References
Below you will find selected references from guests that I have guided. These references should provide a bit more “feel” for my guiding style.
Colinne Bartel gave me a wonderful, extremely informative, tour of Dachau when I was researching my book „The Unwanted“ on Jewish refugees. She helped me understand the agonies endured by tens of thousands of Jewish men arrested after Kristallnacht, and also provided very helpful research leads. She is an excellent tour guide and a diligent researcher of the Holocaust.
Michael Dobbs, Author of „The Unwanted“, USA
(„The Unwanted“ won the 2019 National Jewish Book Award in Holocaust studies.)
Colinne Bartel provides the ideal combination of historical information, engagement with her audience, and enthusiasm, making her tours both educational and enjoyable.
Peter Tokofsky, Director, UCLA German Studies travel-study program, USA
As a history professor with a specialization in modern Japan, I was so pleased that our tour of Dachau was both informative and a model of how public history should be done. I often hold up Colinne as a model for my students, when I tell them how she led us through the site in a way that was respectful and attuned to the inherently emotionally overwhelming nature of Dachau, yet at the same time, gave us the complexities of the historical narrative so we could both feel and think about the importance of this site in a meaningful and very powerful way.
K. Dennehy, Professor of History, Fullerton, USA
I have been on tour with Colinne Bartel several times visiting Dachau and Hitler sites in Munich. Colinne is a very thorough historian that gives her groups a very informative presentation and a behind the scenes trip. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed on any tour she leads.
Henry Bodden, Tour Leader for Valor Tours, USA
My second visit to Dachau concentration camp, my first time with a guided tour. Colinne was fantastic, extremely knowledgeable. I came away with a much greater understanding of the history of Dachau.
W. Griffin, Santa Monica, USA
My daughter and I did the Dachau tour in October of 2018, we had the great fortune of having Colinne as our English speaking tour guide. I had done the tour many years earlier by myself, but this time was much different. Colinne, not only provided us with the facts of the site, but she provided the background of how could something like this happen and Hitler’s rise to power. As she walked us through the camp she set the tone and emotion of what it may have been like, for those poor souls who occupied the camp. Colinne’s tour is not to be missed! Her passion and knowledge of WWII and concentration camps is palpable and she cares deeply about the subject and is careful and precise as she tells this tragic story while you walk through the camp. I highly recommend taking the Dachau tour with Colinne if you have the chance, you won’t be disappointed!
Jack A., Boston, USA
To be very honest, as a mid-forties German who should know her part about German history, I first was a bit skeptical to have a U.S. tour guide when accompanying some friends to Dachau; but I quite instantly got hooked up by Colinne’s lively and engaging way of talking about history. She added a whole bunch of new perspectives to my world view and if I want to dig even deeper into the topic, I am now equipped with an extensive reading list provided by her.
Andra R., Consultant, Munich, Germany
OUR TOUR WITH COLINNE BARTEL IN JULY 2018 We were lucky enough to go on a guided tour with this lady…We found her information both informative and fascinating, we were also lucky enough to be given a lift back to the station and Colinne took the trouble to take us to parts of Dachau that could not be in the tour which we found actually even more interesting than the inside tour…we were very grateful for this as this gave us an even better insight to the horrors that was Dachau We would highly recommend her for her knowledge and deep understanding of this sad part of history.
Ian and Ann Fuller, South Africa
Our family participated in your tour of Dachau on Monday, June 19th. We each came away saying that it had been one of the best tours we had ever been on. You are a marvelous teacher and we learned so much from you.
The Michael’s Family, USA
Ms. Bartel is a very knowledgeable guide. I first came into contact with Colinne while taking the free guided tour of Dachau, and immediately, I knew that I needed to spend more time with her. That is why my family and I booked a separate tour with her to go back to Dachau, as well as many of the subsidiary camps near Dachau. Colinne gave us a great deal of information on Munich in general, helping illustrate the many factors that played into the perfect storm that was the rise of the Third Reich and WWII. Ms. Bartel’s comprehensive knowledge of war history, coupled with the social and economic climates that played a role in Hitler’s rise to power helps the tourist get a much better understanding of WWII from Ground Zero. I found her knowledge and perspective on the role of Russia to be particularly enlightening, as I hadn’t given much thought to the Eastern front of WWII before meeting Colinne. Ms. Bartel also recommended many wonderful books to help continue my education about WWII and the Holocaust. I would definitely recommend contacting Colinne as you make your travel plans. Your entire experience with be enriched by having her there to answer your questions and guide you through one of history’s most interesting chapters.
Rachel W., South Korea
One of the most amazing tours I have had was the visit I had with Ms. Bartel at Dachau. She seemed to combine the impossible: a rigorous explanation of the facts along with an incredibly moving sense of the emotional immensity of the camp and the context in which arose and existed. To this day (several years later) I still vividly recall what she brought to me during that experience (“tour” is too mundane a description for what she did).
J. Nelson Thomas, USA
Joining Colinne on a tour through the Dachau KZ memorial grounds was very memorable. Background information on the prisoners‘ daily routines combined with the actual walk of the grounds left me more than once having goosebumps. It was a tour that I ll remember for a long time. Great job on the history telling/story telling, Colinne.
Anja V., Düsseldorf, Germany
Ms Bartel provided a thorough and engrossing tour through Dachau, bringing some insightful light into one of the darkest places in global history. She added a dimension of detailed research to her narrative, imparting more depth not only to the physical experience of touring the grounds, but also the supporting materials that reflected the propaganda issued by the nazis during the period of the camp’s active existence during the war. If you are planning on making Dachau part of your trip to Germany, seek out Ms Bartel as your guide.
S. Lundin, Chicago, USA