Each spring I take Asbury University students to Berlin and Krakow to study aspects of the Holocaust. We learn about the euthanasia efforts in Nazi-Germany as well as the concentration and extermination camp system. Among other events, students are led through guided tours of Sachsenhausen, Ravensbruck, and Auschwitz. Accounts of the victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and rescuers, are each confronted and considered by the students as they attempt to wade into the perplexing waters of the what, how, and whys of these horrible events. Furthermore, the holocaust narrative is used as a portal into a raw and unvarnished examination of the darkness that besets the human condition. To learn more about these trips (non-AU students are welcome to apply), visit the Asbury University website.
Living and Learning Together, Rediscovering a Lost Aspect of Education
Below is a summary of this year’s Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024 The tour this year was, as each one promises to be, a sundry blend
Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024, Day 13
Last Day in Kraków Short and sweet update for today. Most students decided to go to the world-famous (UNESCO World Heritage Site, first list) Wieliczka
Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024, Day 12
Auschwitz I and Auschwitz Birkenau We spent today in Oświęcim, Poland. The Germans, when they came in the Fall of 1939, renamed it Auschwitz. How
Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024, Day 11
Schindler’s Factory Museum and Free Kraków On our first full day in Kraków, we started off walking from Old Town to the Schindler Factory Museum.
Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024, Day 10
Off to Kraków Most of today was taken up by a 9-hour private bus ride from Berlin to Kraków. We got to our destination with
Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024, Day 9
Alt Rehse and Free Berlin For our last day in Berlin, we split up to follow different interests. About half of us went 2-hours north
Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024, Days 7 and 8
A U.S. Embassy and two Concentration Camps The last two days featured a meeting in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin with embassy personnel, and our
Holocaust Studies Tour, 2024, Day 6
Church, Work, and Play On this Mother’s Day Sunday we first made time available for folks to attend a local service. Most students either went