Students study abroad

Learning about Berlin

By Ashlee Heid ’10

One of our first days in Berlin, we took the S-bahn over towards Museum Island. After a bit we settled into a small park for class. It was a small clearing with benches and lots of dog-walkers.

After class in the park, we walked to the Museum Island. It was spectacular! Unfortunately, many of the museums are under restoration, but it is still a phenomenal site. We walked to the History Museum and saw exhibitions about World War II and some amazing war artifacts.

After the museum we walked down the street to see the Cathedral. After taking numerous pictures we ventured to the Tiergarten — breathtaking! It puts Central Park to shame, and Central Park is pretty awesome.

For class a few days later, we caught the bus and went down by the Reichstag, and from there we walked to the Brandenburg Gate. We heard a brief history of the Gate and how the Wall went right through them. As we walked under the gates and moved from West Berlin to East Berlin, I tried to imagine the joy and excitement of the people when the Wall fell, and they were able to pass freely under the gates.

From there we walked past the Holocaust Memorial. I think the location of the memorial is one of the most significant aspects. Dr. Williams told us how the memorial was built in the center of the city in a location of prime real estate.

Next, we walked down the street to the memorial for the homosexuals who were killed — the memorial was very plain but said a lot. Before you walk up to the memorial, a plaque states how they were “punished,” how many were punished, and their seclusion within the concentration camps themselves. I didn’t know what to say to Dr. Williams after we talked about this because I was too dumbfounded. I felt somewhat ignorant.

Finally, we walked to the square where the burning of the books occurred. We talked about the authors of all the burnt works, such as Freud.

One day we went to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. I have to say this was the most disturbing thing I have ever seen or done in my life.

The camp wasn’t as I had imagined. Most of it had previously been destroyed. The guide we had was very informative and taught me an extensive amount of history regarding the concentration camps and what really happened there. It’s astonishing how much of this past is left out of history books.

I learned how the prisoners banded together to help each other to not be noticed by the SS. The fact that one prisoner would help another stand up so he wasn’t killed was a very heroic action. Most people tend to only care about themselves. I would have thought prisoners would have done anything to put others in the danger zone in order to hide themselves and stay “safe.”

On our “day off” classes, a group of us went to Potsdam. It didn’t take us long to get there by train. Once we got there we took a bus to Park Sanssouci. We literally walked around the park for hours and never got bored. There is so much to see — it’s astonishing. There are numerous fountains and courtyards and in the distance at the end of the park we could see Neues Palace. We went to the Friedenskirche, a very old neo-Romanesque church where the King and Queen’s bodies lie. The outside of the church was spectacular. After we walked all the way around the church, we headed back to the center walk and saw another palace. We decided to go in and see a vast display of old paintings.

We then ventured down to the Schloss Sanssouci. This palace was magnificent! I still can’t get over how many doors are in there! They’re everywhere!

Next, we went across the street to the historic windmill. It was awesome to see a real windmill that actually performed a very important service. We then walked down the street for food and were successful. Yay! Another delicious currywurst for me.

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Learning about Berlin