The Holocaust in Ukraine

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The Holocaust in Ukraine: From Jewish Genocide to Russia’s “De-Nazification.” Why is the Holocaust such a controversial topic in Eastern Europe? How did the genocide of the Jewish population and its long-standing legacies shape local peoples’ identities, political views, and their relationships with neighbors? Why did Russia choose “de-Nazification” as one of the key elements of its official narrative during the 2022 war against Ukraine? Were leaders such as Romanian Ion Antonescu and the Ukrainian Stepan Bandera national heroes or villains? What lessons can be gleaned from the postwar trials of Nazis and their collaborators and how these lessons can inform our understanding of contemporary war crimes? This course will help students find answers to these and other questions, while relying on a wide array of sources, including oral histories, films, and literary texts. Course also listed as REES 462.