Expressionism was the major literary and art form in Germany beginning in the early 20th century. It flourished before and during World War I and continued to be the dominant art for of the Early Weimar Republic. By 1924, Neue Sachlichkeit replaced Expressionism as the dominant art form in Germany. Many Expressionists claimed they were never truly apart of Expressionism. However, in the periodization and canonization many of these young artists are labeled as Expressionist. This thesis examines the periodization and canonization of Expression in art, drama, and film and proves that Expressionism began much earlier than scholars believe and ended much later than 1924. This thesis examines the conflicts in Germany that led to Expressionism and which authors and artists influenced Expressionists. It will also show that after Expressionism ceased to be the dominant art form in Germany, many former Expressionists continued to use expressionistic form in their works but ceased to use expressionistic content. This thesis argues that both the periodization and canonization of Expressionism should be expanded to include all works that may be classified as having expressionistic form.

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The rationale for this study is Albert Speer's unique value as a source of information concerning the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler. Although there is a wealth of information available on Nazi Germany and Hitler, the observations of this intelligent man who was an important official of the regime and a close associate of Hitler himself carry weight that no other report can match. He was a well-educated, intellectual, and articulate man who left behind three comprehensive books and many articles and interviews. In addition to such publications, there are, in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., many records of interviews with Speer conducted by Allied personnel immediately following the war. Those documents have been used extensively in this study.There is no attempt either to indict or to vindicate Speer, as many authors have done, but rather the purpose is to present in narrative form an analytical study of the relationship between the two men. The central focus throughout examines Speer and Hitler in juxtaposition and forms conclusions on the nature of their complex and compelling attachment. In the process, historical events form the backdrop as Speer describes them for us. It is always Speer, not Hitler, with whom the primary interest lies.The question of how anyone of Speer's background and intelligence could have given his life to a regime devoted to gutter politics, conquest of a continent, and genocide always arises in any study of Speer. The strange hold the Nazis exert on the world's imagination seems to ebb and flow, but does not die out, nor does the awful suspicion that something similar could happen again. Speer used his writings to describe the process and warn against its resurrection, especially in light of the tremendous leap in technology we have seen. Do not look for monsters, he counseled, for monsters are easily identified and avoided. Beware the manipulators who orchestrate on a national scale those policies which bring harm to whole populations, men who loudly proclaim their humanness and ordinariness.This inquiry is not an attempt to prove a predetermined hypothesis, since it embodies a historical approach rather than an experimental one. Information is drawn from the books and papers of Speer, as well as official documents, but secondary works to corroborate the basic sources are cited at times. There is still no definitive biography of Speer, although he appears as a central figure in many works. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that the Speer family has put his personal papers in Heidelberg beyond the reach of anyone until 1999, probably as a result of his negative treatment in various publications.The technical papers from the Ministry of Armaments and War Production are housed in the Bundesarchiv at Koblenz, but were not pertinent to this study. The Institut fur Zeitgeschichte in Munich houses official papers, as does the Berlin Document Center, while the Washington has the transcripts of Library of Congress in Hitler's Table Talks, some parts of which are used in this study. Speer's books and published material give an extensive look at his part in the Third Reich, his relationship with Hitler, and his own feelings and observations concerning both. The International Military Tribunal records from Nuremberg are both extensive and enlightening. One may also view the collection of Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's personal photographer, in the Special Collections section at Bracken Library.Chapter I deals with Speer in the pre-war years as he rose to fame and became part of Hitler's inner circle, while Chapter II views the war years through Speer's experiences. In Chapter III the early relationship between Speer and Hitler is developed, and in Chapter IV the war, the collapse of the Third Reich, and the attendant disasters are covered.

This is a study of the causes of the rise of the Third Reich, and its attitude toward the Treaty of Versailles.

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George Grosz's paintings and drawings of Berlin during the Weimar period demonstrate a complex matrix of tensions between nature and the urban experience. In his work, mechanization, sexuality, gender and animality are recurring themes that cue the viewer to the profound anxiety that modernity had unleashed a chaotic force into the city. Using an ecofeminist analysis, I show how the disorder of the city was imagined as a primordial human condition in which a previously disavowed connection to nature was suddenly foregrounded. Though Grosz's renditions of Berlin scenes are ironic, they also revel in the demise of social order. In this thesis, I argue that Grosz's art deploys the conceptual force of unmastered nature as a critical tool, at the same time showing how nature was integrated into the cultural fabric of urban life.

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This dissertation examines the political writings and speeches of Baldur von Schirach, a leading figure of the National Socialist German Worker's Party, and the means by which he chose to transmit his beliefs in totalitarianism, racism, and militarism. Schirach's activities serve as a case study of the Third Reich's artistic and cultural programs and the means by which these programs served as conduits for propaganda and public education. Throughout his career as the leader of the National Socialist Student's League, Reich Youth Leader, and Gauleiter of Vienna, Schirach promulgated a political theory which interpreted the rise of the Third Reich as an expression of an innately superior German culture. He put this theory forth through the use of artistic means, including his own poetry and prose, and theoretical exegeses of artistic and literary works that explained them within a fascist, totalitarian idiom. The dissertation discusses Schirach's personal adherence to Nazism and its roots; the ways in which he interpreted fascist philosophical tenets, symbols, messages, and archetypes; his concepts of youth and adult education; his attempts to mold the artistic community of Vienna into an aesthetically progressive, yet politically coherent, means of propaganda; and his role in the destruction of the Jews of Vienna and his explanation of this act as a cultural contribution to the Third Reich. The dissertation is based upon Schirach's own speeches, poems, and published writings dealing with education and politics, as well as unpublished archival sources housed in the Österreichisches Staatsarchiv in Vienna and the National Archives in Washington, DC.

This study examines German-Soviet military relations between 1917 and 1922 and demonstrates the involvement of the Reichswehr in the Treaty of Rapallo. Since early 1919, the Reichswehr cultivated entente with the Soviet Union in opposition to the German government and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, both to regain its military preeminence and to recapture Germany's power-political position in Europe. The Reichswehr attempted to draw German industry into relations with the Soviet state in order to secure the manufacture of military machinery and support troop training. By 1922, the foundation for collaboration between German industry, the Reichswehr and the Soviet Union/Red Army had been laid. The Treaty of Rapallo, concluded by government officials that were privy to the activities of the Reichswehr, removed the threat of a western consortium against the Soviet Union, and ensured the growth of the Reichswehr's alliance with the Soviet state.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and then to compare common descriptive characteristics (uniformities) evident within three historical events: the Paris Commune of 1871, the Zapatista Movement of the Mexican Revolution between 1910 and 1919, and the Spartacist Rebellion of 1919. One such uniformity is the fact that all three are abortive social revolutions.