The Holocaust

Key facts

  • Cost: £170
  • Credits: 10

Summary

‘Never again’ is the oft repeated warning concerning the Holocaust, the murder of approximately 6 million Jews and other persecuted groups perpetrated by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. That this atrocity proved possible raises many complex and important questions that we have a duty to face even if we struggle to fully answer them. How was Nazi hatred of these groups nurtured, normalised and then finally realised in the systemic brutality of the ‘final solution’? How much did the local population know, and resist or assist? How did the Allies find out and react? How did the post-war reckoning with these events impact Germany and the wider world? As survivor Primo Levi warns, ‘If understanding [the holocaust] is impossible, knowing is imperative, because what happened could happen again.’ 

Join this course to enrich and deepen your awareness of the history of the Holocaust, its origins, development and aftermath, from the founding of the Nazi state to the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945.  

Over a series of talks, our expert tutor will explain: 

  • the origins, course and aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust, including key figures and events 
  • The changing dynamics of war, racial policy and economics shaping the direction of Nazi persecution of minority groups 
  • the key archives, sources, and first-hand accounts available 
  • the main historical and scholarly debates concerning these events and times 

You will also have the chance to discuss and reflect on what you learn with other students and the tutor in seminars 

Choose this course if you want to learn: 

  • more about events leading up to the Holocaust, its impact and aftermath 
  • The main sources and experts that can help us understand this complex and important history 

Who is this course for?

Anyone new to studying history and interested in: 

  • the history of the Second World War, the UK and Germany, their people, and their role in the world 
  • Modern European history 
  • The history of Jewish peoples and cultures 
  • History of human rights and persecution 

Qualifications/credits

If taken for optional assessment, this course offers 10 credits at SCQF 7 / Level 1 

Assessment

This course offers the option of assessment for credit 

 - 800-word primary source analysis (25% of final grade) 

- 1,500-word essay (75% of final grade) 

Mode of study

This 10-week course will be delivered via 2-hour seminars led by a tutor

Course materials will be provided via the online learning environment, Moodle.

Prospects

  • Can begin your study of history at university level  
  • Can broaden and deepen my understanding of this complex and important history 
  • can inform your research of family history and local heritage  

Find out more

The University holds open days throughout the year where you can meet with staff to discuss our short course provision. Find out more about University of Glasgow open days