Professor M Knox, E410

For MA/MSc History of International Relations, MSc Theory and History of International Relations, LSE-Columbia University Double Degree in International and World History and LSE-PKU Double Degree in MSc International Affairs.

The course covers three themes in the history of the Second World War that are normally treated separately, but were in reality inextricably intertwined: its diplomatic, internal-political, and ideological origins; its military, strategic, and economic preparation; and its conduct by governments and peoples. The course aims to introduce students to a variety of methods and interpretative perspectives; to provide comprehensive understanding of the origins, events, and dynamics of the Second World War; to offer a firm basis for more advanced historical work in this and other areas; and to provide the factual grounding and conceptual apparatus necessary to understand the contemporary implications of the greatest war in history. After an introduction to the structure of world politics in the interwar period and to the military, economic, political, and strategic lessons the powers drew from the Great War, the course will analyse German rearmament and foreign policy, the responses of the major powers, the crises of 1935-39, the outbreak of the war, its diplomatic and strategic structure and turning-points, the military-economic balance, the role of ideology in diplomacy, strategy, and unit-level fighting power, the wars in East Asia and the Pacific, in the air, and at sea, the final destruction of National Socialist Germany and Imperial Japan, and the emerging conflict between the victors.

22 two-hour weekly seminar meetings (HY409, MT, LT, ST).

Students will be expected to submit three 3,000-word essays, two in MT and one in LT, from topics designated in the course reading list and in addition to complete a one-hour mock examination in ST. Essays do not form part of the final course assessment, but are an expected component of the course, and essential preparation for the course examination.

A detailed course outline and reading list will be provided at the first meeting, and will also be found, along with other course materials, in the departmental public folders. The following works offer useful background: G Weinberg, The Foreign Policy of Hitler’s Germany and A World at Arms; W Murray, The Change in the European Balance of Power, 1938-39; M Knox, Mussolini Unleashed, 1939-1941 and Common Destiny; A Iriye, The Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific; O Bartov, Hitler’s Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich; R B Frank, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire (New York, 1999).

The course is assessed entirely through a three-hour formal examination in the ST. Candidates will be expected to answer three questions.