SAU historical past college students hint World Warfare II throughout Europe | Eldorado Information
Seven Southern Arkansas University students traveled through England, France and the Netherlands in May on a study tour called “The War That Shaped Europe.” They visited some of the most important World War II sites on the continent.
Dr. Paul Babbitt led the trip. He is an associate professor of history and chair of the Department of History, Political Science and Geography.
“I think it went really well,” Babbitt said. He added that he learned a lot on the trip himself and plans to offer it again.
Babbitt said the students also learned a lot from the travel experience. “They seemed to enjoy it,” he said.
London was the first stop. The next day, the group took a private guided tour of the Second World War Galleries at IWM London, which explore the human side of a conflict that affected millions of people worldwide.
That afternoon, they toured the Churchill War Rooms, the secret underground headquarters beneath Westminster where Winston Churchill and his inner circle directed Britain’s war effort.
The following day, the students took a train to Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes. It was the main center of Allied code-breaking during the war and is widely considered the birthplace of modern computing.
After two free days in London, the group crossed to France.
They spent a day at Mont-Saint-Michel, a tidal island in Normandy topped by a medieval Benedictine abbey. They then toured the Caen Memorial, one of Europe’s most comprehensive museums of 20th-century history, with a focus on World War II and the Battle of Normandy.
On the 10th day, the students joined a D-Day excursion that included Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery.
In Paris, the group toured the Museum of the Liberation of Paris and the Army Museum at Les Invalides, one of the world’s leading military history museums. The students then had a day to explore the city on their own, including the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the Moulin Rouge.
On the 14th day, they visited the Museum of Paris Resistance in the morning and the Catacombs in the afternoon. The Catacombs are an underground ossuary holding the remains of more than 6 million people.
The trip ended in Amsterdam with a tour of the Anne Frank House.
Babbitt began planning the trip in 2024.
“I think the trip opened their minds to a whole new set of experiences,” he said. “I feel it’s a really valuable experience that will stick with students for a long time.”
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