USESE0028 Jews and Central Europe

Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Winter 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Mečislav Borák, CSc.
Institute of Central European Studies – Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Prerequisites (in Czech)
žádné
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
Presentation of principal concepts of Jewish culture and facts regarding modern development of Jews in central Europe, always in connection to European-wide and worldwide development emphasising history of Jews in conditions of pre-war Czechoslovakia and its nearest neighbours. The attention will be paid especially to development of European anti-Semitism and historical circumstances from which the phenomenon of holocaust was born. The fate of Jews in Czech lands and in whole pre-war Czechoslovakia will be compared to fate of Jews in neighbouring countries including indication of specifics of historical development in individual counties. The lectures will explain especially general concepts (racism, genocide, holocaust, assimilation, Zionism, aryanization, ghetto, emigration, deportation etc.), it will portray causes and connections of phenomena and will bring impulses for independent study. In tutorials, the students will have the opportunity to get known nearer and compare sectional examples of focused phenomena and concrete human fates, including Holocaust victims, murderers and survived Jews. The reflex of tragic fate of Jews of majority of societies in European countries will provide impulses for thought as well as current cases of recurrence of anti-Semitism or question of prevention of genocide and preservation of historical memory. The graduates should prove knowledge of causes and multi-formal historical and current forms of anti-Semitism and tendencies of its development, they should orientate in issue of Jewish European community and should be able to find and process independently further information regarding this topic. The principal form of this study is independent work with Czech literature and preparation of seminar work.
Syllabus
  • 1. Outline of resources and literature, research institutions and projects in the Czech republic and in the world
    2. Judaism, Jewish tradition, customs and culture of European Jews
    3. Jewish history and thinking from Biblical times till present day
    4. Specifics of development of European and Czechoslovak Jews
    5. Development and forms of European anti-Semitism
    6. Anti-Semitism in history of Czech society
    7. "Final Solution" of Jewish question, Holocaust
    8. The fate of Jews in former Czechoslovakia
    9. The fate of Jews in central and south-east Europe
    10. Post-war position of Jews in Czechoslovakia and in Europe, victim reparations
    11. Dispute holocaust, present anti-Semitism
    12. Current position and problems of Jews in central Europe
Literature
    required literature
  • Stín šoa nad Evropou. Usp. M. Pojar. Praha: Židovské muzeum, 2001. info
  • Židé - dějiny a kultura. Praha:Židovské muzeum, 1997. info
  • Židé v novodobých dějinách. Praha: Karolinum, 1997. info
  • KREJČOVÁ, H. Antisemitismus v posttotalitní Evropě. Praha: Nakladatelství Franze Kafky, 1993. info
  • Na křižovatce kultur. Historie československých židů. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1992. info
    recommended literature
  • Poválečná justice a národní podoby antisemitismu. Postih provinění vůči Židům před soudy a. info
  • (Sborník příspěvků). Ed. M. Borák. Praha-Opava: Ústav pro soudobé dějiny Akademie v. info
  • GRUNTOVÁ, J. Legendy a fakta o Oskaru Schindlerovi. Praha: Naše vojsko, 2002. info
  • JOHNSON, P. Dějiny židovského národa. Praha, 1995. info
  • ARENDTOVÁ, H. Eichmann v Jeruzalémě. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1995. info
  • BORÁK, M. Transport do tmy. První deportace evropských Židů. Ostrava: Moravskoslezský den, 1994. info
  • KÁRNÝ, M. "Konečné řešení". Genocida českých Židů v německé protektorátní politice. Praha: Academia, 1991. info
Teaching methods
Interactive lecture
Lecture supplemented with a discussion
Lecture with a video analysis
Assessment methods
The analysis of student 's performance
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Teacher's information
Seminar paper (7 pages) - essay or scientific article aimed at concrete topic from modern history of Jews in central Europe. The aim of the work is to verify the ability of independent searching for and processing of information including their analysis as well as ability of generalisation of one concrete problem and composition of facto-graphically and methodologically correct analytic or systemically analytic scientific text.
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2012, Winter 2013, Winter 2014.
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