RELS 232-01, Social Issues: Holocaust, Fall, 2007

Abstract

The focus of this class is the Nazi “Final Solution of the Jewish Question,” a campaign to annihilate European Jewry, and the context, precedents and implications of this chapter in modern history. After an introduction to the phenomenon of anti-Semitism, we will deal with historical questions: What happened? When? Where? Who was involved? We will then explore the Holocaust in human perspective: What can we ascertain about the experiences and motivations of victims, perpetrators, bystanders, resistors, and rescuers? Next, we will investigate religious roots of, and religious responses to the Holocaust, considering questions such as: Is Christianity inherently anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic? and What challenges does the Holocaust represent for Jewish thought and faith? Finally, we will explore the phenomenon of Holocaust denial and relate what we have learned to other genocides.