This blog was written on Power of Place: 2025 European Summer Institute for Holocaust Educators – an experiential professional development for teachers where learning unfolds as they tour historical sites across Europe in order to transform their understanding of the Holocaust, WWII, antisemitism, and Jewish life today. Power of Place is planned and co-led by Humanus Network on behalf of JCRC and generously supported by the Minnesota Vikings, the Tankenoff Families Foundation, and Allianz of America Corporation.

by Brady Hunter, Social studies teacher, Sauk Rapids-Rice High School (Sauk Rapids, MN) | June 16, 2025

Today was our second full day of touring here in the Linz area. The day started with a light breakfast at our hotel while the rain slowly dripped down the exterior windows. For me this was a symbol of what my day would consist of: A knotted stomach with gloomy emotions of this tragic historical camp that we would visit — Mauthausen. It was here where so many had their life completely flipped upside down by the Nazi Regime. In fact, many of them experienced forced labor, starvation, and execution regularly but the true focus was dehumanizing individuals — and I was standing in that exact place. However, even in this experience I was grateful to be experiencing the power of place at Mauthausen to continue sharing their story.

Wolfgang and Paul led us into the grounds of Mauthausen, but not to deliver a tour or history lesson like many might have thought. Instead, what they had us do at Mauthausen not only allowed me to remember those who lost their lives in this horrific camp, but also to help me teach this in an honorable way with fellow American teachers on this trip. Together we explored a specific area of the camp and led a lesson for our fellow educators. Truthfully it allowed for quite an extensive moving moment — one that will certainly be brought to my classroom. One specific lesson delivered to our group by fellow educators that stuck with me and really put things into perspective was in relation to the granite quarry below the camp. Here prisoners were forced to carry heavy and large stones up roughly 150 stairs. This served as a form of symbolization — complete torment and brutality by the Nazi regime.

Mauthausen brought heavy air to my day — it hit me with a form of grief I am not sure I have ever experienced. An expansive system of death I found myself standing in — the gas chamber, crematorium room, and the gallows…a feeling that I struggle to describe. A feeling of a knotted stomach with gloomy emotions I mentioned earlier was very clear. Anger came at times only to be overtaken by confusion with questions, and a form of guilt: Guilt for all of humanity because we, as humanity, had let compassion disappear. Rather than holding our human hands out for others, we put them away and let hate overtake. Not just the Nazi regime but also the local communities. A common question we asked today was, “How do 100,000 people die in a civilized society?” This question was powerful and made us dig deep into our bowls of knowledge to understand that ultimately history lives in how we act as humanity. This was not the first time we saw civilized communities sit back and be quiet, and it breaks my heart to know that it wasn’t the last — this might have been the hardest pill to swallow.

I myself reflected on our current realities after this: “How do people die in a civilized society today?” Many places have lost their empathy and compassion. I pledge to never do this. As I left Mauthausen with my head against the bus window thinking about what I experienced I knew I was leaving with a bowl of new and expansive knowledge and, ultimately, empathy. Hence, that knowledge now gives me a responsibility to memorialize and remain vigilant.

I remain thankful for this opportunity. In fact, I wish more could experience the knotted stomach with gloomy emotions that I mentioned feeling earlier. It was critical after this that I unwound and debriefed over dinner with fellow educators. It was much needed after today. JCRC has helped create a new community for me out of this. Fellow educators and professionals here on this trip are memorializing while also learning, and I am filled with gratitude for each one of these individuals.