September 22, 2021 -- Jewish history, Sweden and Norway
The UMRA Armchair Traveler Program featured a compelling presentation by Charles Muscoplat, professor and dean emeritus from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus. Charles shared pictures and information about his wife Sue's and his visits to the WWII Concentration Camps of Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland and Jewish historical sites in Budapest and Prague. Lynn C. Anderson, former associate director of the Learning Abroad Center, shared pictures and information about her 2019 visit to Oslo, Krokerøy, and Bergen Norway and Tanumshede, Orust, and Uddevalla Sweden. Lynn apologizes to Chuck and viewers that she was unable to record the first part of Chuck's presentation.
Journey through Europe and Scandinavia with Armchair Traveler
Wed, Sep 22 2021, 11:30am
Join UMRA members Charles Muscoplat and Lynn Anderson to learn about their personal journeys through Europe and Scandinavia when UMRA’s Armchair Traveler program meets from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 22, via Zoom.
An email invitation will be sent to all UMRA members a week before the program.
Charles Muscoplat, professor and dean emeritus of the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, will present “Personal journey to WWII concentration and death camps in Poland, and Jewish historical sites in Budapest and Prague.” After starting their 2018 journey in Amsterdam’s Keukenhof Botanical Garden, Chuck and Sue Muscoplat went to Warsaw, where they toured various WWII memorials, including the Umschlagplatz Monument, the former loading yard where trains carried hundreds of thousands of Jews to their death at Treblinka. Next, they visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, where more than 1.1 million were killed. They then went to Budapest and toured pre-WWII Jewish history. Lastly, they stopped in Prague to learn about the pre-WWII history of Jews in the Czech Republic. The Muscoplat family has roots in Vilnius, Lublin, Zhitomir, and Bucharest. While most of Muscoplat’s family came to the U.S. before WWI, many stayed behind and suffered the consequences.
Lynn C. Anderson, former administrator in the College of Liberal Arts and the Learning Abroad Center, will present “Sweden and Norway: monuments, mountains, and memories.” Anderson has visited relatives in Sweden and Norway numerous times since 1975; her most recent sojourn was in spring 2019. She will share pictures and information about the incredible landscapes, amazing buildings and art, and fascinating history—plus a few goofy pictures of relatives.
Please plan to join us, and mark your calendars for our January 26 and April 27 presentations, too.
—Lynn C. Anderson, chair, Armchair Traveler
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