and five sisters - Brother fought during World War I and died
Maria’s family experienced extreme poverty due to the German Great Depression post World War I. Slide23
Not able to receive an education due to low social standing - Maria tried to hide her illiteracy. Films of German Propaganda and Hitler’s speeches emerge and for once she feels more than adequate; she feels superior.
Recruited by Hitler’s Youth
Formerly a victim of insecurity, felt important being part of Hitler’s ‘superior race’Slide24
War Crime
Helped transport Jewish people in between concentration camps.
In one case, Maria transported women and children to a building that was gassed by other German officers while the prisoners were sleeping.
She claims not to have been involved in the initiation of the gassing. Slide25
ORDER IN THE COURT
Examine perspectives.Slide26
Post War German Literature
During WWII, the Nazi party censored much of German Literature and exiled many authors. Post WWII, many authors who experienced the nazification from both sides emerged.
Because Germany was split into the Western and Eastern sectors, literature advanced at different paces due to the divide.
The censorship apparent in the USSR after the Russian Revolution was apparent in East Germany, contrasting the freedoms the West Germans had.Slide27
West Germany
Heinrich Böll (West Germany) 1917-1985
Refused to join Hitler’s Youth
Credited with helping revitalize German Literature
Günter Grass (West Germany) 1927-2015
Was a prisoner of war in America
The Tin Drum; most popular work, explores magical realism - “fables portray the forgotten face of history”
Awarded Nobel Prize in 1999
Holocaust Literature
Survivors of the Holocaust began publishing their works - narrations of the horrorsSlide28
East Germany (GDR)
Greatly influenced by socialist realism and the communist party in the USSR
East German literature less advanced than West German literature
Provides the most accurate insight into life in East Germany
Post- denazification - very anti-fascist. Written by many authors exiled by the Nazis
Reflects Socialist Realism (1949-1961) - culture, art, educating the massesSlide29
Popular Terms and Themes
Aufbau - “building up” - elevates the status of an ordinary working man to that of a hero
Vergangenheitsbewältigung - the process of coming to terms with the past
Major Post WWII Themes -
characters with wavering identities
recall of memories from during the war
opinions on the reunification of Germany
pride (or lack of it) within the German culture
shame caused by the HolocaustSlide30
Questions to consider as you read...
How does Schlink incorporate some of these themes? (ie. pride and shame?)
How does Michael’s identity develop throughout the course of the novel? What role does Hanna play in these developments?Slide31
Bernhard Schlink
July 6, 1944 in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, GermanySlide32
Careers
Also wrote many detective novels
main character’s name = Selb, play on German word for “self” (selbst)
first is titled
Self’s Punishment
, cowritten with Walter Popp in 2004 (British)
The Reader
: 1995
1988 became judge at Constitutional Court of North Rhine-Westphalia
Professor of public law/philosophy of law at Humboldt University (Berlin) since 2006Slide33
Self-Identification
German father, Swiss mother
Youngest of four
Married Hadwig Arnold, had son (Jan), then divorced
Sees himself as part of the “Second generation”, post WWII
Father lost job as theology professor b/c of Nazis, became pastor afterward
“I am now much more distanced than my parents and some of my siblings from the church. But I still belong and I want to belong to the church”Slide34
More Identification
From a friend: “We never talked about girl or anything like that, our subject was how to live and other highbrow things, such as the meaning of life. On our first meeting I remember arguing with him [Schlink] all the way home about whether or not Germany was the guilty party at the start of the first world war”
Schlink: “I always hated, and still hate, mass events” Slide35
His perspective:
“It is definitely not a book about the Holocaust. It is a book about how the second generation attempted to come to terms with the Holocaust and the role in it played by their fathers’ generation.”
Main theme: Generational divide and accommodating for historySlide36
“A masterly work that [...] speaks straight to the heart.” George Steiner (US Critic)
“the vilest novel I have read [...] There is a lie in the marrow of the Reader.” Cynthia Ozick
"no-one could recommend The Reader without having a tin ear for fiction and a blind eye for evil". Frederick RaphaelSlide37
Cultural Controversy and Reception of the Book
Case Study: Many German high schoolers read this book in their curriculum. How might their understanding and reception of this book be different than yours?
Why do you think their teachers choose this book? What is Schlink trying to teach?Slide38
Why does Schlink sexualize a generational divide?
Demonstrates the seductiveness of power
sexualized personal history
secret family heritage of Natzism
deformation of post WWII Germany and the burden of guilt the preceding generation deals with.Slide39
As you read ask yourself:
How is my cultural lense effecting my perceptions?
What is the role of shame?
How is silence used? Does this supress the generation preceding Nazi Germany?
Are you responsible for the people you love? If so who?
How do each of these characters evolve?
What similarities and difference are there between Michael and his father? Does this change overtime?
Can you ever escape the past?Slide40
Is this a love story?
Scale of 1-5 strongly disagree to strongly agree
What others think:
from student generated websites: “All saw the relationship… as a love story; some did not notice, others downplayed the age difference between the partners.”
Why is this important? (note all the graphic descriptions Schlink includes)