Day 1 -
Arrival in Munich: Origins of Control

Welcome to Munich—where history and modern life intertwine at every corner. After settling in, we gather for a seminar welcome and orientation at the Munich Documentation Centre, grounding ourselves in the origins of Nazi power. As evening falls, we’ll dine together at the legendary Hofbräuhaus, soaking in the energy of Munich’s vibrant beer hall culture and beginning our journey through the shadowed past and the bright present of Germany’s most cosmopolitan city.

• Arrive and check into hotel

• Orientation at Munich Documentation Centre

• Opening dinner at Hofbräuhaus – Guided Discussion: Beer Halls as Sites of Power (this dinner is included in your program fee)

Day 2 - 
Total Control and Dachau

We begin the day with a seminar on totalitarian policing, then travel to the solemn grounds of Dachau—the first Nazi concentration camp and a stark reminder of how terror was institutionalized. It’s a deeply moving day, but also one of powerful insight. For participants joining Operation Vigil, today’s reflection invites you to consider the perspective of an ordinary citizen living near Dachau in the 1930s: what might you have known, believed, or chosen to ignore? We’ll regroup and decompress over a group dinner at Weisses Bräuhaus, where we’ll toast to community, resilience, and the freedom to reflect openly in the public square.

• Classroom Session: Nazi policing and Total Control

• Visit Dachau Memorial and museum

• Group dinner and debrief at Weisses Bräuhaus (this dinner is included in your program fee)

Day 3 - 
Modern Policing and the White Rose Resistance

Today, we contrast past and present as we visit the Munich Police Headquarters to explore modern policing practices. Later, we turn our attention to the bravery of the White Rose student resistance at Ludwig Maximilian University. For those who want to dig deeper, we offer an optional visit to the Bürgerbräukeller site, followed by free time to enjoy Munich’s open-air cafés, lush city parks, or art-filled museums.

• Visit Munich Police HQ – Talk on contemporary policing

• Guest lecture at LMU: The White Rose student resistance

• Optional visit to Bürgerbräukeller (Beer Hall Putsch site)

Day 4 - 
Memory and Beer Culture

We explore the powerful concept of historical memory at the Documentation Centre before spending the afternoon in a traditional Bavarian beer garden—where conversations about civic life, propaganda, and public spaces continue informally over pretzels and beer. A hands-on workshop rounds out the day, blending archival inquiry with real-world storytelling.

• Academic seminar: German Memory Culture (return to Documentation Centre)

• Lunch in historic beer garden

• Workshop: Memory, research, and public space

Day 5 -Nuremberg: Volksgemeinschaft and Justice

We journey to Nuremberg, where we’ll walk through the chilling vastness of the Nazi Rally Grounds and trace the ways spectacle was used to create loyalty and control. After checking into our hotel in the beautifully preserved Old Town, we’ll enjoy a hearty Franconian dinner at a cozy tavern, where the timbered streets and medieval charm provide a rich counterpoint to the morning’s themes.

• Morning ICE Train to Nuremberg

• Walking tour of Nazi Rally Grounds

• Evening at traditional Franconian beer tavern

Day 6 -
Nuremberg Trials and Prague

We begin with a visit to the historic Courtroom 600, where the Nuremberg Trials gave birth to the concept of international justice. For participants engaged in Operation Vigil, today’s prompt invites reflection on how legal professionals, civil servants, or ordinary citizens may have reckoned with complicity—or chosen silence—in the wake of Nazi defeat. After lunch, we travel by private coach to Prague, winding through the Bohemian countryside. That evening, we ease into the rhythm of Czech life with a traditional dinner and local Pilsner in a classic Prague pub—an introduction not only to the city’s culinary pride but also to its rich, beer-loving culture that now thrives in the very spaces once marked by silence and fear.

• Visit Courtroom 600 – Site of Nuremberg Trials

• Transfer to Prague

• Evening exploration and Czech pub dinner

Day 7 -Operation Anthropoid and Resistance

Our walking tour of Prague takes us through streets shaped by history and resistance, culminating at the crypt of St. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral—the powerful final refuge of the soldiers who carried out Operation Anthropoid. Along the way, we’ll discuss the complex layers of occupation and defiance. In the evening, those who wish can join an optional visit to one of Prague’s rising microbreweries (Rob's favorite is Fat Cat, Praha 1), where we’ll experience how the city’s brewing tradition has been reimagined through creativity, community, and the freedom to gather without fear.

• Third Reich Walking Tour of Prague

• Visit St. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral (Anthropoid crypt)

• Optional Czech brewery visit or tasting

Day 8 -
Lidice and Collective Punishment

Today we venture to Lidice and Lety, villages forever marked by the Nazi policy of collective punishment. It’s a day of reverence and reckoning. Back in Prague, we offer an optional quiet dinner or time for personal reflection—or, for those ready to re-enter the buzz of city life, a chance to explore Prague’s winding streets and riverside cafés.

• Day trip to Lidice and Lety (Romani camp)

• Evening reflection on resistance and retribution

Day 9 -Terezin and Soviet Transitions

We travel to Terezin, a ghetto and transit camp with a complicated legacy of deceit and death. The visit is heavy, but necessary, as we confront the human cost of propaganda, manipulation, and bureaucratized cruelty. For participants in Operation Vigil, today’s reflection may center on what it meant to work inside—or just outside—such a place: how much could be known, and what might it have meant to look away? We end the day with a seminar on the transition from Nazi to Soviet-era control in Czech lands. That evening, we’ll come together for a celebratory farewell dinner—honoring what we’ve learned, what we’ve shared, and the freedom to bear witness in community.

• Visit Terezin Ghetto and Memorial

• Seminar: From Nazi to Soviet control in Czechoslovakia

• Closing dinner in Prague (this dinner is included in your program fee)

Day 10 -Museums and Memory

Our final day begins with a visit to the Museum of Communism, offering context on how the post-Nazi state shaped its own brand of control and propaganda. A guest lecture at Charles University helps us frame the historical arc of this region through the lens of justice, memory, and democratic rebirth. Before departures begin, you’ll have time for a final stroll through Prague’s cobbled lanes—or perhaps one last toast at a riverside café, savoring the present in a city once overshadowed by repression.

• Visit Museum of Communism

• Guest lecture at Charles University: Nazi policing & Anthropoid legacy

• Departures and airport transfers