About this day
For year 11, 12 and 13 students
This fascinating and eye-opening day will include a diverse range of relevant talks designed to challenge, entertain and enthuse students studying democracy and dictatorship in twentieth-century Germany. Focusing on the period 1918 – 1945, the programme is specifically designed to appeal to A-level, IB and year 11 GCSE students preparing for the Edexcel, AQA and OCR specifications. Delivered by world-class historians and leading experts, presentations will cover topics on the aftermath of WW1, the Depression and the Weimar Republic through to the rise of Hitler, propaganda and control in Nazi Germany and the impact of WW2. There will be interactive elements throughout the day with all talks drawing on recent cutting-edge academic research and presented in an engaging and illuminating way.
The day will include two optional lunchtime examination sessions for both A-level and GCSE students, providing first-hand guidance and insights to help boost students’ confidence and grades. Useful handouts containing key information on the topics covered, suggested further reading together with examination advice will be provided and there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions throughout the day.
Programme & speakers
The potential of the Weimar Republic Claudia Siebrecht, University of Sussex
As the far-right advances in states across Europe today, the Weimar Republic continues to represent, for some, a warning from history, for others, a pre-determined course of historical events. The failure of the first German Democracy, enabling the rise and eventual rule of the Nazi Party, is not easily understood. It is often easily explained, however, with references to the lost war, the Versailles Peace Treaty and the collapse of the economy all of which appeared to determine its outcome. Yet the social, cultural, political potential of the Weimar Republic tell different stories of development, ambivalence and potential. This talk will explore how lives were lived and change was envisaged and fought for in Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s.
About Dr Claudia Siebrecht
Claudia Siebrecht is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Sussex. She is a cultural historian of war with a particular focus on Germany and recently published a chapter on war memory in the Oxford Handbook of the Weimar Republic. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Why did Germans vote for Hitler? Alexander Watson, Goldsmiths, University of London
On 30th January 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany, the first fateful step in the creation of a totalitarian Nazi dictatorship. Although backroom deals with political elites brought Hitler his chancellorship, it was the Nazis’ extraordinary electoral successes that made possible their rise to power. Since July 1932, when an absolute majority of Germans had voted for anti-democratic parties on the right and left and nearly 14 million, 37 per cent of the electorate, had voted NSDAP, Hitler’s party had become by far the most popular in Germany. This session draws on new research to explore why Germans voted for Hitler. It examines how religion, class, gender and unemployment shaped the constituencies which supported the Nazis, and it also reconstructs how propaganda, passions and a polarised ‘culture war’ brought about Hitler’s rise, birthing a new age of extremes.
About Professor Alexander Watson
Alexander Watson is Professor of History at Goldsmiths, University of London and an award-winning author of many books and papers on East-Central Europe and Britain during the First World War. His most recent book, The Fortress: The Great Siege of Przemysl, was hailed as a masterpiece by The Times newspaper. He is currently working on a book on Weimar voting and the collapse of democracy.
Discrimination and racial persecution in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust Mary Fulbrook, University College London
How did the persecution of Jews and other groups in Nazi Germany develop into a European-wide programme of mass murder? This lecture examines the radicalisation of Nazi racial policies and practices in the light of recent historical research.
About Professor Mary Fulbrook
Mary Fulbrook is Professor of German History at UCL and a Fellow of the British Academy. A powerful and passionate speaker, she has written widely on German history, including both popular textbooks and specialist monographs. Among her many books are the Fraenkel Prize-winning “A Small Town near Auschwitz: Ordinary Nazis and the Holocaust” and, most recently, “Reckonings: Legacies of Nazi Persecution and the Quest for Justice”, which was winner of the 2019 Wolfson Prize.
Backing Hitler? Revisiting Coercion and Consent in Nazi Germany Christopher Dillon, King's College London
To what extent did ordinary Germans support the National Socialist regime? Nazi propaganda claimed that the population quickly overcame the deep divisions of the Weimar Republic and united behind Adolf Hitler. But the true picture is hard to judge in a ruthless police state where any criticism of the regime was a criminal office. This lecture will address these questions, focusing mainly on the period between 1933 and 1939
About Dr Christopher Dillon
Dr Christopher Dillon is Senior Lecturer in Modern German History at King’s College London. He has authored many books and articles on the history of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Higher Education Academy.
Hitler’s Foreign Policy: Righting the Wrongs of Versailles or Launching a Bid for World Domination? Richard J Evans, Historian and author
There was a widespread feeling in Britain and France that the peace settlement in 1918-19 had treated Germany unjustly by imposing huge financial reparations, reducing German territory, rejecting union with German-speaking Austria, and restricting armaments. When Hitler came to power in 1933 he began revising these conditions, rearming, and merging with German-speaking areas such as Austria. If Britain and France accepted this, would he be ‘appeased’? This talk argues that his aims went far beyond this, a fact that Britain and France took too long to realise.
About Sir Richard J Evans
Sir Richard J Evans is one of the world’s leading historians of Nazi Germany. He has published widely, winning numerous prizes, including for his large-scale history of the Third Reich, which appeared in 15 languages. As one of the world’s leading experts of Nazi Germany, he regularly appears on radio and TV documentaries. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Literature.