The Four Elements of our Unique MA Program
1. The emphasis on Holocaust studies provides our students with well-rounded knowledge about all aspects of discrimination, persecution, deportation, and selection within ghettos. Students study the purpose and structure of various camps — from labor camps to extermination camps. As our students cover this broad range of topics, they will confront questions about the darker side of human existence and capacities. Students will address the issues of trauma facing victims and survivors, and they will discuss and reflect about the motivations and ethical alternatives of perpetrators, bystanders, and resistance fighters.
2. The second emphasis, Holocaust communication, deals with the question of how young people today can learn from history. In Germany, statements such as “My grandpa was never a Nazi” are still heard. Also, some younger citizens, often of Turkish or Arab origin, resist dealing with this uncomfortable past. Some people even deny that the Holocaust happened. As time passes, and as we move further away from the Nazi period, we need to ask ourselves how best to communicate such events that still affect all of us. Consequently, this segment of our graduate education deals with questions such as "What roles can schools, museums, community events, theaters, and public debates play in dealing with the past? What is the function of radio, television, movies, comics, graphic novels, chat rooms, and Internet sites?"
3. Jewish studies, the third emphasis of our graduate program, deals with the rich Jewish history from the Middle Ages till today. Especially the sometimes agonizing or controversial steps of Jewish emancipation, the advent of Zionism, and the manifold expressions of Jewish life after 1945 are explored.
4. In the fourth segment, tolerance education, our program deals with acceptance and mutual respect. It emphasizes different connotations of the concept of tolerance within Jewish thought and history. Our courses also deal with aspects of international law and the 1948 UN conventionson genocide and human rights.