Verena Lorber

Wintersemester 2025/2026

AG+EX The Shadows of Past - Linz and Upper Austria in the Nazi-Period

Kurzbeschreibung

This course provides an overview of the history of National Socialism, focusing particularly on Linz and Upper Austria. The course includes excursions to important historical sites where stu-dents will engage with the Nazi past. Upper Austria is closely tied to Adolf Hitler’s biography as it encompasses his birthplace and the region where he spent his youth. During the Nazi era, Linz was designated a "Führer City" and was the subject of ambitious urban planning projects. The region also contains sites where Nazi crimes were committed, such as the Mauthausen concentration camp and the Hartheim euthanasia killing center, both of which will be visited. In this course, we will also discuss the extermination of the small Jewish community in Upper Austria following the Anschluss in 1938, as well as the situation of forced laborers and individuals who engaged in resistance, such as Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian Catholic conscientious objector who was executed in 1943. Introductory sessions will provide students with a historical framework for understanding the Nazi period, focusing particularly on regional developments. Through excursions, students will critically engage with practices of memorialization, memory politics and the evolving discourse of historical responsibility in post-war Austria.

Lernergebnisse

- Knowledge of the history of National Socialism in Austria, with a focus on Linz and Upper Austria.
- Knowledge of collective memory and memory policy in post-war Austria.
- Ability to apply analytical concepts from the field of history, such as 'resistance', 'victimhood', 'perpetrators', 'memory policy' and 'collective memory'.
- Conceptual framework of modern memorial sites and exhibitions in Austria.

Literatur

Literature will be provided in the course.

Hinweise zu Prüfungs-/Beurteilungsmodalitäten

Active participation in the course, reading background texts on the topic, submission of written reflections on two excursions. 

Wintersemester 2024/25

AG+EX The Shadows of Past: Linz and Upper Austria in the Nazi-Period

Kurzbeschreibung

This course offers international students an overview of regional contemporary history. The places of Hitler's birth and youth are all in Upper Austria.In the years of National Socialism, Linz was one of the “Führer cities”. The Mauthausen concentration camp and the Hartheim euthanasia institution were central places of Nazi crimes near Linz. Linz was also home to a small Jewish community, whose extermination in 1938 will be a topic in the course. In addition, Upper Austria was the home of Franz Jägerstätter, the most famous conscientious objector of the Catholic faith, who was executed in 1943 for his refusal to fight in the German “Wehrmacht”.Therefore, the questions of how to deal with this past are of great importance for Linz and Upper Austria. The introductory course offers an overview of the history of National Socialism with a special focus on the Linz/Upper Austria region.During the excursions, students will learn about the memorial sites and will gain an insight into the theory and praxis of commemorative culture and politics.

Lernergebnisse

* Knowledge about the history of National Socialism in Austria with a focus on Linz and Upper Austria,• Knowledge of collective memory and the policy of commemoration in post-war Austria,

* Ability to apply analytical concepts of historical sciences such as “resistance”, “victimhood”, “perpetration”, “politics of commemoration”, “collective memory” and others,

* Conceptual framework of modern memorial sites and exhibitions in Austria.

Literatur

To be announced.

Prüfungs-& Beurteilungsmodalitäten

Active participation, reading of relevant literature, written reflections. 

Sommersemester 2024

SE Ausgewählte Themen, Texte oder Gestalten der Kirchengeschichte (inkl. regionaler Kirchengeschichte): Kirche im Nationalsozialismus

Im Rahmen des Seminars wird ein Überblick zur Geschichte der christlichen Kirchen im Nationalsozialismus mit regionalen und biografischen Schwerpunkten geben. Ziel der LV ist es, mit den zentralen Forschungsfragen und Kontroversen in der Geschichtsforschung vertraut zu machen. Die Teilnehmer:innen werden dazu befähigt, die Forschungsdiskussion anhand von Beispielen wiederzugeben und kritisch zu reflektieren. Folgende Inhalte werden im Seminar behandelt: Kirchen Deutschlands im Nationalsozialismus vor und nach der Machtergreifung, Katholische Kirche in Österreich im „Austrofaschismus“ und im Nationalsozialismus, Diözese Linz im Nationalsozialismus (Bischöfe, Kleriker und katholisches Milieu), die Kirchen und der Holocaust, die Kirchen und die NS-Euthanasie, die Kirchen und der Krieg, Widerstand von Katholik:innen im Nationalsozialismus, der Wehrdienstverweigerer Franz Jägerstätter

Methoden: Impulsvorträge der LV-Leiter:in, regelmäßige Lektüre der zur Verfügung gestellten Literatur und gemeinsame Diskussion der Fachliteratur in der Sitzung, Gruppenarbeiten, Präsentationen, schriftliche Reflexionen.