Just over 50 years ago, the history of the Jews in Europe almost ended. Nazi Germany in World War Two murdered more than 6 million Jews and countless others lost their families, their livelihoods and/or were displaced from their homes. Anti-Semitism, defined by Webster's as hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious or racial group, took on the dubious distinction of being a paradigm for racial hatred throughout the world. The dark shadow of the Holocaust continues to hang over our civilization.
And yet, the history of the Jews in Europe did not begin and end in Auschwitz. We need to know both how we got there and what happened afterward. Therefore, this course will delve into the profound social, political, and economic transformation of Jewish life in 20th century Europe. Topics will include: the legacy of emancipation, the rise of modern anti-Semitism, the impact of modernization, the effects of political re-configuration, the rise of socialism, Zionism, destruction and renewal after 1945.