The Century of the Labor and Concentration Camps

Charles University, Faculty of Arts
East and Central European Studies
2013/2014
The Century of the Labor and Concentration Camps
CUFA SOC 355
Instructor:
Mgr. Klara Pinerova, Ph.D.
Office Hours:
30 minutes after each class or on appointment
Telephone :
00420-602-369-656
Email:
[email protected]
Course Description
The camp system of imprisonment, typical for totalitarian systems, was extended during the
20th century. This specific form of imprisonment was used primarily in Nazi Germany and the
Soviet Union, and after the WWII in the Soviet satellites, including Czechoslovakia. The
course will focus on experiences and everyday life in prison, especially in the camps created
by the totalitarian states of the 20 th century. The prison experience will be demonstrated and
analyzed through the examples of Nazi concentration camps, Soviet Gulags, Czechoslovak
prisons and camp facilities located in the areas of Jáchymov, Slavkov and Příbram and labor
camps in the GDR . Various topics related to everyday prison life, relations betwee n different
groups of prisoners, and female identity will be discussed on the basis of texts from both the
secondary literature, and from memory and memoirs.
Course Goals and Student Learning Objectives
The main objective of the course is to help the students to understand the 20th century, the
repressive system in Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and its satellites. By the end of the semester
students will
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be able to use critically the concept of totalitarianism and see its advantages and
disadvantages for analyzing political regimes
be able to explain key principle of using terror
be able to describe the term total institution and use various theories
be able to explain various stages of prisonisation and the inner prison society and its
relations
be able to analyse the gender perspectives of imprisonment
be able to outline the differences between Nazi concentration camps and Soviet labour
camps
be able to describe the social stratification of prison subculture
Course Requirements
Active participation in the discussion during the class.
Research paper of maximum 2000 words (no pun intended) or 8 pages on one of the
essay questions listed bellow. Students have to choose their topic by: to be
announced; they have to submit outline of the paper and list of sources they plan to use
by: to be announced; the paper is due: to be announced. Within a week the teacher will
provide feedback and grade for the papers and the students will have the chance either
to accept the grade or to revise their papers and submit the final version by: to be
announced (in that case only the final grade counts). All the assignments are to be
submitted ONLY electronically to [email protected]. The name of the
attached file should have the following format Firstname-Surname-Titleofthework.doc
Two in-class tests consisting of multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions
testing the ability to analyze and contextualize the main issues of gender studies as
well as the knowledge of the required reading.
Required Trips and Excursions
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Pankrác memorial in Prague
– One day trip to Vojna Memorial or Terezin concentration camp
Essay Topics
1. What are differences between Nazi concentration camps and communist labour
camps?
2. Is prison total or discipline institution?
3. What were the reason for using violence in prisons and camps?
4. What is the role of terror in Nazi Germany and in the Soviet Union?
5. What were the historical conditions under which totalitarian regimes emerged?
6. …. Other topics will be added
Required Readings
APPLEBAUM, Anne. Gulag. A history. New York : Doubleday, 2003
ARENDT, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism, vol. III, pp. 460-479.
BROWNING, Christopher. Ordinary Men. Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final
solution in Poland. New York : HarperCollins, 1992.
CLEMMER, Donald. The Prison Community. New York: Holt, Rhineheart and Winston,
1958.
DOBSON, Miriam. Khrushchev's cold summer. Gulag returnees, crime, and the fate of
reform after Stalin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009.
FOUCAULT, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Random
House.
FRANKL, Viktor Emanuel. A přesto říci životu ano. Psycholog prožívá koncentrační tábor.
Kostelní Vydří : Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2006, s. 19-34. (anglická verze)
GOFFMAN, Erving. Essay on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates.
New York: Doubleday, 1990, pp. 12-35.
GOLDHAGEN, Daniel Jonah. Hitler's willing executioners : ordinary Germans and the
Holocaust New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1996.
HEDGEPETH Sonja M- SAIDEL Rochelle. Sexual violence against Jewish women during
the Holocaust. Waltham, Mass.: Brandeis University Press; Hanover [N.H.]: University Press
of New England, 2010.
HERZOG, Esther. Life, death and sacrifice : women and family in the Holocaust. Jerusalem ;
New York : Gefen, 2008.
KARKLINS, Rasma. The Organisation of Power in Soviet Labour Camps. IN: Soviet Studies,
Vol. 41, No. 2. (Apr., 1989), pp. 276-297.
PINEROVÁ, K. – BOUŠKA, T. Czechoslovak Political Prisoners. Life Stories of 5 Male and
5 Female Victims of Stalinism. Praha, 2009.
PINEROVÁ, K. Everyday´s life of prisoners and preserving their moral integrity in the
Czechoslovak and East German´s Prisons after Second World War. In Yearbook of conference
of the Austrian Centers in Budapest, Universität Wien: Wien, 2012.
SCHMIDT, Bärbel. Geschichte und Symbolik der Gestreiften KZ-Häftlingskleidung.
Oldenburg Universität, Dissertation, s. 135-151 (anglická verze)
SOFSKY, Wolfgang. The Order of Terror: The Concentration CamP. Princeton, N.J. :
Princeton University Press, 1997.
SOFSKY, Wolfgang. The Order of Terror: The Concentration CamP. Princeton, N.J. :
Princeton University Press, 1997.
SOLSHENITSYN, Aleksandr. The Gulag Archipelago,I – III, London : Collins and Harvill,
1978.
SYKES, Gresham M. The Society of Captives: A Study of a Maximum Secutiry Prison.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958.
Recommended Readings
COHEN, Staneley-TAYLOR, Laurie. Psychological Survival. The Experience of Long-Term
Imprisonment. Suffolk: The Chaucer Press, 1972.
TOCH, Hans. Living in Prison. The Ecology of Survival. Washington: American
Psychological Association, 1977.
ADLER, Hans Günther. Terezín. Tvář nuceného společenství. Brno: Barrister &
Principal, 2006-2007.
AMESBERGER, Helga. Sexualizované násilí. Ženské zkušenosti z nacistických
koncentračních táborů. Praha: BB/ Art, 2005.
ARAD, Jicchak. Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka. Vyhlazovací tábory akce Reinhard.
Praha: BB/art, 2006.
DWORK, Deborah. Osvětim: 1270 až současnost, Praha: Argo, 2006.
FRANKL, Viktor Emanuel. A přesto říci životu ano. Psycholog prožívá koncentrační tábor.
Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2006.
FRIEDLER, Eric. Svědkové z továrny na smrt. Praha: Rybka, 2007.
GOLDHAGEN, Daniel Jonah. Hitlerovi ochotní katani. Obyčejní Němci a holocaust.
Praha: NLN, Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 1997.
LEVI, Primo. Je-li toto člověk. Prah : Sefer, 1995.
LEVI, Primo. Potopení a zachránění. Köln: Index, 1989.
SCHMIDT, Bärbel. Geschichte und Symbolik der Gestreiften KZ-Häftlingskleidung.
Oldenburg Universität, Dissertation.
STREIBEL, Robert - ARMANSKI, Gerhard. Strategie des Überlebens. Häftlingsgesellschaft
in KZ und GUlag. Wien: Picus verl., 1996.
TODOROV, Tzvetan. V mezní situaci. Praha: Mladá Fronta, 2000.
KARKLINS, Rasma. The Organisation of Power in Soviet Labour Camps. IN: Soviet Studies,
Vol. 41, No. 2. (Apr., 1989), pp. 276-297.
ROSSI, Jacques, Útržky životů. Praha: Paseka, 1995.
ROSSI, Jacques. Encyklopedie GULAGu, Praha: Bystrov a synové, 1999.
SOLONĚVIČ, Ivan. Koncentrační tábor: Rusko. Praha: Bystrov a synové, 2000.
SOLŽENICYN, Aleksandr Isajevič. Jeden den Ivana Denisoviče a jiné povídky. Praha:
Lidové nakladatelství, 1991.
SOLŽENICYN, Aleksandr Isajevič. Souostroví Gulag. 1918-1956: pokus o umělecké
pojednání. Praha: OK Centrum, 1990.
Classroom Procedures
Two missed class is tolerated. Any other class of unexcused absence lowers the final grade by
1/3 (e.g. A to A-).
Using cell phone is forbidden
Using internet is allowed only for purposes of the lecture
Assignments and Grading Policy
Grades based on letters A through F will be given.
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Active participation 20%
Research paper 30%
Presentation 10%
Tests 40% (20% each)
Attendance is mandatory.
Attendance
Regular and punctual class attendance is mandatory for all students. Absence of 180 minutes
is allowed. Three or more absences (90 minutes each) lower the grade automatically (A to A-,
A to B+ in case of 4 absences etc.)
Presentation Policy: Missing the presentation will result in an F (when applicable). If the
student wants to switch the date, he/she must find someone to do it and both students must
confirm the change in e- mails to the professor at least 10 days in advance. If the student is
sick and has a medical note, then the professor must agree with the student on how the work
will be made up for.
Final Test or Paper Policy: Completing the final test or paper is required. Failure to submit the
final test or paper according to the deadline will result in a letter grade F for the entire course.
For further details, please see the Attendance Policy at the ECES website under “Academic
Policies and Procedures:” http://eces.ff.cuni.cz/.
Student Responsibility and Code of Conduct
Students are subject to the general standards and requirements of Charles University in regard
to attendance, examinations, and conduct, as well as to the specific requirements of the
program. The student is expected to assume the initiative in completing all requirements at the
time specified.
Weekly Schedule
Week 1
Introduction
Using of Terror as a Form of Totalitarian Regime
Theory of totalitarianism. Terror in Nazi Germany and in the Soviet Union
Required readings:
ARENDT, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism, vol. III, pp. 460-479.
Week 2
Prison as an institution
Prison as an institution in the works of Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault.
Panopticon - Torture, Punishment, Discipline – Critique
Characteristics of Total Institutions - Instituonalisation
Required readings:
FOUCAULT, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Random
House.
GOFFMAN, Erving. Essay on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates.
New York: Doubleday, 1990, pp. 12-35.
Week 3
Theory of Prison Sociology
Inmate Culture – norms of behavior-convict code
Required readings:
CLEMMER, Donald. The Prison Community. New York: Holt, Rhineheart and Winston,
1958.
SYKES, Gresham M. The Society of Captives: A Study of a Maximum Secutiry Prison.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958.
Week 4
Transformation in the Role of Prisoner
Arrival to the prison /camp – process of prisonisation – ideologisation and instituonalisation
Required readings:
FRANKL, Viktor Emanuel. A přesto říci životu ano. Psycholog prožívá koncentrační tábor.
Kostelní Vydří : Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2006, s. 19-34. (anglická verze)
SOFSKY, Wolfgang. The Order of Terror: The Concentration CamP. Princeton, N.J. :
Princeton University Press, 1997.
Week 5
Interpretation of Violence
Theories of violence and its interpretation – Standford experiment – Mildgram experiment
Required readings:
BROWNING, Christopher. Ordinary Men. Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final
solution in Poland. New York : HarperCollins, 1992.
GOLDHAGEN, Daniel Jonah. Hitler's willing executioners : ordinary Germans and the
Holocaust New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1996.
Week 6
Time and Space in Prison
Organisation of space – architecture of camps and prisons – meaning of the gate – long and
short time
Required readings:
SOFSKY, Wolfgang. The Order of Terror: The Concentration CamP. Princeton, N.J. :
Princeton University Press, 1997.
Week 7
Nazi-Concentration Camps and Labour Camps in the Soviet Union
Historical development – role of work and death – social structure of prison community –
possibility of return to the civil society
Required readings:
SOLSHENITSYN, Aleksandr. The Gulag Archipelago,I – III, London : Collins and Harvill,
1978.
SOFSKY, Wolfgang. The Order of Terror: The Concentration CamP. Princeton, N.J. :
Princeton University Press, 1997.
Week 8
Everyday life
Working routine – housing – clothing - hygiene
Required readings:
SCHMIDT, Bärbel. Geschichte und Symbolik der Gestreiften KZ-Häftlingskleidung.
Oldenburg Universität, Dissertation, s. 135-151 (anglická verze)
Field Trip: Pankrác Memorial
Week 9
Prison Subculture
Diverse society in the camp - differentiation and classification of prisoners - friendship,
solidarity and crime
Required readings:
KARKLINS, Rasma. The Organisation of Power in Soviet Labour Camps. IN: Soviet Studies,
Vol. 41, No. 2. (Apr., 1989), pp. 276-297.
Week 10
Women in Prison
Identity of women – meaning of clothing and friendship - gender relations to guard
Required readings:
HEDGEPETH Sonja M- SAIDEL Rochelle. Sexual violence against Jewish women during
the Holocaust. Waltham, Mass.: Brandeis University Press; Hanover [N.H.]: University Press
of New England, 2010.
HERZOG, Esther. Life, death and sacrifice : women and family in the Holocaust. Jerusalem ;
New York : Gefen, 2008.
Week 11
Survival strategies
Passive and active survival strategies – male and female stategies – resistance and adjustments
Required readings:
APPLEBAUM, Anne. Gulag. A history. New York : Doubleday, 2003
PINEROVÁ, K. Everyday´s life of prisoners and preserving their moral integrity in the
Czechoslovak and East German´s Prisons after Second World War. In Yearbook of conference
of the Austrian Centers in Budapest, Universität Wien: Wien, 2012.
Week 12
Labour Camps in Czechoslovakia and German Democratic Republic
Required readings:
PINEROVÁ, K. – BOUŠKA, T. Czechoslovak Political Prisoners. Life Stories of 5 Male and
5 Female Victims of Stalinism. Praha, 2009.
Week 13
Return to society
Psychological problems – stigmatisation and discrimination – frienship from prison
Documentary: K. Ch. Life story of Political Female-prisoner
Required readings:
DOBSON, Miriam. Khrushchev's cold summer. Gulag returnees, crime, and the fate of
reform after Stalin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009.