“In the Footsteps of Hitler: A Walking Tour of Munich" at the German American Heritage Center -- November 12.
Saturday, November 12, 2 p.m.
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
On November 12, visitors to Davenport's German American Heritage Center are invited to travel virtually to Munich, Germany, and learn about both the origins of the Nazi Party and the history lessons we are still learning today with In the Footsteps of Hitler: A Walking Tour of Munich, an insightful and informative program taking place both in-person and via Zoom, and hosted by Kirkwood Community College's Dr. Robinson Yost and Dr. Laura Yost.
Munich is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of the summer of 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, and thus the largest which does not constitute its own state, as well as the 11th-largest city in the European Union. The city's metropolitan region is home to 6 million people. Straddling the banks of the River Isar (a tributary of the Danube) north of the Bavarian Alps, Munich is the seat of the Bavarian administrative region of Upper Bavaria, while being the most densely populated municipality in Germany. Munich is also the second-largest city in the Bavarian dialect area, after the Austrian capital of Vienna.
In the German American Center's November 12 presentation, participants will learn about the Third Reich by visiting areas associated with the political rise of Adolf Hitler beginning with the Beer Hall Putsch. Additionally, they will see locales connected to Nazi power, brutality, and terror, with In the Footsteps of Hitler's co-presenters discussing the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany; how the city Munich played a key role in many significant historical events, eventually leading to the Holocaust; the continuing grappling with Munich’s dark past (Vergangenheitsbewältigung); and different approaches to remembrance and commemoration.
Dr. Robinson Yost is a Professor of History at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. He received his Ph.D. in History of Technology and Science from Iowa State University, and at Kirkwood, he teaches all four of the Western Civilization courses as the one full-time European historian. In addition, Rob has taught History of Science since 2002 and Holocaust and Genocide in Modern Memory since 2007. Dr. Laura Yost, meanwhile, is an Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at Kirkwood, and teaches cultures courses on Latin America, Modern China, and Modern Japan, as well as history classes on modern world military history and the Holocaust and genocide. She received her Ph.D. in 19th- and 20th-century military history from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, having earned her B.A. and M.A. in history from Iowa State University.
In the Footsteps of Hitler: A Walking Tour of Munich will be presented at 2 p.m. on November 12, with participation in the program free for Heritage Center members, and non-members admitted to the in-person program for free with $3-5 museum admission, or given the Zoom link for $5. For more information, call (563)322-8844 and visit GAHC.org.
