220111 Whose Mothers? Which Fatherland? The Nazi State and Women (1933-1945) (S) (WiSe 2020/2021)

How did National Socialism imagine the role of women? And how did women react to National Socialism? Proceeding from these broad questions, this course touches upon various topics: the ruptures and continuities with Weimar in relation to emancipation, gender roles and sexuality; the theoretical debate on National Socialist Germany as a patriarchal society; the complex positioning of women between the traditional roles (Kinder, Küche, Kirche) as envisaged by the regime and the world of work. Particular attention will be accorded to the wide and varied spectrum of connections, or non-connections, between the totalitarian power and Jewish and non-Jewish women, National Socialist women and women of the Resistance, and the large and composite category of “ordinary women”. The many different attitudes will be analyzed critically through the tripartition proposed by Raul Hilberg (“victims”, “perpetrators” and “bystanders”), with a focus on the newest research on bystanding. Public female figures and the connection between racism and sexism will be touched upon, too.

The texts and the materials will be proposed both in German and in English, but the discussions in class will be held in English. There will be the possibility to write the Hausarbeit both in German and in English.

Text reading will be integrated with the vision of movies, followed by discussions on Zoom, and with a collective exploration of virtual museums, archival collections and digital resources.

Further questions or requests are welcome at this email address: teresa.malice@uni-bielefeld.de