It’s time to have a little change up. So far, I’ve been reviewing some basic concepts that are helpful to be aware of when reading or learning about history. The next topic I wanted to touch on is about thinking critically. Entire courses and books have been created around the topic of critical thinking, so what follows is definitely a summary that just scratches the surface.
My goal here is to introduce the concept, then use a primary book to show how we can use other sources to start tying together concepts and information to increase our understanding of a topic.
Everyone’s a Critic
So, what is critical thinking?
What critical thinking is to be done when reading about history and historical facts? The facts are the facts.
Well, yes, but also not quite. Remember my last post when I mentioned historiography? One aspect of historiography is looking at how we study, and how our interpretation of history has changed over time. For example, when I was a kid, Neanderthals where a dumb ancient relative who died millennia ago. If someone did something brutish or crudely, you might say, “What are you? A Neanderthal?” And you knew it was an insult.
We’ve since learned that Neanderthals made and used tools, made clothing, and buried their dead, sometimes leaving markers on the graves.
Our understanding of Neanderthals changed because the information available to use changed. We found more evidence that allowed us to further develop our understanding of Neanderthals and the lives they lived.
What Does It Mean?
Now, let’s take a minute to pull up a good, old-fashioned definition or two.
First, the big one for this post: what does critical thinking mean?
Merriam-Webster Dictionary seems like a reasonable source. They define critical thinking as “the act or practice of thinking critically (as by applying reason and questioning assumptions) in order to solve problems, evaluate information, discern biases, etc.”. We are also going to take a quick look at the definition of “critically”. After all, using the word in the definition doesn’t really help clarify things, does it?
Using Merriam-Webster again, we can look up critical using the linked definition, and we see that third entry in the first option (1c) makes the most sense in the context of critical thinking: exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation.
We’ll use the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for our next definition too. To me, analysis goes hand in hand with critical thinking. We could go with either analyze or analysis, really. I am going to define analysis.
Analysis has multiple definitions, but I think the first one gets the point across: “a detailed examination of anything complex in order to understand its nature or to determine its essential features: a thorough study”.
Now that we have established definitions for critical thinking and analysis, it’s easy to see the overlap. In one we think carefully about a subject; in the other we examine something closely to better understand it.
The Starting Point
One of the big reasons why I wanted to start this blog was so I could discuss what I read in The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans. It is the first in a series of three books (a trilogy). I have owned the book for years, and I found the middle of the pandemic a great time to read it. This book helped me realize that there is a lot I don’t know about the lead up to both World Wars. It is jam packed with information, and can be a bit dense at times. It also made me wish that this information could be presented a little less formally. This book is the primary book that I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
A Note
When I created the draft for this post, 7 October 2023 had not yet occurred. The aftermath of that day is going to go on for a very long time. Countless innocent people have suffered, and that suffering will likely last for years, if not decades.
We must always work to prevent anymore of this type of suffering in the future. In order to do that, we need to work to understand what made it possible.
So We are All on the Same Page
There is no excuse for the Nazis or the Holocaust. The Holocaust should not have happened. Killing innocent people because of their religion, ethnicity, nation, creed, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, level of education, immigration status, or any other reason is never an acceptable course of action. But the Holocaust did happen, and I want to understand more about why. What was the lead up to this terrible event? Why was there so much hate and aggression?
Before anyone starts “just asking questions”, the fact that the Holocaust occurred (and it did occur) does not negate the fact that there have been, and there continue to be, genocides. Discussing the Holocaust does not lessen the importance of any other genocide that has occurred or is occurring. We will not be participating in any whataboutism here. Quick reminder, underlined words are links to other online articles. Please click on any of the links in this paragraph to learn about the genocides referenced.
Back to the Starting Point
As I noted above, The Coming of the Third Reich covers a variety of topics and provides a more general history of a time period, rather than focusing on a specific person or event. I seem to remember this type of book being called a survey, but I can’t seem to find much to back that up. I think the better and more accurate term is “academic history”.
Umm, isn’t all history academic history? Sort of. (Do you see what I did there?)
Narrative vs. Academic History
Narrative, or popular, history can be considered the less rigid, cool sibling who wants to tell stories about interesting things that happened in the past. Narrative history tends to be a little more approachable because it is intended for a wider audience.
Academic history is the responsible older sibling. It tends to be more formal and intended for a smaller audience that frequently already has familiarity with the topic.
These are just very high-level explanations of the difference between narrative and academic history. I found this blog to provide helpful descriptions of academic and popular history.
The point is, I am using The Coming of the Third Reich is an academic history that is going to be the foundation of my future posts. I will be using other books, including narrative histories, to narrow down and better understand specific ideas and people who had an influence on the lead up to the second World War.
What Other Books?
Good question. I have already identified a handful to start with, and I am sure I will add to the list as we go:
- The Last Winter of the Weimar Republic by Rüdiger Barth and Hauke Friederichs
- A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan
- A Most Dangerous Book by Christopher B. Krebs
- Dragonslayer by Jay Lockenour
- Bismarck, A Life by Jonathan Steinberg
- Hitler’s American Model by James Q. Whitman
I am also going to refer to JSTOR for articles and anything else that might be helpful. I keep forgetting about this resource, and I want to get better at using it. I also have various articles bookmarked, and I am sure Google will be involved.
In Conclusion
Over the next few posts, I will be digging into The Coming of the Third Reich,
and trying to break it down into more palatable chunks of information. I will be pulling from other books and sources to make connections, expand some ideas, and provide context and analysis regarding the overarching events outlined in The Coming of the Third Reich. Hopefully this will help to make the history more approachable.
So, now you know another of the reasons why I wanted to start this blog. Let’s get started on working through these books together.
Maybe we’ll even do some critical thinking and analysis along the way.
Just kidding. That’s definitely happening.
As always, see the Works Cited page for a full list of sources used for this post.
Also, is there a topic about studying history that you would like me to cover? Please let me know in the comments.
A Reminder
Please remember we are only sort of academic here. I will do my best to present information accurately, but I am not a formally trained historian. I may make mistakes. If I do, constructive criticism is welcome, and I will make updates as needed.
