Earlier this summer, sixteen UAHuntsville students, including ten
history majors, traveled to Germany with Dr. Molly Johnson as part of
a class on "Legacies of the Third Reich." The class was coordinated
through UAHuntsville's "Global Studies" program. Students studied how
the Nazis used aesthetics and space to represent and build power, as
well as how three German cities, Munich, Nuremberg, and Berlin, deal
with the legacies of Nazism today through debates and memorials.
Students started their travels in Munich, where they explored
prominent sites associated with the Nazis' rise to power; they also
visited the nearby Dachau concentration camp. A highlight was the
chance to meet with Franz Mueller, a surviving member of the "White
Rose" student resistance group. The group then traveled to Nuremberg,
where students visited the Nazi Party Rally Grounds made famous by
Leni Riefenstahl. The class concluded in Berlin, where students
explored Nazi architecture, including the Olympic Stadium, the
Tempelhof Airport, and the Air Ministry, visited myriad memorials, and
had a surprise meeting with John Berry, a former German who left
Berlin on a "children's transport" in the late 1930s.
In addition to historical sites, students also enjoyed open air
markets, fresh bread, art museums, public transportation, and even the
chance to hear the Dalai Lama speak at the Brandenburg Gate.
For information on future trips led by history faculty and other
UAHuntsville figures, visit Global Studies
