The aim of this course is to examine the social history of Central (or East-Central, if you wish) Europe in the period between the onset of National Socialism in Germany and the end of World War II. With regard to the geographical focus, we will zoom in (though certainly not limit ourselves) on Germany, Czechoslovakia (Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovakian Republic), Poland, and Hungary. When it comes to the wartime and immediately postwar period, the emphasis is typically given to large international and domestic political events and to political figures, especially men. What we want to explore here is the often “invisible” majority societies, and the everyday life in undemocratic regimes of wartime Europe. While exploring the realities on the ground, this class also raises important questions about how much the “troubled past” shapes current societies – and the larger politics as well.  In short, while this course is grounded in history, it explores larger questions about the role of the past in the present day.