How did you end up minoring in German and taking the study abroad trip in 2019?
I had been drawn to Germany since I was in high school, but I could never quite put my finger on why. I had ancestral ties there, but I also have ties to Poland and France, and I have never quite felt the same way about those places. When I got to Puget Sound and learned about the language requirement, I gave in to my desire to learn more about Germany and started taking German.
And then Professor Kent Hooper showed great kindness when he saw I was unhappy in my biology classes, and he encouraged me to pursue something more aligned with my strengths. After that, I switched my major to communications and kept taking German courses, as I loved the department’s professors and was excited to take some of the upper-level ones, such as the Berlin study abroad course.
What was it like to have a personal connection to something you first learned about in class?
It felt like everything had come full circle. During the study abroad course, we learned about the Stolpersteine and eventually got the chance to see them all over the city. I would always stop to read them, and I thought the concept of this memorial was really unique because you are continually being reminded of just how many people were impacted—and not every person that was impacted has a stone. Although my ancestors had fled during the Holocaust or been captured by the Nazis, it never occurred to me that we should have them.
So, when I received an email from a family friend in Germany in February 2024 about putting in a Stumbling Stone for one of my ancestors, I was so excited. After watching videos of the installation process in class, I was getting the opportunity to see it in person—and with a personal connection! It was a full circle moment not only for my experiences in class but also for that desire I had to learn more about Germany. I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason, and I think I was meant to take those German classes to give me the background and context to appreciate how special this experience was.
What was the ceremony like?
On the day of the ceremony, we walked around the city of Darmstadt and watched many installations—ours was last on the list. When a stone is laid, someone will talk about the person or people to remember their story. These speeches were done mostly by historians who had done extensive research, but we also saw a group of local students and distant relatives speak. I think the ceremony was pretty surreal for my mom, too, because she’s a generation closer than I am.
Have there been any developments or updates since then?
Yes! Last summer, our family friend let me know she was working on getting Stumbling Stones approved for the rest of my family members. Just before midnight Dec. 31, 2024, I received an email that all five Stumbling Stones were approved to be installed in the small town of Hamm Am Rhein. This is especially meaningful because Stolpersteine are often harder to approve in smaller towns, and these are the only ones in this town. My mom and I are planning to go back, and we’re trying to get my dad (David Hanses ’89, P’20) and younger sister to go, too. I’ll be giving a speech in German at the ceremony. They’re working on a date now—it sounds like it will happen in April 2026.
Professor Kris Imbrigotta runs the Berlin study course about every three years. The class meets on-campus for the academic component during the spring semester and then travels to Berlin for five weeks during the summer to engage the course themes first-hand. Sixteen students are in the midst of the Berlin portion of the trip now.
To see a student-created video from a previous trip that captures the mood and essence of the class, images of the city, and the group dynamic, go to pugetsound.edu/berlinstudytrip.
