The Proposal

As part of Ohio Wesleyan University's curriculum, students are encouraged to participate in travel-learning opportunities or, through a grant program called TIPIT (Theory-into-Practice-into-Theory), they may create their own project. During the Spring 2011 grant cycle, I submitted the following proposal for a trip to Europe. The proposal was accepted and I will be embarking on a journey with three classmates this August.

Here's a copy of the main proposal:

An Examination and Analysis of the Holocaust

Introduction

German high school students are required to visit a former concentration camp as part of their education, according to the The Times Online. However, due to the distance between the United States and many of the concentration camp sites, U.S. students lack this hands-on experience with the Holocaust. The following proposed trip would allow four Ohio Wesleyan students the opportunity to deal with the emotions and prejudice behind the Holocaust first hand, providing them with the opportunity to reflect upon the tragedy and accurately inform others of the suffering endured under Nazi reign.

Itinerary

Tuesday, August 2nd:
• Travel to LaGuardia from hometowns.
• Board plane to Amsterdam.

Wednesday, August 3rd:
• Early morning, arrive in Amsterdam.
• Visit Anne Frank’s “Secret Annex”.
• Visit the Waterlooplein flea market.
• Go on the Highlights of Amsterdam Sightseeing Cruise.
• Check-in to Inner Amsterdam hostel.
• Sample local music at the free evening concert in Vondelpark.
• Go on the Red Light District Walking Tour.

In Amsterdam, students with begin to understand the kind of suffering Jews were forced to endure during World War II if they choose to go into hiding to escape the Nazis. Viewing Anne Frank’s “Secret Annex”, where she hid with her family and friends for numerous years, along with the rest of the old-world city will allow students to take a step back in time and imagine they too are fleeing the Nazi rule. By venturing on a sightseeing cruise, students will be able to see what Frank may have seen every day of her life. As the day wears on, students will enjoy a free outdoor concert of local music near their hostel before venturing outside the tourist region of the city to where the locals spend their time.

Thursday, August 4th:
• Depart Amsterdam and arrive in Hamburg.
• Check-in to A&O Hamburg Hauptbahnhof.

Friday, August 5th:
• Visit Neuengamme Concentration Camp.

In Hamburg, students will learn to navigate the public transportation system in German while traveling to Neuengamme Concentration Camp, a labor camp. At the camp, they will learn about the facilities and the labor performed by the marginalized peoples via an audio-guided tour. On-site exhibitions will also allow students to expand their knowledge of the inner-workings of a concentration camp.

Saturday, August 6th:
• Depart Hamburg and arrive in Berlin.
• Visit Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
• Check-in to Grand Hostel Berlin.

Sunday, August 7th:
• Visit Humbolt University grounds.
• Visit Bebelplatz, the site of the first Nazi book burning.
• Visit Brandenburg Gate.
• Visit Holocaust Memorial.
• Dine in the Reichstag, home of the German Parliament.
• Go on Berlin Flak Towers Walking Tour.

Monday, August 8th:
• Go on Jewish Life Walking Tour.
• Visit Neue Synagogue.
• Visit the Jewish Museum.
• Depart Berlin.

Berlin, the center of much of the persecution that occurred during World War II, will allow students to delve into the Jewish culture. After visiting the labor concentration camp nearest to Berlin, students will visit various sites relevant to the Nazi reign, such as Bebelplatz and Humbolt University. Students will participate in a Jewish Life walking tour and visit various museums and synagogues to gage how wide spread the Jewish population of Berlin was prior to World War II. While dining at Reichstag, students will be able to look over the city and connect all the places they have visited. Finally, students will venture on an underground tour of the bunkers used during the war.

Tuesday, August 9th:
• Arrive in Warsaw.
• Visit the Jewish Historical Institute.
• Visit Mila 18, the Ghetto Uprising monument.
• Visit Umschlagplatz, the Treblinka monument.
• Visit the Jewish Cemetery.
• Visit remains of Warsaw ghetto.
• Depart Warsaw and arrive in Oswiecim.
• Check-in to Hotel Olecki.

A day-trip to Warsaw will allow students to explore the Jewish presence in Poland’s capital. After viewing the various monuments around the city, students will follow the “ghetto trail”, which outlines the former Warsaw Ghetto boundaries and form mental pictures of the corral Jews and supporters were forced to live in.

Wednesday, August 10th:
• Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp.
• Depart Oswiecim.

A guided tour through Auschwitz-Birkenau will allow students to explore the powerhouse concentration camps located is Oswiecim. Whereas other camps are broken down based on what occurs behind their gates, Auschwitz-Birkenau and their satellite camps serve as labor, collection, and extermination sites.

Thursday, August 11th:
• Arrive in Prague.
• Sunrise at Charles Bridge.
• Visit Wenceslas Square.
• Go on the Terezin Memorial Sightseeing Tour.
• Visit Old Town Square.
• Visit Old-New Synagogue.
• Check-in to Hostel ELF.

Friday, August 12th:
• Visit the Dancing House.
• Visit Petrin Hill.
• Visit Prague Castle.

In Prague, students will have the opportunity to see not only Terezin Concentration Camp, a transit and ghetto camp, but also to see pieces of history. Students will visit the Prague Castle and Petrin Hill, some of the oldest sites in Europe, to aid in their understanding of the town’s foundation and culture. Visiting the Old-New Synagogue, a place destroyed by the Nazis and then rebuilt, will also give students an understanding of the city’s Jewish past.

Saturday, August 13th:
• Depart Prague and arrive in Munich.
• Check-in to Jaeger’s Hostel.

Sunday, August 14th:
• Go on the Dachau Concentration Camp tour.

Monday, August 15th:
• Go on the Munich City Hop-On Hop-Off Express Tour.
• Depart Munich and arrive in Weimar.
• Check-in to Labyrinth Hostel Weimar.

Students will have the opportunity to tour the Dachau Labor Camp with a knowledgeable English guide during their stay in Munich. The guide will be able to answer any questions the students have from this and previous camp visits. Following the camp, students will explore Munich through a tour bus company who allows them to leave the bus at interesting sites and spend time engaging with the town’s culture.

Tuesday, August 16th:
• Visit Buchenwald Concentration Camp.
• Depart Weimar and arrive in Amsterdam.
• Check-in to Ibis Amsterdam Airport.

As the journey comes to a close students will visit Buchenwald, a labor camp referenced to in Elie Wiesel’s Night. This visit will allow students to compare the real remnants of the concentration camp to the mental image they created while reading the real-life account.

Wednesday, August 17th:
• Depart Amsterdam and return to LaGuardia.
• Board planes to hometowns.

Conclusion

The proposed trip will allow students to examine the Holocaust’s affects on both the Jewish people and those who lived in Europe during the time of World War II. It will allow students to explore the aspects of prosecution and determine how the Nazi’s were able to gain and stay in power. Through these hands-on experiences in the camps and the cities they reside in, students will build a cultural background that allows them to analyze the use of concentration camps during World War II and other remnants of the Holocaust. This experience will allow students to bring their developed analytical reflections back to the Ohio Wesleyan community to further student body open-mindedness, cultural acceptance, and knowledge of the Holocaust.

Goal Costs

TOTAL: $14,561.66
TOTAL PER PERSON: $3,640.42
TOTAL PER PERSON PER DAY: $242.69