AP/RLST 3850 6.00

The Final Solution: Perspectives of the Holocaust

The attempt of the Nazis to annihilate world Jewry was in many ways unprecedented in human annals. It was a turning-point in history, the way for which was prepared by revolutionary political, social, technological, and philosophical developments. In other ways, however, it was a not unpredictable outgrowth of the past. Although analysis may be difficult and painful, especially for survivors, the Holocaust must be analyzed and understood if those who live on are to learn from it. Such analysis involves the examination of different aspects of life, using the tools of the historian, the theologian, the literary critic, and, to a lesser extent, the social scientist. The course is divided into several sections, each of which approaches a different aspect of the Holocaust: the historical and philosophical background, the psychological and historical reality, and the religious questions that arise in its aftermath.

RELIGIOUS TRADITION(S) COVERED: Judaism

Cross-listed as AP/HIST 3321 6.00.

Course Category: Self, Society and Other