Author: Leah McCallum

a) The main obstacle that I faced in putting together my research project was being able to narrow the topic down enough so that it wasn’t too broad, at the beginning I didn’t fully understand how difficult it was to come up with a dissertation topic and a question until the methodology paper and trying to find sources that would answer a narrowed down project topic.

b) One strategy that I have developed to overcome these obstacles would be talking to other students who are also struggling to narrow down their topic questions enough to be able to bounce ideas off of each other and help each other come to a narrowed down enough idea to take to our supervisors. Another strategy that I developed would be being in constant contact with my supervisor with my ideas of my topic ideas and sending him any sources that I have come across to make sure that they are credible to use in my dissertation.

c) This module has taught me to make sure I continue the reading and researching for this dissertation throughout the summer to ensure I am not falling behind at the beginning of next semester. This module has also taught me to ensure that I have plenty of access to primary sources online in the event of another lockdown and libraries being closed for access.

d) An aspect of the 9X6 module that has been the most useful in helping getting my project ready to start would be the different stages of the module being focussed on the beginning stages on a research project without making it too complicated to understand. Having tutors that are always available to help with any questions that I may have made it much easier to understand what I was being asked to do in terms of not only the dissertation but also the preparation work that was required.

My initial topic idea for my dissertation is to examine what life was like for the Jewish population whilst living in the extermination camps with a main focus on what happened during medical experiments conducted by Nazi officials. This will hopefully give me a wider understanding to help me come to a narrowed down topic outline.

1. Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Elie Wiesel’s Account on Life at Auschwitz,  https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/elie-wiesel-hmd-2017/
   • • first hand account of the transportation from Sighet, Hungary to Auschwitz.
     • quotes about the transportation journey such as “lying down was not an option, nor could we all sit down. We decided to take turns sitting … After two days of travel, thirst became intolerable, as did the heat”.
     • can give an understanding of the thoughts of different Jews during the travel to Auschwitz and what life was like once they arrived.
2. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum “The Doctors Trial: The Medical Case of the Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings” https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/doctors-trial
   • • Documentation of the Nuremberg Trials with regard to medical experiments with survivor testimonies.
     • Vladislava Karolewska was deported to Ravensbrueck concentration camp just north of Berlin and was selected as a subject for a bone regeneration experiment.
     • can help give a more realistic idea about what really happened during the medical experiments as there is not many people who survived the experiments.
3. Jewish Virtual Library A Project of Aice “The Holocaust: Nazi Medical Experiments” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/nazi-medical-experiments
   1. • Written letters between SS officers about experiments being done in various different extermination camps and photographic documentation of experiments being conducted on women, men and children.
      • Also a list of doctors who conducted many different experiments such as Josef Mengele, Karl Brandt and Carl Clauberg.
      • Experiments that were conducted such as bone transplantation, poisoning, freezing, sterilisation and nerve regeneration.
      • first hand account of what happened during the medical experiments and photographic evidence of what this not only looked like but the effects that it had physically on people.

Hi, I’m Leah and I’m from Cumbernauld a town just outside of Glasgow. I am in between two ideas for my dissertation topic, the first being public perceptions of the Nazi party during WW2 and the second being to look at the European handlings of the Spanish Flu in 1918-1920. I have looked at the rise of the Nazi party in Advanced Higher but would like to broaden my knowledge on the subject after having visited Auschwitz. The topic of the Spanish Flu is something that caught my interest after the Covid-19 pandemic and would love to know more about what happened during the 1918 epidemic. I have enjoyed parts of online learning but finding the motivation to complete tasks and concentrate can be challenging.