This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
Focusing on the history of modern Germany in the Twentieth Century, the module examines major changes and continuities in the development of a highly advanced, industrialised but also militarised European nation state which played a central role in shaping the modern European geographical and political landscape. The module explores the end of the Imperial Monarchy after the end of the First World War in 1918, the role of the Allied reparation demands, hyper-inflation and political instability of the Weimar Republic, and the rise of National Socialism and the Third Reich during the 1930s. The course will chart the influence of anti-Semitism, racial eugenics and geopolitics in Germany's quest for world domination during the Second World War and assess the legacy of the Holocaust in defining post-war German identity and society. By examining the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the module will take a critical look at the politics, ideology and day-to-day history (Alltagsgeschichte) of East and West German society during the Cold War, and explore the underlying factors which led to the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and subsequent German reunification.
Private Study: 30
Contact Hours: 270
Total: 300
Autumn or Spring
Main assessment methods
Essay 1 (3,000 words) – 40%
Essay 2 (3,000 words) – 40%
Seminar Presentation (10 mins) – 20%
Reassessment methods
100% Coursework (3,000 words)
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices.
The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages: (https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html).
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate a critical understanding of the historiography and history of Germany between the end of the First World War in 1918 and German reunification in 1990.
2 Apply historical methodologies and approaches to analyse a range of primary and secondary sources on the subject, and where possible, visual and material evidence.
3 Demonstrate the necessary skills to organise, contextualise, analyse, evaluate and communicate their knowledge of modern German history.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate a critical understanding of different historical approaches and degrees of bias as well as of the methodological complexities in the historical record itself.
2 Demonstrate analytical and reflective skills and the ability to express complex ideas and arguments orally and in writing, skills which can be transferred to other areas of study and employment.
3 Demonstrate effective communication, presentation and information technology skills.
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