HIST3400: Germany from Bismarck through Hitler: Books & Encyclopedias

In the earliest stages of a research project, when you are looking for a possible topic or gathering basic information about a topic you have in mind, some of the best tools to use are reference resources: bibliographies, guides to research for specific subjects, specialized historical or biographical enclyclopedias, and related works. These materials are designed to provide you with an introductory overview of a topic. The best reference works:

• are written by experts in their subjects
• will suggest many possible paper topics to you (or help you narrow down a topic that is too broad)
• provide basic facts, background, and contextual information for a subject
• give you a good idea of the major questions and debates historians have explored in relation to a subject
• may give you a good idea of the major primary sources available for a subject
• will provide a brief but carefully selected bibliography of important secondary works about the subject

In sum, reference resources are very efficient tools to use in the early stages of research paper topic selection and topic refinement; they are practical stepping stones to the next stages of your project. They can save you time and should be consulted as you begin your work.

One excellent place to start searching for information when you're exploring a possible research topic is the full-text collection of over 780 reference titles in the Credo Reference Academic Core database.

To find books on your selected topic, use the Cheng Library Catalog. To search for titles on modern German history, it's useful to include Germany History in you search, along with other terms describing your specific topic.

Among the many possible topics you can search in combination with Germany History are the following:

• Antisemitism
• Church and state
• Church history
• Economic conditions
• Elections
• Equality
• Ethnic relations
• Foreign relations
• Historiography
• Holocaust, Jewish 1939-1945
• Intellectual life
• Jews
• Migration, Internal
• National socialism
• Nationalism
• Political aspects
• Political culture
• Political parties
• Politics and government
• Propaganda
• Revolution, 1918
• Social aspects
• Social conditions
• Voting
• Women
• World War, 1914-1918
• World War, 1939-1945

While searching the catalog, you'll find a number of books and videos with a location of Internet Resource, and a link in place of the call number.

Simply follow the link ('Click here for full text', 'View Streaming Video', etc.) to access the online version of these books and videos.

You will need to log in to view these items from off campus (and on campus, for videos).  If you are having trouble, contact the reference desk for assistance (973-720-2116; refdesk@wpunj.edu).