Kristin Semmens

Dr. Kristin Semmens is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator in the Department of History at the University of Victoria's Faculty of Humanities. She holds a BA (Honours) in History from the University of British Columbia, an MA in History from the University of Victoria, and a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge.

Her research specializes in 20th-century German history with focus areas including Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and the intersection of tourism with political regimes. She examines how state-controlled and commercial tourism functioned as tools of propaganda and normalization during the Third Reich.

Her publications demonstrate consistent focus on Nazi cultural policies, propaganda mechanisms, and everyday life under totalitarianism. Recent works analyze visual representations of Nazi ideology and pedagogical approaches to teaching this period.

Awards and Honors:

• UVic’s Gilian Sherwin Award for Excellence (2013)
• Faculty of Humanities Teaching Excellence Award (2020)
• Canadian Historical Association's Teaching with Primary Sources Award (2020)
• Seven-time recipient of History Department's Most Valuable Professor Award

She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses covering modern Europe, Weimar/Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and public history methodologies.