Course Information

About this course

This course analyzes the causes and consequences of genocide. Specific cases of genocide and near-genocide, including the Holocaust, are studied along with issues such as perpetrator profiles, commemoration, and genocide prevention. Definitions of genocide, methodology, and theories of the phenomena of genocide are discussed.

Syllabus

Spring 2026

This is the most recent syllabus for this course

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Multi-destination tour note

The order in which this Study Tour travels may vary by semester. You will be informed of which location you will begin and end in as soon as possible, but it may not reflect the order listed in the title or description of this tour.

Travel on Study Tour

You only take one Core Course per semester, and each Core Course includes two Study Tours: one Short Study Tour to a nearby destination for three days, and one Long Study Tour to another European country for six days.

Led by your faculty, Study Tours take you into real-world settings where you will apply what you’ve learned outside the classroom.

Check out the Study Tours for this course
Students sitting on the floor in a modern building, engaging in a group activity with papers and notebooks scattered around.

Faculty

Torben Jørgensen

Cand.mag. (M.A. in History, University of Copenhagen, 2003). With the Danish Jewish Museum, 2007-2008. Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies, Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 2003-2005. Researcher, Danish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Research, 2000-2003. With DIS since 2008.

Long Study Tour

About this tour

On this Study Tour, we visit two great Polish cities, Warsaw and Krakow. We start off with two days in the capital, with one day used for an excursion to the site of the world’s first extermination camp, at Chelmno, some 60 km to the west. We also walk the city to see other important sites, including the former ghetto area, the memorials to the 1944 uprising, and of course the reconstructed inner city and the Culture Palace.

We will then travel by train to Krakow, one of Europe’s most well preserved and romantic medieval towns. We shall walk the former Jewish neighborhood at Kazimierz, see the remains of the former ghetto area at Podgorze, and do a full day visit to the former concentration- and extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Learning outcomes

  • Explore some of the challenges and dilemmas facing the custodians of the Nazi killing centers today
  • Provide primary context for the readings and cinematic material introduced in the classroom
  • Gain first-hand experiences by visiting some of the sites of Nazi oppression: ghettos, concentration and extermination camps

Possible activities

  • Visit Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps
  • Get a guided walking tour of Krakow, including Kazimierz the revitalized Jewish Quarter
  • Visit Schindler’s Factory, which tells the wartime history of its owner Oskar Schindler, as well as the stories of Jewish prisoners of the Płaszów camp

Short Study Tour

About this tour

During World War II, Hamburg was heavily damaged due to its Gau status as one of the de facto administrative sub-divisions of Nazi Germany. Specifically, the Nikolai Kirch and the surrounding neighborhoods were almost entirely destroyed. Following the end of the War and in recent years, Hamburg has rebuilt itself into a vibrant city; however, as you walk through the city, you notice that the presence of war still lingers.

To further contextualize events of the Holocaust, you will visit the Bullenhauser Damm School, where Nazi doctors conducted medical experiments on a group of children before executing them. The building now serves as a kindergarten. Then we will travel to the site of the former internment and concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, the death place of Anne Frank. The camp was completely removed post WWII by the British; today only the mass graves and a museum exists at was has become a memorial site.

You will also explore the Neuengamme work camp, the largest concentration camp in northwest Germany during World War II, established in 1938 and closed in 1945. Over 100,000 people were subjected to horrendous living conditions, strenuous labor and overall murderous conditions throughout the camp’s existence. Today, it is an on-site memorial to commemorate the prisoners, and there is a museum exhibition that explains the camp’s history.

By visiting these sites, you will be able to better understand how historical events inform present mindsets and how a country moves forward without forgetting the past.

Learning outcomes

  • Analyze the development of the German camp system before and during WWII

  • Examine the overall social and political context of WWII in Nazi Germany

  • Explore the Jewish history and the Jewish experience in Hamburg during the Nazi regime

Possible activities

  • Take a guided excursion to Neuengamme work camp, the largest concentration camp in northwest Germany

  • Visit Bullenhauser Damm School, a former execution site which now houses a kindergarten

  • Attend a walking tour of Hamburg to understand the city’s Nazi and WWII history