Entries by Anita Jakubik

The Otherization by the Nazi Regime

By Aaron Alonso On our trip to Berlin, Germany we got a more in-depth look at some of the groups of people persecuted in the Third Reich. I was also able to learn more about who was considered as being part of the German “Volk” through information displayed at the Topography of Terror. German residents […]

Comedy Post-Communist Wroclaw

By Luke Burke My favorite place to go in Wroclaw has quickly become a comedy club right down the street from where our group has been staying because it is a perfect manifestation of the new society post communism. From the invasion of Poland by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939 to […]

Holocaust Memory Through Personalization

By Hannah Gavin Studying the Holocaust is an emotional task. It can be easy to de-personalize what happened during the genocide and reduce it to mere statistics. Throughout my time in Central Europe I have found myself grabbing onto the stories I find that remind me that this six million, were mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. […]

A Memorial in Dialogue: Reflecting on History in Berlin

By Esmé Rummelhart Artists must make a multitude of choices when designing memorials, and we saw many approaches on display in Berlin. I found the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism (commonly known as the Nazism) to be particularly effective. Designed by Daniel Karavan, this memorial is powerful in its ability […]

Resisting Fear: The Ringelblum Archive

By Kate Christie Resistance can take many forms. It can be physical, meaning to uproot given oppressive institutions through explicit verbal or armed struggle. But what about spiritual resistance; a form of resistance–while less explicit, but just as crucial? Holocaust survivor, researcher and activist Rachel Kostanian Danzig, defines spiritual resistance as: “any intellectual activity of […]

Oswiecim: Living in Auschwitz Today

By Jacqueline Murrer When someone mentions the name, “Auschwitz”, the first thing that most likely comes to mind is the concentration camp in Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau. But, did you know that this camp was actually named for a historic town where the Nazis established the camp – Oswiecim, which is still a functioning town today? Before visiting […]

When Good Intentions Don’t Translate into Proper Actions

By Maryrose Dollard During my travels through Krakow, Poland located not far from the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and Berlin, Germany, which is home to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, I noticed a similar trend at each site I had the honor of visiting. I felt that visitors at each site were […]

Erasing the Past: How Totalitarian Regimes Sought to Camouflage their Crimes

By Madison Bollart When we think about totalitarianism, an immediate reaction often associates such a form of government with restriction, political repression, and complete control. In studying the 20th century particularly, we see this political system deem a particular prominence in Europe more times than one, specifically in Germany. To different extents, under the Third […]