Experience the history of WWII by joining SUU’s ‘Fortress Europe: The Final Victory’ tour

The Eagle's Nest in southeastern Germany, date not specified | Photo courtesy of SUU Community Relations, St. George News / Cedar City News

CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Adults who love to travel and enjoy history are invited to join Southern Utah University’s Community on the Go global travel program for the “Fortress Europe: The Final Victory” tour. 

Gayle and Marie Pollock enjoy the historic streets of Rothenburg, Germany, date not specified | Photo courtesy of SUU Community Relations, St. George News / Cedar City News

With expert trip leaders former SUU president Scott Wyatt, former SUU Board of Trustees chair Gayle Pollock and SUU professor of library and information science Richard Saunders, you can visit Europe and follow in the footsteps of history by tracing the Allied advance through Austria and Germany and the conclusion of World War II from Sept. 11-20. 

“During our visit, we’ll complete the storied service of the 101st Airborne, 506th P.I.R., Easy Company ‘Band of Brothers’ and the capture of the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountaintop fortress,” Pollock said.  

The “Fortress Europe: The Final Victory” trip leaders have both educational backgrounds and extensive historic travel experience in Europe. You will also have the added benefit of exploring with a local guide to avoid the stress of planning itineraries or negotiating travel logistics.

After meeting up with trip leaders and other community members in Salzburg, Germany, you’ll continue on to Munich, the capital of Bavaria and location of Hitler’s first concentration camp, the infamous Dachau.

Next, you’ll travel to Nuremberg, a city that for centuries was considered the undeclared capital of the Holy Roman Empire and the preferred residence of most German kings. It was here the Nazis saw the perfect stage for their fanatical party rallies, and after WWII, the city was chosen as the site of the war crimes tribunal now known as the Nuremberg Trials. While in Nuremberg, you’ll visit the infamous Nazi propaganda stadium location and other WWII-related locations.

Board a high-speed train for an exhilarating ride and transfer to Potsdam, where the Allies chose Schloss Cecilienhof to host the Potsdam Conference of 1945. It was in this location that Stalin, Truman and Churchill hammered out Europe’s post-war fate and unfortunately laid the foundation for the Cold War.

Visit Dachau, the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, during the “Fortress Europe: The Final Victory” tour | Photo courtesy of SUU Community Relations, St. George News / Cedar City News

The group will complete this once-in-a-lifetime trip with an in-depth tour of Berlin and walk along remnants of the Berlin Wall, visit Checkpoint Charlie, marvel at Brandenburg Gate and stroll along Unter Den Linden, Berlin’s most famous boulevard. The trip will then conclude the Berlin tour with contemplation at the site of Hitler’s bunker, followed by a visit to the Berlin Wall monument at Bernauer Strasse and the Wall Documentation Center.

For a special treat, the group will take a day trip from Nuremberg and travel to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Germany’s best-preserved walled town. During the Middle Ages, when Berlin and Munich were just wide spots on the road, Rothenburg was Germany’s second-largest city. 

The “Fortress Europe: The Final Victory” tour costs $3,640 per person, based on double occupancy. Trip costs include all lodging, in-country transportation, guides, entrance fees and some meals. SUU Community on the Go has partnered with the travel operator Custom Travel Network to offer this trip package.

Custom Travel Network is available to help with booking airfare and trip extensions to your tour package. For more information about SUU’s Community on the Go adult travel program, visit suu.edu/onthego or call 435-865-8259.

SUU Community on the Go offers culturally immersive, international travel experiences for adults who love to learn and is presented by SUU Community and Professional Development.

SUU faculty experts curate and lead exploration groups of approximately 20-30 travelers to various parts of the world offering fun, cultural and educational experiences. Previous Community on the Go trips destinations include London, China, Peru, Paris and Transylvania.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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