Overview
Students will read the equally groundbreaking works in Christopher Browning’s Ordinary Men
and Wendy Lower’s Hitler’s Furies as part of a study of the Holocaust portion of our course.
Together, these works will provide an overview into the social-historical aspects of the mindset
of the German perpetrators of the Holocaust. REMINDER: It is the intention of this
assignment for students to compose a historiographical essay discussing the significance of
Browning and Lower’s respective works and their place within the historical study of the
Holocaust. For those unfamiliar with how to approach a historiographical essay, a brief
overview can be found at https://www.agnesscott.edu/center-for-writing-and-
speaking/handouts/historiographical-essays.html
The Assignment
Students will use what they learn from these two monographs to compose an eight-page (8)
(minimum) to ten-page (10) synthesis essay in which they will analyze and combine the authors’
arguments into a discussion over the social aspects of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
Through this, students will consider the general question regarding the Holocaust: How could it
happen?
This question continues to plague the very legacy of The Holocaust. How did the Nazis
convince millions to not only go along with their plans to exterminate Europe’s Jewish
populations, but convince millions more than it was at minimum acceptable? As you will see,
both Browning and Lower attempt to answer this question of how seemingly ordinary, everyday
Germans ultimately collaborated directly or indirectly in one of the most horrific moments in
human history. Incidentally, both historians look at the “male” and “female” components of this
question as well in an effort to explain how and why Germans across both genders so willingly,
and even excitedly, participated in the mass murder of millions of people.
Students will want to pay close attention to the social backgrounds of the individuals Browning
and Lower focus on. They will also want to consider how each author presents their case studies
as a picture of the larger whole of German society under the Nazis. Particularly in the case of
Lower, students will want to pay very close attention to how women are “brought into” the larger
discussion of the Holocaust. Students will also want to find their own sources (articles,
reviews, etc) to incorporate into their larger discussion.
Questions to consider when completing your assignment should be:
1) Who are the authors focusing on? How do they feel they represent the larger picture of
Nazi Germany?
2) What are the authors’ main arguments about their respective subjects? How do these
compare and contrast to each other’s work?
3) In the case of Browning’s work, who were these “Ordinary Men” and what does he
reveal about them and their role in the Holocaust? What stood out about them?
4) In Lower’s work, why is it so significant that she emphasizes the need to “bring in”
women into the discussion of the Holocaust? Why is it so shocking to see women as part
of the perpetrators, and even in the cases presented, possibly more brutal than their male
counterparts?
5) How do other authors portray Browning’s and Lower’s works? Why are studies such as
these so critical to our understanding of the social history behind the Holocaust? (You
will need to find book reviews discussing these works)
