Wir lieben Berlin!
On 13th October, 31 students and 4 members of staff set off for a 3 night stay in Berlin. The trip, organised by the History and German departments, aimed to enrich students’ understanding of Berlin during the inter-war and Cold War periods and give them a chance to practice their linguistic skills in an everyday context. We had to pack an awful lot into a short space of time as there is so much to see in this fabulously vibrant and cosmopolitan city. Day one of our tour focused on the DDR state and East Berlin during the Cold War. A guided visit to the former Stasi prison at the Hohenschönhausen Memorial was a chilling reminder of just how recently state incarceration of political dissidents was used as a tool of state repression. We then flipped perspectives with a visit to the Stasi headquarters where fascinating remnants of communist authority have been preserved. One such item was a handwritten map illustrating for the head of State Security’s secretary the precise layout of the minister’s breakfast items.
A busy first day, including a visit to a remainder of the Berlin Wall and a traditional German evening meal, ended with a night visit to Germany’s beautiful Bundestag. The German parliament building houses a viewing platform in a breath-taking glass and steel dome designed by celebrated architect, Norman Foster.
The following day we focused on Berlin during the Third Reich with a sobering and thought provoking audio-tour of Sachsenhausen concentration camp. As students left the site, silent and subdued, I asked Matt (a Year 11 historian) for his thoughts. He shook his head and eventually replied, “No words… No words for it”. That afternoon we visited the Holocaust Memorial Centre in the heart of Berlin to reflect on that morning’s visit.
There was plenty of time to experience the bustling and vibrant city of today’s Berlin. Students enjoyed a tour through Museum Island soaking up the street performance (some of better quality than others!) and convivial atmosphere of Berliners gathering in the early evening of Saturday in the city. As night fell, we made our way through a packed Alexandersplatz dotted with lights and festivities as part of the annual Festival of Lights.
Our final day included a visit to the wonderfully interactive, DDR Museum: a showcase of everyday life of communist East Berlin. Students virtually had the place to themselves at 9am on a Sunday morning and were visibly delighted to see how many of the artefacts and exhibitions could be tried on, opened up and sat on.
Judging from the students’ faces, their comments and the lovely notes of thanks we received from so many parents after the trip, Berlin certainly delivered. Yet, no matter how fabulous the destination, this trip was made by our students, whose good humour, camaraderie, curiosity, maturity and keen sense of time-keeping distinguished them.