Fascism

Directions: Answer the following questions in an essay of 8 -10 double-spaced pages. Be sure your essay
has a good introduction and conclusion, and that you support your general statements with specific
examples from James, Europe Reborn, Power Point slides #s 82-136 and the film Night and Fog. Try to
write carefully, though points will not be taken away for spelling, punctuation, etc. The essay does not not
require notes or citations. Write the essay in the same style you would for an in-class exam. Do not copyand-paste or repeat sections of your Paper Assignment in the Final Exam. Address both questions listed
below:

1. Analyze and reflect historically on the following quote from the philosopher Hannah Arendt (the quote
   was used as an epigram for the course syllabus):
   In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses… believe everything and nothing, think that
   everything was possible and that nothing was true…. Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was
   ready… to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived
   because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow…. (U)nder such conditions, one could make people
   believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof
   of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to
   them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the
   leaders for their superior… cleverness. (Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism [1951].)
2. Describe and assess the historical context of the Final Solution and its connection to Fascism. Your
   analysis should describe events in Europe between 1939 and 1945, and take into consideration the goals
   and actions of the main actors, including Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union. How was the Final Solution
   related to the rise of Fascism and the events and chronology of the war? How did occupied Europe
   cooperate or not with the Final Solution? How did the war and the Final Solution come to an end? How did
   the filmmaker Alain Resnais make sense of Fascism and the Holocaust in Night and Fog?
   Your essay should have abundant details drawn from course materials — James, Europe Reborn, the Power
   Point images and the film Night and Fog. Be sure your essay has a good introduction and conclusion, and
   that you support your general statements with specific examples from the course materials.