GM3WOS: War on Screen - Germany and its films about WWII

Module code: GM3WOS

Module provider: Languages and Cultures; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Ute Wolfel, email: u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Before taking this module, you must have a Pass in Part 2 German or equivalent. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The Nazi dictatorship and its world war left Germany in a state of moral and material collapse. National renewal after 1945 had to come from engagement with this catastrophe. Since 1946, German cinema screens have served as a central site for the re-interpretation and re-evaluation of the German Nazi past and the place it has in post-war notions of German national identities.

Students on the module will analyse and assess representative examples of German post-1945 war cinema and evaluated them as part of wider discourses about the legacy of the Nazi dictatorship in East, West, and unified Germany. Based on films from the different post-war decades and German states, war films will be examined and compared in terms of themes and visual realisation.

Students will further identify central ethical questions relating to guilt and atonement, resistance and participation as well as the representation of atrocities in a context of entertainment.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Analyse key topics, figures, and constellations of German war films
2. Compare visual realisation of war narratives across the politically and temporally different films
3. Relate war films to debates about national identity in East, West and unified Germany
4. Evaluate changing German approaches to the Nazi past

Module content

This module introduces students to the role cinema has played in the approach to the Nazi dictatorship and its crimes and to how it relates to debates about national identity. We will start with films from the 1950s in East and West Germany when reflections about guilt and suffering of Germans and their victims were first negotiated in films about soldiers; reflected in the filmmaking are the different views both post-war Germanys developed on the Nazi dictatorship. These differences will be examined with the help of key texts which accompany the film discussions. We will distinguish different notions of guilt and victimhood in East and West German films until 1990 and compare these to films made in unified Germany. The main themes which run through the films and allow comparison, are firstly the depiction of Wehrmacht soldiers and secondly the depiction of the Holocaust. For both themes, their importance for the changing definitions of German national identity will be assessed. Furthermore, these analyses and evaluating discussions will include questions of cinematic realisation. Students interpret the range of cinematic means from colour, sound, editing, and camera work to mise-en-scene so that the particular character of the cinematic discourse on Nazi past and German post-war identities can be appraised.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The course will follow a chronological development from the 1950s to the present and look at selected notable German war films as well as key texts discussing notions of German national identity in relation to its Nazi legacy. There will be some interactive lectures though most contact hours will be student-led seminars. Focussed seminar discussions are based on students’ preparation of primary material and/or reading of secondary literature. Students will acquire important background information from the interactive lectures and will be guided to undertake independent work in preparation for seminar discussions and assignments. 

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students can give a formative oral presentation on the topic of their essay for which they will receive detailed feedback and advice.

Reassessment

Additional costs