Many students assume that history has nothing to do with them and therefore is a waste of their time, so finding a way to get involuntary history students truly involved in a topic is always the most challenging aspect of teaching it. As passive listeners they will remember little; as active participants they will remember more and--in at least a…

Considers Arendt's argument that Eichmann was an example of how Nazi totalitarianism changed modern concepts of evil. Concludes that an amoral bureaucracy, whose goals transcended personal judgment, involvement, or responsibility, is part of the social environment which still constitutes a threat today. (AM)

Analyzes how Germans viewed defeat after the two world wars, and how these perceptions influenced subsequent political developments. Compares questions of guilt and responsibility following the two wars. Examines the growth of democracy, its defeat after World War I, and success after World War II. Discusses the influences of the occupation…

Surveys evaluations of Immanuel Wallerstein's "The Modern World-System" by specialists in early modern history and examines Wallerstein's influence on early modern historiography. Concludes by considering some attempts to synthesize world-systems analysis with other approaches. (LS)

Examines the influence of Karl Marx's writings on Adolf Hitler, and asks whether there was a causal nexus between Russian and Nazi atrocities. Uses primary sources as a method for historical comparison. Compares Hitler's writings on antisemitism with those of Marx. (NL)

Discusses the state of Germany's armed forces in World War II. Describes Germany's progress from inferior weaponry and unprepared military at the beginning of the war to superior weapons and fighting. Stresses heavy German dependence on horse drawn supply. Credits Germany's defeat to human attrition accelerated by Hitler's operational leadership.…

Maintains the contemporary political Soviet scene poses a major intellectual challenge to Western Sovietology. Analyzes reforms of the Gorbachev era and traces the development of change and the concepts of glasnost and perestroika. Discusses recent policies, problems, and strategies. Views revolution as a prolonged process. (NL)

Analyzes primary document from German Holocaust period in which German bureaucrats described in euphemistic terms the murder of the Jews. Illustrates how the document can be used as a teaching aid by having students replace the euphemisms using words with their intended meaning, and reading it aloud in class. References include sources of…