For Junger’s Storm of Steel

Guidelines for HIS 101 Paper
*** DUE May 8, 2020 ***

• This paper is to be handed in by the above due date. It must be submitted via the term paper drop box and the HIS 100 SUNY Gen Ed Assessment link (both in the “Term Paper Links” folder on Blackboard).

• The paper constitutes 30% of your course grade.

• In order for you to receive a passing grade on this assignment, all of the requirements delineated below must be met.

• Respond to ONE question from the list below (additional papers can be submitted for extra credit). When responding to the question, your paper must present a clear, evidence-supported thesis and must reflect your ability to “develop a well-reasoned argument” and demonstrate your ability to “identify, analyze, and evaluate the arguments” of major writers and authorities who write and publish in the field of history (FLCC’s Critical Thinking Competency). To accomplish this, it is necessary to muster specific evidence, and as many concrete and relevant examples as possible, from credible/reliable historical sources. 50% of your cited information must be derived from one of the assigned course monographs (Jordan, Talty, Zola, Junger, Gehlen, Roland, Browning, Koestler or Ciszek) and the other 50% will come from additional sources (see below).

• Remain focused on the question and do not provide any unnecessary background or unrelated material. Do not summarize the book or give a chapter by chapter recounting. Be specific and concrete at all times.

• Your paper must reflect your knowledge and use of “basic research techniques,” and your “ability to gather, evaluate and synthesize information and data from a variety of historical sources. In addition to your critical analysis of your chosen course monograph, you must utilize and reference a minimum of five additional sources (50% of the total citations made). This does NOT include the Berenson texts assigned for this course.

• You should utilize both printed/published and electronic sources. In order to ensure the credibility of your electronic or internet-derived sources web addresses should end in .gov or .edu. Do NOT use Wikipedia, Shmoop.com (or similarly potentially unreliable sources) as well as insubstantial, short-cut sites like Encyclopedia Britannica etc. Legitimate academic sources can be obtained via the JSTOR database (the FLCC Library maintains a link to this site). As a rule, please avoid .com websites. If you are uncertainty about the legitimacy of a source, please ask your instructor.

• Primary source material should be represented in your list of sources. These are original/eyewitness material rendered during the historical period you are investigating (rather than more recently). These should be properly cited in your bibliography (see below). You need at least one major primary source in your paper.

• You must use an appropriate method of citation. When making a specific reference to material contained in your sources, please use the MLA format as your method of citation (indicating where the information was found). This style should be used for both parenthetical citations and your bibliography (works cited page). A useful guide can be found on the FLCC Library website at: http://library.flcc.edu/MLA8_FLCC.pdf
You are also free to use the Chicago Style.

• Your paper should contain a properly-formatted bibliographic (works cited) page, which reveals the various sources you consulted during the production of your paper: the monograph you’ve selected from the course booklist, as well as your additional five primary and secondary sources.

• Title Page should include: Your name, Course prefix and section number, date and a title for your paper.

• Your paper should be written in the third person. It is not an opinion paper (avoid phrases like “I think” or “I believe”) and should not be presented in the first person. In developing your historical case, you need to rely upon the work of acknowledged, expert historians. Your tone should always be formal and colloquialisms should be avoided.

• The past tense should be applied when discussing historical material.

• It should be a minimum of 5 pages in length (exclusive of a title page and a bibliographic page), double-spaced and presented in 12 point Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman font. Margins should not exceed 1 inch on all sides. No images or other “fillers” should be used (except on the title page, if you wish).

• Pages are to be numbered (except the title page and bibliography, which should contain no numbers).

• Remember to proofread your work thoroughly before handing it in. The spell checker on your computer can only identify some errors, but usually not grammar and syntax. A good essay is one that is coherent, well-organized, well-referenced and flows smoothly. Papers containing a large number of spelling and grammatical errors will be returned as “unreadable.”

• Your term paper should be your own work and there should be no collaboration or division of labor with any other students (even if they are in the same section).

• As part of FLCC’s ongoing SUNY General Education Assessment, you will be required to submit a copy of your term paper via a Blackboard link. This version should not contain any of your personal information.

• Do not submit your paper without stapling it first.

• Plagiarism will result in an F being given for this assignment. Please refer to the attached handout (which defines plagiarism). The College’s policy on academic dishonesty is referenced in the Student Code of Conduct, which can be accessed online at www.flcc.edu/offices/judicial. Please familiarize yourself with this policy.

• The FLCC Writing Center (Room 2441) and the Academic Success Center (third floor of the FLCC Library) have personnel available here to assist you in the production of your paper.

Questions (Select ONE):
Select ONE of the options below (1-9), and respond to ALL of the questions associated with your chosen monograph. When choosing a question make sure that your subject does not significantly overlap with your in-class essay exam topic.

1) For Jordan’s, The King’s Trial, please respond to the following:
Why did the French try and execute King Louis XVI in 1792-3? What were the charges levied against him and what was the King’s defense? Was Robespierre correct in saying that “the king must die so that the country can live”?

2) For Talty’s Illustrious Dead, please respond to the following:
Discuss how typhus fever contributed to the defeat of Napoleon’s Grand Armee in Russia in 1812.

3) For Zola’s Germinal, please respond to the following:
The era of the Industrial Revolution was a time of unprecedented hardship, poverty, degradation and exploitation for many of those in the working classes. How did the experience of the coal miners of northern France in the 1860s, as depicted in Zola’s book, reflect these harsh realities? How did the coal miners try to improve their situation and why did all these efforts ultimately fail?

4) For Junger’s Storm of Steel, please respond to the following:
Junger’s book is considered one of the best first-hand accounts of the First World War experience and is based upon the author’s own wartime experiences. How does the book deal with the following themes:
1) Hyper-nationalism: love of country/Fatherland above all else and the willingness to sacrifice one’s life for it.
2) Modern war: Unlike the romanticized/heroic ideals of 19th century conflict, WWI was history’s first “modern” war, where the human factor is subordinated to a range of new industrial technologies and weapons systems.
3) Total War: Unlike earlier conflicts, WWI involved the total mobilization of all the resources and manpower of a nation (all social classes, both genders and all ages) for the purposes of waging war. WWI was a war of annihilation, in which all sides were dedicated to the comprehensive defeat of their opponents. Battles were unprecedentedly large, long and costly in human lives (including civilians).

5) For Gehlen’s Jungvolk, please respond to the following:
The Second World War was the second “total war” in human history, in many cases more destructive and comprehensive than the Great War of 1914-18. It involved the complete mobilization of combatant societies for the purposes of waging war. This war effort included all social classes and groups, all ages and both genders, and also embraced a range of political, social, cultural and religious organizations and institutions (Boy Scouts, academia, scientific community, the Church etc.). Unlike 18th and 19th century conflicts, WW2, like WW1, was a war of annihilation, a colossal struggle in which the cumulative energy and resources of those engaged were dedicated to the comprehensive defeat of their opponent, which included the destruction of its political system/regime and the redrawing of his borders. Ideology was key in motivating participants and in sustaining their efforts. Hearts and minds were engaged as much as bodies (through propaganda and censorship). The traditional distinctions between civilian and soldier, homeland and fighting front were erased, and all citizens became, in effect, combatants. If a young person or woman could not join the army he/she could still participate in the war effort through fundraising, blood drives, work in war factories, joining the home defense corps etc. Wartime conditions imposed new privations upon civilians, including the scarcity and rationing of food, clothing and other essential items, working long hours, and exposure to enemy bombing attacks. War aims/objectives were unlimited, as were the means employed to achieve them. As a consequence, both army sizes and casualty lists attained unprecedented heights. Using Gehlen’s book, Jungvolk, how was the phenomenon of “total war” evident in the experience of wartime Germany (at the fighting front and on the home front)?

6) For Roland’s Life in the Third Reich, please respond to the following:
What were the various reasons why Germans joined the Nazi party and supported Hitler? Once established in power, how did the Nazi regime “insinuate itself into every aspect of citizens’ lives?” How was dissent/resistance to the regime manifested and did such efforts succeed?

7) For Browning’s Ordinary Men, please respond to the following:
What motivated thousands of “ordinary men,” such as the personnel of Police Reserve Battalion 101, to become perpetrator/killers during the Holocaust in Poland? How was the Final Solution implemented in Poland and Russia?

8) For Koestler’s Darkness at Noon please respond to the following:
How did the Communist Party in Russia justify the use of totalitarian methods and state brutality to achieve its goal of a classless socialist utopia?

9) For Ciszek’s With God in Russia please respond to the following:
Why was Christianity banned in Stalinist Russia? How did the regime deal with religious and political dissidents?