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HONORS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM

Basic Information
Full Name: Melissa Harlock
UC Email: harlocmj@mail.uc.edu
College: Carl H. Lindner College of Business
Major: International Business
Title of Project: The Exploration and Research of The Holocaust
Thematic Area (choose only one): Global Studies and Research
Expected Project Start Date: May 17th 2015
Expected Project End Date: May 25th 2015

Project Information
From 1933 to 1945, the Nazi party ruled Germany and surrounding countries with an iron fist. Jewish people
were targeted heavily by the Nazi party based on their ethnicity and religious affiliation, and many perished
under their rule. For as long as I can remember, I have been intrigued by the Holocaust and the treatment of
those who entered the concentration camps. For this proposal, I plan on doing a study abroad research trip to
Germany and Poland in order to learn more about the Holocaust and the workings of concentration camps
during this horrible time in history. By visiting the actual camps as well as the museums within them and else
where I will be able to further sympathize with and understand the devastating impact of the Holocaust on those
within the camps. For this project I will be on a set schedule in order to visit the camps and travel to and from
each one.
Sunday May 17th- Depart from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and arrive at Munich Airport
-Travel from Munich Airport to hotel
Monday May 18th- Depart hotel for Dachau Concentration Camp (first concentration camp ever built) located
about 10 miles Northwest of Munich
- Take guided walking tour of camp and tour permanent and temporary exhibitions in the camp
- Tour the memorials within the vicinity of the camp
- Return to hotel in Munich
Tuesday May 19th- Take a tour of the Jewish Museum in Munich and learn more about the Jewish people
affected by the Holocaust
-Explore Munich and visit the many historical sites throughout the city relevant to WWII and
the Holocaust
Wednesday May 20th- Depart Munich by train to Berlin
- Arrive in Berlin and explore Jewish Museum
Thursday May 21st- Tour shuttle from Berlin to Sachsenhausen Concentration camp
- Tour the camp and museum
- Return to Berlin by shuttle
Friday May 22nd- Take train from Berlin to Warsaw Poland
- Arrive in Warsaw
Saturday/Sunday May 23rd and 24th- Travel to Auschwitz Concentration Camp and attend the two day study
tour where the main exhibition, national exhibition and Auschwitz I-Main Camp and Auschwitz II-Birkenau

site are toured. See the ruins of gas chambers and crematoria II-V, the barracks where prisoners lived, their
sanitary facilities, and the so-called Central Sauna.
-Return to Warsaw
th
Monday May 25 - Depart Warsaw by plane for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
-Arrive in Cleveland

1. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area

By traveling to Germany and Poland to explore the history of the Holocaust I will be able to complete
the Learning Outcome of Global Studies that involves possesses global literacy, including knowledge of
geography, history, current world issues and similarities and differences among cultures. Because my
whole trip will be based around learning more about the history of the Holocaust, the global literacy
concerning the history aspect will be the most focused on. By being able to travel to multiple countries
and cities as well as attend tours with people from all over the world, my overall global literacy will
improve as well. It will be interesting to compare the culture of Germany to the culture of Poland and
vice versa. Even comparing the cultures between different cities will be an interesting way to explore
more than just the history aspect of the Holocaust. By attending museums that deal with more than just
the Holocaust and more with Jewish people as a whole, I can also expand my knowledge and
understanding of the Jewish faith and community. Another learning outcome I can satisfy while on this
trip is the Learning Outcome within the Research Theme that involves gaining the ability to think
beyond the just completed research and articulate how your world view has been impacted by the
experience. This, along with being able to identify and apply appropriate methodologies to design
research study, and collect and analyze data at the camps and museums and well as being able to
disseminate the research results and knowledge gained, will help me to expand my research abilities. By
learning the best way to gather information and then taking the information that I do gather from these
tours and explorations and thinking about it all more deeply will truly help me to better understand the
Holocaust and the horrible monstrosity that it was.

2. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories

A. Although as a Business major a background in history isnt necessary to do your job well, I
believe this trip will help me in achieving my personal and professional goals in the long run.
By traveling out of the country you gain a sense of independence and cultural understanding that
you cant get from reading a book. Expanding my world views is something very important
when it comes to the business world and even more important for an International Business
major such as myself. Another thing that this trip will do for me is make me a more
understanding, well rounded person. When events like the Holocaust occur, they cannot be
forgotten. Being able to sympathize with people and situations is an important trait that people
notice and respect. Visiting places where so many people suffered and died because of
discrimination and bigotry will help me to realize the importance of acceptance, tolerance and
love. All of these traits are those which I believe are important for my personal and professional
goals.

B. In order to prepare for this trip much research must be done around the topics of the
Holocaust, World War II, the Jewish faith, and the significance of the camps I will be visiting.
By going into the tours with some idea of the importance of these places, I will better be able to
ask questions, and delve deeper into the information. To prepare for this I plan on using the
online resources provided on the websites of the camps. There are many readings and videos
that help the first time visitor be prepared for the tours and understand the history behind the

locations they will be seeing. Another way I will prepare myself is to talk to history professors
and Jewish Studies Professors about the Jewish faith and the Holocaust and how they are related
so closely. By learning more about the history of the Jewish people it will help me to understand
why this specific group was targeted.

3. Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity

So many people travel overseas and tour the most popular and impressive locations. A lot of times it is
all about being able to come home and say I went here or Look at his photo of me in front of this.
Although touring for fun is something that is important I believe this trip is unique in the sense that the
only thing I will be focusing on is the topic of the Holocaust. By only touring these depressing and
horrible places day after day I will be able to truly get something more than just seeing these
locations. I have been interested in the topic of the Holocaust for a very long time now and by visiting
the places I have read about in books and seen in movies I will be able to get a new side of things. For
someone who isnt as interested as me in this topic, it might not be as interesting a trip but because I
have explored the Holocaust deeper than your average person and heard speakers who have survived,
this project is unique to me.

4. Reflection
Along with taking pictures at all the sites I tour and explore, I will also be keeping notes of the new
information I have gained along the way. I plan on keeping a blog or diary throughout the week so I
cannot just keep track of facts but also reflect on my feelings in each of the different camps and
museums. I believe that the feelings aspect of this project is an important one because it takes the
information and makes it real. Without the emotional reflection in a diary or blog I will loose site of my
goal of this trip, which is to better understand the Holocaust on a deeper more meaningful level. Some
reflection questions I hope to answer each day are: What was the most interesting thing you learned
today that you didnt know about the Holocaust? What was the most emotional part of the tour?
How did seeing (this) make you feel? What is something you can take away from this tour and seeing
this place? What is something that was said that makes you think differently about your life and how
you are living it?

5. Dissemination
Because I am choosing to focus my experience on the Holocaust and the Holocaust is of large interest to
the Jewish community, my hope is to be able to share my experiences with Jewish Studies majors and
history majors. One thing I hope to be able to do is share this information with students at my old high
school. Sophomore year we are all required to read material based on the Holocaust and I believe seeing
pictures and hearing about my experience would really help to show students a deeper connection to the
books they are reading. By making my diary entries, photos and blogs reachable by these different
groups, I can hope to spread some awareness, interest and curiosity to people that might not know a lot
about the Holocaust. I would love to be able to present my findings and share the stories of my trip to
the people in my Understanding Religious Intolerance class because the Holocaust is a perfect
example of what can happen when Intolerance takes over.

6. Project Advisor(s)
Dr. G is currently my Professor for the class, Understanding Religious Intolerance. He has a good
background knowledge on the Jewish faith and has many connections to those in the Judaic Studies
department, some of which have traveled to these camps and explored the same museums I will be going
to. He has a strong focus on English writing and could also be helpful in getting my dissemination
promoted in the Judaic Studies department.

Dr. Dana Gregory Griffith

Office Location: 3513 French Hall West
Office Phone: 556-6612
U.C. Departmental Mailbox: Judaic Studies Departmental Mailroom French Hall Rm. 3428A (Also
known as the Elka Klein Library).

7. Budget (if applicable)

Because of the extreme amount of traveling that will be going along with this trip, I am asking for the
maximum amount of money to help me complete my experience. Flights and traveling within the
countries alone will be significantly more than the maximum amount that can be granted for a project
and in addition to these things I will also need to pay for the tours themselves, entrance fees for
museums, sleeping accommodations and food.