Holy Cross Historian and Holocaust Expert Quoted by The New York Times

Thomas Doughton, a senior lecturer at the College of the Holy Cross' Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, was recently asked by The New York Times to weigh in on the gravity of historical context in choosing sites for new construction projects, especially given the rise of "dark tourism," which is essentially "profiting from places that were once sites of shame and horror."

The article concentrates on a new development project set to convert a Nazi-era air raid shelter in Hamburg, Germany into an upscale hotel. Doughton, an expert in the politics of memory and the Holocaust, warns of the challenges inherently present at the site, saying that it is necessary to "reconcile commemoration and consumption or consumerism." He cautions that any future use of the space must respect and recognize the gravity of the dark history of the site.

Together with colleague Daniel Bitran, Doughton instructs students in a six-week summer course entitled "History, Memory, and the Holocaust in Central Europe" where students are able to visit and reflect on various sites of the Holocaust in Germany and surrounding countries.

To read the full article, go to The New York Times.