Inver Hills travelers retrace Inge Auerbacher’s experiences
The Education First (EF) College Study Tour offered stops in Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Nuremberg and Munich. The tour retraced the Holocaust experiences of Inge Auerbacher, a Holocaust survivor residing in Queens, New York. Inge made the trip with Vicky and several tour members. The tour departed Minneapolis May 15, 2016, and returned May 31, 2016.
Vicky added that three concentration camps were visited during the trip, Auschwitz in Poland, Terezin in the Czech Republic and Dachau in Germany. “Students were able to visit parts of Terezin with Inge, one of the few child survivors of this camp,” she said.
“We walked through Jewish museums and cemeteries that immortalize the memory of millions,” she said. “We also visited Prague, which is known for its role in the Velvet Revolution and features remarkable landmarks such as St. Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle. Our tour ended in Nuremberg, where we visited the Palace of Justice, a landmark famous for the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War II.”
Nick was impressed by the beauty and consequence of her European destinations. “You can feel the history everywhere you go,” she said. “Actually visiting a Holocaust site brings home the horror of that time. Making this journey is something I will never forget.”
Holocaust experience journey participants
- Joy Sjoberg, St. Cloud Tech retired faculty
- Nicki Bottko, Inver Hills student life activities coordinator
- Morgan Thumann, Inver Hills PSEO student
- Kathy Thumann, Morgan’s mother
- Ashley Barabash, Inver Hills paralegal graduate
- Ashley DePover, former Inver Hills student
- Megan Petersen, former Inver Hills student
- Vicky Knickerbocker, Inver Hills faculty
- Danielle Kimmes, current Inver Hills student
- Valorie Lukkarila, current Inver Hills student
Learn more about the Holocaust experience journey by reading the Google translation of the German article, “Holocaust survivor illuminates teens,” by Susanne Gilg in Badische Zeitung. You can test your German by checking out “Mein Geburtshaus nei vergessen” on p. 9 of Ettenheimer StadtAnzeiger.
Learn more about Inge Auerbacher by reading “Inge Auerbacher: Holocaust Presentation” on Inver Hills News.
Video link: Inge Auerbacher: Surviving the Holocaust — Conversations from Penn State
For more information about Holocaust Studies at Inver Hills, contact:
Vicky Knickerbocker
Sociology, Humanities and Human Services Faculty
651-450-3745
