RRU researcher examines “dark tourism” through the eyes of millennials

Learn more about the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Royal Roads University. 
 

How can a memorial to a World War II Holocaust atrocity connect with present-day visitors in a meaningful way? It’s a question of increasing relevance in an age of rising racism and divisiveness.  

Ann-Kathrin McLean sought the answer in her dissertation for her Doctor of Social Sciences degree at Royal Roads University: Millennials as second-person witnesses of the Holocaust: a case study on the Dachau Concentration Camp.  

McLean, an assistant professor in RRU’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, explored the ways that millennials (the generation of people born from 1981 to 1996) engage in Holocaust remembrance, specifically how this generation can deepen their learning of remembrance and obtain an understanding of the victims’ experiences. 

 McLean says she chose to focus her research on the millennial generation because they are on the cusp of learning directly from survivors and eyewitnesses, and learning about the same events from books, movies and other forms of cultural memory.  

 She explains that we can hopefully learn from millennials about the best ways to inform future generations who are even further removed from the war, to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive for those who follow.  

 For McLean, it’s both an academic and personal pursuit. A millennial herself, she was born in Germany and her grandfather was conscripted in World War II.  

 “I didn’t grow up in Germany, so I was curious to find out more about the history, and to learn about the journey the country took as well as the journey my family took,” says McLean.   

 In 2019, RRU’s Master of Arts in Tourism Management students travelled to Munich, Germany, to take part in an international field school on global tourism. 

 McLean invited them – alongside German university students – to participate in a group tour of the nearby Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. 

 Over three hours, the group toured the site, including the barracks, roll-call area and crematorium. McLean explains that the most impactful part of the tour was seeing the names and photos of the specific people who are part of the history of the place.  

 Having a tour guide as coach and educator was critical to the experience, she adds, because they were able to give context and expand on the stories of Holocaust victims.  

"Even though the site is quite empty, in the sense of tangible items, it holds so many powerful connections to the past." – Ann-Kathrin McLean

“Visiting an actual memorial site crystalizes our perceptions,” she says. “It all goes back to the actual location: if you don’t confront yourself with such a visit, you might be less likely to fully understand this type of genocide, and to steer in the right ideological direction to avoid future acts of racism.”  

After the tour, McLean followed up, using focus groups and surveys with the participants to find out about their experience, what resonated, and why.   

McLean’s research was recently published in a chapter of The Future of Dark Tourism, a book exploring how victims of conflict or tragedy will be remembered in future visitor economies.  

Learn more about the Master of Arts in Tourism Management program at Royal Roads.