Digital Modules

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Digital Modules produced during Multicultural Interdisciplinary Handbook
(MIH Comenius Multilateral Project)

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Political migration from Germany during National Socialism: the case of Thomas Mann
(Siegen University, 2011) Kuhn, Bärbel; Fenske, Uta; Guse, Klaus-Michael; Heck, Volker
Thomas Mann tried to deal with the subject of fascism quite early. As a Nobel Prize Winner and a symbol of “decent Germany “ he was very soon asked by other exiles to take a firm stand against national socialism and to support other less known exiles who did that. Thomas Mann did not comply with this request. The document of 1936, published in the Zürcher Zeitung was his first public statement against National Socialism. The German administration was thinking a lot about Thomas Mann, wondering whether to expatriate him or not. The Foreign Office was against it because they feared an enormous loss of the reputation of Germany. However, after the publication of Thomas Mann’s letter they started the expatriation process. Still, it is interesting that nobody was in a hurry to do that. They were awaiting the Olympic Games, so they did not want the possible damage to the reputation to impair the enormous propaganda success of the event. They were also afraid of the boycotts of the Olympic Games, which should be avoided by all means.
Show the War. Illustrated Press – between propaganda and a photo report
(UPEC - University of East Paris Créteil - IUFM, 2011) Baldner, Jean Marie
World War I (WWI) is considered as the first modern war because of the use of new weapons and massive violence. Illustrated press, especially L’Illustration and Le Miroir, which applied “brainwashing” tactics during the first months of WWI in order to present the enemies as devils, offered realistic documentation, even if sometimes it served some prearranged purposes. Illustrated press published official military photographs and amateur photographs in order to show war conditions to the readers.
Liberated prisoners of Nazi camps freed in 1945 and 1946
(Społeczna Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania, 2011) Czekaj, Katarzyna
Establishment of a network of Nazi concentration and extermination (death) camps during World War II was the most horrible manifestation of human bestiality in world’s history. In Hitler’s plan, extermination camps were supposed to be used to eliminate the whole nations. Criminal activities in the camps that were organized mainly in Easter-Central Europe and in Germany were stopped only by advent of the Allies who systematically liberated successive “death factories”. This way they freed several thousand prisoners, who had been devoid of hope for survival. But did “freedom” mean the same as “liberation” for people who experienced evil that occurred in Nazi death camps? Was it possible for them to return to normal life? Could the "normal world" exist after the tragedy of war and destruction?
The liberation of Nazi camps by the Allies
(UPEC - University of East Paris Créteil - IUFM, 2011) Mesnard, Eric
When soldiers of Allies army freed Europe, they discovered the scale of atrocities committed by the occupants, but, it took several weeks to understand the realities of the Nazi concentration camp system and the specificity of the Genocide that suffered the Jewish populations in Europe. “The sites liberation and the liberation of people should be distinguished. Indeed, many times, as the back of the front line, the SS commander decided the prior evacuation of camps with all their inmates…” (François Bédarida, « le phénomène concentrationnaire » in Bédarida François, Gervereau Laurent, La déportation. Le système concentrationnaire nazi, Paris, Musée d’histoire contemporaine/ BDIC, 1995). In the East, Soviets « freed » killing center (Sobibor, Belzec, Treblinka) which had been destroyed by the SS in 1943. In July 1944, Soviet armies passed through Treblinka and Sobibor without knowing that hundreds of thousands of Jews were gassed and burned. When Soviet soldiers got in the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau on the 27th of January 1945, they only found 7 000 survivors because on the 18th and 19th of January, the SS evacuated the camp with 58 000 prisoners who suffered the hardships of the “walks of death”. However, testimonials and the study of facilities confided to an inquiry commission allowed the awareness of what really happened at Auschwitz (« 1945: Libération des camps et découverte de l’univers concentrationnaire; crime contre l’humanité et génocide » Mémoire vivante n° 43, octobre 2004). In the West, American troops entered the Natzweiler-Struthof camp (Alsace) where inmates were evacuated. In spring 1945, the allied troops advanced rapidly. The evacuations of prisoners by the SS happened in appalling conditions. In April and May 1945, discoveries kept going…and, gave liberators nightmare visions: “It’s wrong to say that we didn’t know about Nazi concentration camps’ horrors before their liberation…But there is a difference between knowing and seeing… Now we cannot look away any longer. The abomination is under our eyes with all its nauseating details. Doors of Hell are open. ” Allies, that were sure to win against the Nazi Germany, decided to spread by the press, screened news and the radio, images of mass graves and evidence of survivors. But, the specific fate of Jewish wasn’t taken into account. When the extermination is evoked, it was associated with “Nazi crimes” as well as the economic European looting and the “deportation of workers” in Germany.
Euroregions
(Università Ca’ Foscari – Venezia, 2011) Consonni, Anna
A Euroregion is a transational cooperation structure between two or more territories of different countries of European Union (one in Italy and one in France, for instance) or of Europe (an Italian region and a Swiss canton, for instance). This cooperation main aim is to promote shared interests of borderlands populations. Euroregions shall be acknowledged by all nations involved, as their operating skills match those of their local authorities. Their characteristics and statute, as well as their functioning are not always the same everywhere. At the present time, there are more than 60 euro regions to be divided in 4 different main categories.
Template for the Digital Modules
(2011) García Holgado, Alicia; García Peñalvo, Francisco J.; Seoane Pardo, Antonio M.; Zangrando, Valentina
The Spring of Nations (1848)
(Społeczna Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania, 2011) Hadrysiak, Sylwia
The Spring of Nations is a term used to describe a series of revolutionary and national upris-ings, which occurred in Europe from 1848 to 1849. The concept of "nations" refers to societies seeking to participate in the ruling, to social classes looking to improve their living conditions and to nationalities struggling for autonomy, independence or unification within one state. During the Spring of Nations three revolutionary trends were thus revealed: related to political, social or national system. Revolutionary explosions of 1848 - 1849 covered almost the whole of Europe. There were no instances of it in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and in the Russian Empire. On the Iberian Peninsula only peasant revolts took place. Revolutionary movements in one country affected other nations. Information about events spread rapidly, leading to more uprisings. Many participants of the Spring of Nations were active in several countries.
Polish political emigration in the nineteenth century
(Społeczna Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania, 2011) Czekaj, Katarzyna
The materials "Polish political emigration in the nineteenth century" may be used during investigation of subjects related to Polish history as well as political and social changes in Europe after the Congress of Vienna. It seems desirable to point out universal and everlasting character of the phenomenon of political exile and harassment of people, also today, because of their opinions and beliefs. The materials were arranged in such a way that the history of Polish immigrants (not only after uprisings) are presented against similar movements in Europe that resulted from anachronistic (comparing to the changes launched in Europe by the French Revolution) social and political order established by the Congress of Vienna. Special attention is paid to presentation of the political diversity of the environment of refugees, the perception of this movement among the societies of the continent, and the convergence of the goals of political exiles of various nationalities. In addition to the political objectives of their activities, the author tried to draw attention to some aspects of daily life in exile. Presenting the importance of artistic creations of emigrants, to propagate the objectives of the environment struggle among the international public opinion, was also considered an important issue.
Urbanization: Urban and Rural Development in the 19th Century
(UNA - University of Augsburg, 2011) Kortler, Lena
With the beginning of the industrialization in the Great Britain, fundamental changes in the lives of the worldwide population began. By means of intense overseas trade, innovations rapidly spread on the European mainland. A well-expanded transport network and a sound infrastructure, factories, raw material, employees and employers are only some factors required for the success of industrialization. Due to the technical innovations, the life of the population changed. Many people moved from the countryside to the cities, in hope for work and better opportunities to earn money. The primary sector gradually lost its importance. Urbanization is a result of industrialization. Towns had to brace themselves for their permanently growing populations. The supply of the inhabitants with water and electricity had to be ensured, just like the connection to a transport system and adequate housing space. The simple worker, however, could not afford big dwellings due to his small allowance, so that his family had to live in cramped housing space. Particularly strong urbanization can be observed in areas in which factories and high raw material deposits exist, like, for example, the Ruhr region, where, consequently, many workers were needed in order to work on and process these.
Urbanization: Düsseldorf: The reorganization of the city after WWII
(Siegen University, 2011) Kuhn, Bärbel; Fenske, Uta; Guse, Klaus-Michael; Heck, Volker; Klotz, Anna-Lena
After WWII, Düsseldorf was mostly destroyed. The reorganization of the city after WWII followed – at least partly – plans that originated in the Third Reich, aiming at a car-friendly city. The economic development and the individualization of traffic required a new traffic concept.
Propaganda in World War I
(GRIAL - Universidad de Salamanca, 2011) Puente López de Pablo, Antonio
World War I involved the biggest military confrontation throughout Human History until that time. The confronted countries tried by all means to justify the armed conflict to their populations, which would suffer the most terrible consequences. In order to achieve this goal massive propaganda was used for the first time. All the countries without any exception got into an advertising campaign aimed at gaining the mass control in their corresponding states , so that the country could be gathered in front of the common enemy and guarantee victory which, otherwise, would practically be impossible.
The transformations of towns at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In the suburbs, the Zone
(UPEC - University of East Paris Créteil - IUFM, 2011) Baldner, Jean Marie
The urban growth and the industrialization in the second half of the 19th century attracted excluded populations to big urban areas when old familial and social solidarities didn’t work anymore. In towns, homeless and unemployed people were numerous. At the town’s gates, often in the former military area, the “zone” attracted unemployed and homeless people and families who earned their living as scavengers, beggars or sometimes pillagers. The “zone” worried the upper middle class and the governments, and was frequently depicted in literature, which either praised the liberty of the “zoniers” or despised them due to the danger they posed.
Rome, the city
(UPEC - University of East Paris Créteil - IUFM, 2011) Mendibil, Didier
A feature of the geography of Europe lies in an early and extensive urbanization. As early as in the antiquity, the city of Roma was the first and most famous illustration. Therefore we can be tempted to consider it as the archetypal European city so far without ignoring its irreducible originality. In this town, sometimes called "Urbs", the city, is it possible to find a little of all cities in Europe. One can search why they look alike when they are all unique. This fundamental duality is what we seek the students to feel in the three pedagogical moments of the sequence "Roma, the city". The first time seeks to find traces of the past of a city observing its monuments from different epochs, in the shape, orientation and layout of streets in different times and in the names that load places with cultural references sometimes mysterious but always in memory, at least as traces. The time depth of the urban material is what we want to make understand and it's rather easy to do it in Roma, this incomparable place of memory and concentrate of the traces of European civilization. The second time encourages to recognize that a city is also and always a technical organization to link men with multiple relationships by establishing specialized networks. Of special interest is the observation of the underground network which often constitutes the heart of urban mobility. We also examine how the roads give the city its fluidity and irrigate its expansion. The third time, by a special technique in images of the urban area of Roma, attempts to concretely illustrate the diversity of habitats, lifestyles and activities while seeking to show the impact of certain organization factors of urban space in all cities in Europe. This is the moment to compare the appearance, functions and density of different habitats and areas with the building policy of the municipality. As often, elsewhere in Europe, this one takes a long time to catch up and correct the imperfections of a socially segregated space.
1848-’49 in Italy: a war of people, a war of armies
(Università Ca’ Foscari – Venezia, 2011) Crivellari, Cinzia
Of the three revolutionary cycles, echoing through the U.S.A. and Europe following the Congress of Vienna, the last one definitely revealed the typical features of the Italian movement. These were a democratic demand for a Constitution, a yearning for national independence in order to free Italian territories from the “foreign” presence and build a new independent State, in which way was yet to be defined. These two feelings have often blurred and blended: in some episodes the demands for equality are overwhelming, while in other cases the will and need to establish as soon as possible a State based on “freedom and independence” appears to prevail. A number of thinkers, artists scholars, poets and musicians encouraged this wide movement in different ways: on one side, by fighting as volunteers in irregular armies. Others, in parallel, were indirectly helping the struggle by secretly canvassing and supporting the organisation from abroad. The most important and active was with no doubt Giuseppe Mazzini. Victim of persecution in his own country, while living in different cities like Geneva, Marseille and London, he had restlessly plotted and attempted coups on absolute monarchies' kings. Ultimately, the goal he was to pursue so hard was the ideal of Italy as a Republic, united from north to south free from any kind of foreign domination. During the 1848/49 biennium, some temporary governments were instituted in many Italian cities, as a consequence of revolutionary uprising. They didn’t just limit their action to a military defence, but they even passed real constitution, in order to ensure public order and enforce laws. As popular uprisings were taking place in some cities against despotic rulers and foreign domination, the Savoy Kingdom of Sardinia took military action: it declared war on the Austrian Empire and moved its armies towards Lombardy and the Veneto. Thus began what would become in the official history of Italy the First War of Independence, in which the monarchist armies of Savoy, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s volunteers, the Pontifical troops of Pius IX and those of Leopold of Tuscany would fight together against the common enemy, Austria, until diplomatic reasons and political opportunism would lead the Pope to withdraw his forces unexpectedly and the King of Sardinia to sign an unexpected, disappointing armistice with the Austro – Hungarian empire.
Urbanization in Europe in the 19th Century
(UNA - University of Augsburg, 2011) Kortler, Lena
Big, contiguous congested areas developed along with growing industrial cities. The century witnessed a rapid growth of an enormous number of factories, especially in heavy industry and textile industry. In order to produce as much as possible and to obtain as high sales of goods as possible, workers were needed in the factories. They often came from countryside to town, in hope of achieving a proper standard of living by working. The factories could assuredly nourish the population surplus, yet the worker had to in a way subject himself to the machine. The hard working day in the companies left hardly any space for the free development of workers. Moreover, the factory owners did not provide them with any care or protection. They did not have any protective clothing, breaks or holidays. At the beginning of industrialization, there was no coverage against illness or worker participation in the works council. Only over the years, did trade unions and work insurance develop. In order to distribute goods, a well-developed infrastructure with a comprehensive railway network as well as connections to sea ports was of high importance. The mobility within the cities was increased with the introduction of cable cars. In order to guarantee transport services even beyond city boundaries, large cities and congested areas were first linked to the railway network. Thus, the time needed for the transportation of goods was shortened and the market for the produced goods was extended.
The development of Polish towns in the second half of the ninete-enth century
(Społeczna Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania, 2011) Hadrysiak, Sylwia
Urbanization (Latin: urbanus – urban) it is the process expressed in urban development, in-crease in their number, widening urban areas and paticipation of the urban population in total population (or participation of population living according to urban pattern). Urbanization is closely bound up and inextricable with the changes of social and cultural and so-called diffusion of urban lifestyle. Cities from antiquity served the following functions: administrative, communications, defense, tourism and recreation, religious places of worship. The massive process of urban development has taken place only during the Industrial Revolution. The transformation from craft production to production based on the manufactories employing thousands of hands to work has provided a significant demand for labor resources, which primarily was coming from rural areas. In the nineteenth century urbanization on the continent occurred very intensely, the slowdown of this process took place only in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Arbeitsmigranten in den 60er und 70er Jahren in der Bundesrepublik - "Gastarbeiter"
(Siegen University, 2011) Kuhn, Bärbel; Fenske, Uta; Guse, Klaus-Michael; Heck, Volker; Klotz, Anna-Lena
Bedingt durch den wirtschaftlichen Wiederaufbau der Bundesrepublik gab es einen langanhaltenden wirtschaftlichen Boom(„Wirtschaftswunder“) mit einem hohen Bedarf an Arbeitskräften. Bis 1961 konnte der wachsende Bedarf durch den Zuzug qualifizierter Arbeitskräfte aus der DDR gedeckt werden. Nach dem Bau der Mauer 1961 versiegte diese Quelle schlagartig und die Bundesrepublik war auf Arbeitskräfte aus anderen Regionen angewiesen. In den 60er und 70er Jahren wurden aus Südeuropa Arbeitskräfte angeworben, zunächst aus Italien, dann aus Portugal und Spanien, später aus südosteuropäischen Ländern und zunehmend aus der Türkei. 1964 gab es bereits über eine Millionen Arbeitsmigranten in der Bundesrepublik. Nach dem Verständnis der Unternehmen, der Regierungen und eines Großteils der Bevölkerung wurden die Arbeitsmigranten als vorübergehende Gäste angesehen, daher nannte man sie auch „Gastarbeiter“. Nach einer gewissen Zeit, wenn sie ökonomisch nicht mehr gebraucht werden sollten, sollten sie in ihre Länder zurückkehren. Viele blieben jedoch dauerhaft und später zogen teilweise auch ihre Familien nach. In dem Modul geht es im Wesentlichen um das Bild, das sich die Deutschen von den Fremden in ihrem Land machten.
Propaganda in the First World War
(UNA - University of Augsburg, 2011) Kortler, Lena
In the First World war, modern media like films and images, postcards and posters were used for different propaganda purposes. The population was confronted with it at many levels, which facilitated mental mobilization. The images were not only published in relevant magazines, like Simplicissimus or Kladderadatsch, but also used as decorations on everyday objects like stamps and porcelain. Children were also prepared for war by means of toys. Dolls and teddy bears with uniforms substituted conventional toys. In addition, modern telecommunications allowed a quick spread of propaganda, so that, within the shortest time, the latest news could be announced all over Germany and worldwide. Intercontinental undersea cables, electricity and the world telegraphic network enabled worldwide exchange of information. As regards various means of propaganda, one should differentiate between the propaganda which refers to one’s own land and the one which agitates against the enemy. The image of Germany abroad was mostly that of the ugly German, the Hun, who violates the neighbouring states and turns them into ashes. As far as the style of representation is concerned, the French and British propaganda images directed against Germany were very similar. The self-image of the Germans was always positive, e.g. that of a peaceful population and a cultural nation.
Ressentiment, Conflict, destruction/extermination. Stereotypes of Poles
(Siegen University, 2011) Kuhn, Bärbel; Fenske, Uta; Guse, Klaus-Michael; Heck, Volker
The use of negative images and stereotypes is part of the major policy instruments of populist politicians. Therefore large parts of the population tend to believe in them and the stereotypes lay the ground for exclusion, persecution, pogroms and genocide. The history of the 20th century has been called an “age of extremes” (E. Hobsbawm) because a myriad of such persecutions and exterminations took place. In 1919, after the end of World War I, a lot of these negative images and stereotypes existed in Germany, p.e. against the Social Democrats who were called “unpatriotic” because they allegedly had fallen the undefeated army in the back, against the Jews who were pictured as “world conspirators” that had pushed Germany and (optionally all other countries) into the war but also against the German neighbors who fought on the Allied side. Anglophobe tirades were part of the rhetoric of every politician who followed imperialist objectives, especially since Wilhelm II started to build the naval fleet; since the liberation wars against Napoleon the French were called “hereditary enemies” of Germany; and the stereotype of the “Polish economy” (meaning chaos, mismanagement and crime) was created in the 18th century.
The Overpopulation and Intermittent Emigration of Tyrolean Children
(PHT - Pedagogical University Tyrol, 2011) Krimbacher, Andrea; Riegler, Franz
In the 19th century, industrialisation was established in many European regions. Factories were built, new railway lines were constructed and a number of new posts were created. To a small degree in the western districts of Tyrol, a large part of the Tyrolean population lived from the proceeds of agriculture. In the agriculturally less productive areas of the Upper Inn Valley and the Upper Vintschgau (area on the upper reaches of the River Etsch), the inhabitants were in a terrible predicament. Many families were no longer able to feed their children. As a result, every spring thousands of boys and girls went on foot into Swabia, an agriculturally rich area around Lake Constance, where they sought work as farming assistants for the summer. They offered their labour on the child labour markets in Friedrichshafen and Ravensburg. Now an old man, a witness at the time, Adolf Thurnes, remembers his time as a Swabian child thus: “At the child labour market in Friedrichshafen, the children stood positioned between ropes; the farmer picked up whichever child he liked the look of, lifted him over the ropes and took him home with him”. In late autumn, the children returned home with the little money they had earned in their pockets. The migrations of the Swabian children ended around 1920 when the Austrian school authorities insisted on the observance of compulsory education.