Course Objectives and Format

Course Objectives

1.    Through visits to historical sites, the students will learn about the impact of the recent history of Central Europe, especially the Holocaust, the division of Germany (and Europe), the Berlin Wall and its impact on the Cold War, the European Union, especially Germany's role and more

2.    Students will learn about the culture of these countries, especially the Arts and Music, through various visits to museums and the State Opera in Vienne

3.    Student will gain a better understanding and appreciation of the role that minorities played and are still playing in Central Europe, mainly the Jewish community in Prague and Berlin and also the Turkish minority in Germany

4.    Students will attain a better understanding of the political system in Europe in general and in Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria in particular.

Course Format:

1.    Daily morning lectures (2-3) hours a day by licensed and professional tour guides

2.    Visits to historical sites, e.g. Holocaust Memorial Site, Reichstag, Check Point Charlie, Berlin Wall (or whatever is left of it), the New Synagogue in Berlin, Parliaments and other historical sites in Prague, Vienna and Munich, various castles and palaces in Vienna (Schönbrunn), in Salzburg, Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany, and the castle in Heidelberg

3.    Afternoon visits to museums, points of interest (e.g. Franz Kafka's house in Prague, Sigmund Freud's House or the Hundertwasser House in Vienna Mozart's birth place in Salzburg, just to name a few)

4.    Evening discussions or visits of concert halls or the State Opera in Vienna