We've returned!!

We are on the coach back to Stortford, having landed at 20:15. Mr Dickens and his entourage are having an important meeting at the front. Exciting! When wiill we get back? The road is long.... with many a winding turn.... but our ETA is 22:15.

I will post day two tomorrow, as well as an overarching summary of the whole four days. We also have a history revision day on Wednesday (!!!) which I will blog about too.

Before I leave you, I'd like to personally thank: Mr Dickens, Mrs Banister, Miss Dowsett, Mrs Kitching for her work behind the scenes, Mr Reeve and senior management, parents, my fellow students.

And of course, the driving force behind the trip, the mighty Dr Coke-Woods....

Last day...

Another interesting and tiring day!! (Mentally/physically/emotionally...)

***

After checking out at 08:00, we headed to the Reichstag on the S-Bahn. The glass dome (cause of a lot of controversy) is really not that ugly an appendage and fits in quite nicely with the architecture. Although you may of course judge that for yourself...

We walked up the walkway, right to the top of the done, learning about thecurrent  German government, seeing the city all the while...

RE the mirrors ... there are 360 of then and they reflect sunlight to help generate the energy required to light the plenary hall... interesting!

You have already seen the group photo, hopefully. We then headed to the German Historical Museum, stopping first at a memorial site to all those killed trying to get over the Berlin Wall.

The memorial to the homosexuals (not even considered until 1969, until which homosexuality was still illegal) is a grey stone box (or prison if you like). You can look through a hole inside to see a screen, where images of men/women kissing each other are displayed to show that love is universal.

This is the Holocaust memorial site. We came up with at least five different interpretations, so I'll let you come up with your own ideas.

Finally, the German Historical Museum, where we recapped the Weimar Period. It was particularly interesting to see a replica of the Versailles treaty... clause 228 is shown here. A page turn away from the dreaded War Guilt Clause - arguably the most unpopular term of the treaty for German citizens.

... but like the Jewish Museum it practically demands a return visit.

We then had an hour and a half's free time in town, in which very little was accomplished.

We're off home now. Will update en route. Auf wiedersehen!!

Museum...

Interim blog post...

***

We have had an interesting morning at the Reichstag ... after a very thorough security search (even though Dr Coke-Woods wasn't stopped this time) we embarked on a guided tour which taught us a lot, both about the Bundesrepublik as it is now, and the Weimar period.

Lots of pictures to follow, but here is one for now:

... and a group photo!!!

We have just been walking through the city at breakneck speed, stopping to see thr main Holocaust Memorial, and the memorial to the homosexuals killed.

Having arrived at the museum 45 minutes early, we are having drinks and cake in the museum café. Good times.

See you later!!

Hotel!!

Just thought I'd tell you a bit about our hotel...

***

Here is one of the rooms. My room actually! It's simple, but really comfortable accommodation.

Here is the lobby where we congregate jn the morning. Behind the Grand Staircase you can see the faint outline of a bar. Though none of our staff have been there, of course.

Off to central Berlin today to see the Reichstag and learn about Weimar Germany. And of course, we're flying back this evening. I could have spent a week here, personally!!

Bye!

Dritten Tag... (Day 3!)

Here is day three... I will leave day two and Sachsenhausen for later. There was a lot to take in yesterday!

***

Today's first stop was Potsdam, where we saw the site of the Wannsee Conference and were subjected to Herbert Grönemeyer on the way there! The Final Solution was drawn up here. A lovely place, but the site of some horrific plotting and scheming.

Next was the Cecilienhof palace, where many decisions were made in 1945 about the future of Europe by Stalin, Truman and Churchill (until he was replaced by Clement Attlee). It contains an office for each of them, as well as a smoking room ... in pristine condition considering most of them smoked 80 a day!

(No photos were allowed inside. Unless I paid 3€)

Afterwards we went to the suburb of Potsdam for some lunch (and souvenirs), which included ice cream and pasta for some, traditional German sausage for others, and, in extreme cases, the golden arches again. Dr Coke-Woods had chicken though, because apparently "he does what he wants."

(Not the Arc de Triomphe as some people thought!)

We then visited the platform where the Jews of Berlin were gathered before being sent off to Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen and Theresienstadt camps. There is a run of about seven days in July 1943 that saw 100 Jews transported per day. For me, this was the most poignant experience of the day.

After a brief stop outside Robert Koch's house to revise the history of medicine, we headed towards the Jewish Museum. This was incredibly interesting: there were some very provocative exhibitions in the basement and the guided tours were energetic and gave us an excellent understanding of what it is to be a Jew.... it is the sort of place where one visit does not suffice!

After a copious dinner at the hotel, we headed off bowling, which was very loud and very lively!! Harry Wright showed off his legendary bowling skills, thrashing anyone who challenged him, and therefore deserves a special mention. 168 was his score apparently.

We are now playing pool and cards in the basement. Thankfully it is soundproof so no-one else is deprived of their sleep. This would otherwise be a major problem!!!

Last day tomorrow. Today was very exciting at times (an emotional roller coaster even ... to be very cliché...) compared to a very chilling and memorable day yesterday.

Goodnight, with love from your anonymous blogger.

Supper!!

We've just finished our dinner at Route 66 (American Diner in the city). Longer blog post to follow later!! To keep you satisfied for now, here is a photo of my dinner.... going to walk round the Old Jewish Quarter now! The fun never stops...

Sachsenhausen

Here is day two: the most action-packed day in our itinerary. The plan was always to do this day in a couple of parts. It is definitely worth keeping Sachsenhausen separate.

***

Sachsenhausen was built by inmates at nearby Oranienburg in 1936, when the camp there could no longer hold the required number of prisoners. A total of 200,000 prisoners were detained here at some point during the Nazi regime. An estimated 100,000 never left.

Just opposite, metres away from where the prisoners were detained, sits the provocative 'Green Monster Building' where SS officers would go to relax and have a good time after a day's worth of atrocities. Walking into the camp, the 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (Work sets you free) sign is there on the gate, like at Auschwitz.

Prisoners had to assemble for roll call three times a day, standing out in all weathers for up to an hour. During that time, disease could spread very readily and many prisoners would be killed off by the cold.

This is the defence against escaping - there would have been a 'no-man's land' just in front of it, filled with mines. There is no record of a successful escape from Sachsenhausen. A single SS officer could stand on the balcony nearby, armed with a machine gun, and mow down every prisoner in the camp with very little effort.

These barracks would have held 400 prisoners each....

During the day, prisoners went to work in factories (often making bricks) or for electrical firms such as Siemens. Alternatively, they would walk 30 miles a day in a pair of army boots on the terrain shown here, just to make sure the boots were as sturdy as they had to be.

The SS were brutal - in this innocent looking wash room they were known for drowning their prisoners.

Once a year, a Christmas tree was put up in the centre of the camp to give prisoners hope. Unfortunately, this was false hope, as in January the tree was taken down and the wood was used to make a set of gallows, so that the SS could carry out ceremonial hangings.

There was also a 'Special Prison' where the most 'dangerous' political prisoners (such as Martin Niemoller) were detained. They would not have to carry out work like the others but were kept in solitary cells. Here is Niemoller's:

The famous 'Sachsenhausen Salute' would often be performed here by a prisoner of the SS' choice, who would dangle by their arms on this pole and effectively be crucified.

Leaving the 'Special Prison', we see a Soviet Memorial to all of the prisoners killed. It is quite controversial as it features only red triangles: political prisoners had to wear red triangles on their uniform, and these prisoners would have been Communists or Socialists. Many people thought that the Soviets were deliberately neglecting the Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and other minority groups in constructing this monument. What do you think?

Although Sachsenhausen was not intended as a death camp, by 1943 prisoners were being gassed in the small chamber in the far corner of this photograph. 

This room is a  memorial to all the victims at Sachsenhausen, so it was fitting to stop here for a few minutes, listen to an extract from the trial of Anton Kaindl, who ordered the gas chambers to be built, and think about the inhumanity that went on here.

When the Soviets liberated the camp in 1945, this was not the end of the story! A further 60,000 were detained under the Communist government, until the camp closed in 1950. This place is full of human suffering, and a visit makes this suffering far more immediate: standing here makes it much easier to imagine exactly what these people were subjected to.

Hopefully that was a provocative summary of the camp. There are still bits missing - I thought it best not to mention the laboratory and its many uses. Instead, I will talk about our jolly afternoon in the next post - the Olympic stadium, the German Resistance Museum, and the evening walk in the Jewish Quarter.

Bye!

Day the first!!!!!

Eugh! 3 AM starts are harder than they sound, even with several doses of coffee!

***

However, skipping forward a few hours (thankfully) we had all had a restful and relatively painless flight and were ready to explore Berlin! We took theS-Bahn into the city proper and began our tour of Berlin with lunch: currywurst being the most popular choice, although a few stragglers in our group were ensnared by the golden arches. Unfortunately, the likes of McDonalds and Starbucks are just as prosperous in Germany!

Potsdamerplatz was our next destination: this square is the beating heart of Berlin and is (excitingly) home to Europe's first set of traffic lights! Less importantly, what is now the Sony Centre was once the headquarters of the SA, which Hitler stormed in 1934 as a step towards consolidating his power. Even less importantly (!), there is a small section of the Berlin Wall here, the dividing line between East and West Berlin, the boundary erected in a single night by 40,000 officers to prevent oppressed East Germans accessing the wealth and freedom available on the west side.

Further up, we had a look at Hitler's Chancellory Palace, which he had ordered to be 150m long (twice as long as the Hall of Mirrors, at Versailles where that humiliating treaty was signed!) and made of marble, to make his 'guests' unsure and edgy before they even reached his office! Next was the area over thr Fuhrer Bunker, where Hitler spent his last days. 'Downfall', which we are currently watching, encapsulates these days very nicely, so go and watch it! 

After a brief look at one of the watchtowers, situated in the 'no-man's land' that lay beside the wall, we proceeded to Checkpoint Charlie to learn about the most tense point in the Cold War: it was here that the Americans and Soviets had their tanks aimed at each other, each with a nuclear arsenal sufficient to destroy the world sitting at home. We agreed that although the American soldier by the checkpoint collecting 2€ for everyone who had a photo with him, none of us were that desperate to pay for the privilege!

Mr Dickens then deployed his collection of disturbing stories as we looked at the excavated Gestapo headquarters, including Communist party leader Ernst Thalmann's account of an 'intensive interrogation' that left him within an inch of his life.

We also saw the French and German Cathedrals, and the huge Concert Hall that lay between them, which reminded us that not all of German history is depressing! However, this was only after the group has split up, mainly due to Dr Coke-Woods, though apparently a joint effort by all of our highly responsible staff!

Thankfully, Mr Dickens made it up to us by playing (very loudly) a Conrad Schumann song. Which was really appreciated.... thank you....

I will very quickly gloss over Jack Connolly's attempts to take a 'stranger selfie' at this point.

We visited the 'Platz des Volksaufstandes' next, with its colourful depiction of the benefits of socialism on one wall, contrasting starkly with its story of how a peaceful strike in 1953 led to thousands of arrests by the Soviet Government.

On our way back, we passed through the Bebelplatz, the site of book burning under the Nazis. This horrific act is commemorated by an underground room full of empty white shelves. What makes it even worse is that students of Humboldt University, an intellectual powerhouse in which Einstein and Karl Marx both studied, were forced to burn the books!

This led us onto Unter den Linden (Under the Lime Trees) - Berlin's main thoroughfare. It was here that a bunch of angry ex-soldiers (Freikorps) organised the Kapp Putsch in 1920, which led to Dr Wolfgang Kapp having control over Berlin until he was defeated by a general strike several days later. It was also a place for Hitler to show off - his Potsdam Day, a celebration after he became Chancellor in 1933, is a good example. We finished our tour at the Neue Wache - originally used as a guardhouse for Prussian troops but not used as a war memorial to remember all victims of violent conflict.

We came to the hotel with pretty full heads, some tired feet and (in some cases) high on sugar and liable to burst out laughing for no obvious reason. And so, having checked into our basic, but comfortable hotel rooms, had a nourishing buffet dinner and finally found out how to connect to the wi-fi.... here we are watching 'Downfall' in the games room... the secret underground bunker of our hotel. I just had to say that....

Hopefully tomorrow you'll get a few shorter stories, but there's a (very detailed) idea of today's adventures!!! Also, if you can figure out who the blogger is, there may be a special mystery prize....

Goodnight!

Afternoon England!

Hello everyone, we're back and waiting for the coach, been a great trip and many thanks to the teachers.

Bye from everyone and Delara and Ben(The bloggers below:)

Day 7

Yes, all good things do come to an end. Yesterday was our last full day and just as packed as the others, so on we go:

Our day started with a stop at Finland Station to see the sealed train carriage that Lenin arrived in, when he returned to Russia 1917 from Switzerland. Then, we all went to a massive statue of Lenin doing a rather interesting pose, and the keen eyed among us spotted that Ethan Stacey looked uncannily like the Communist leader himself in the photo.

Another short journey on the coach took us to the Russian WW2 memorial for those who died in the 900 day German siege of St Petersburg. Once again Mr Dickens was there to give his blend of intensity and respect which had us all stunned, especially when we saw the kilometre wide park of mass graves full of just some of the 670,000 that died during the two and half years.

Very frantic lunchtime with everyone running around Nevsky Prospect looking for souvenirs to take back to England. The Winter Palace was next on the agenda with its massive, spectacular golden visuals and its fantastic Hermitage museum of art was a wondrous sight to behold. Spanning three building - every single exhibit that was there would have taken someone seven years to view all of it.

On our way to the Folklore show, we made a quick stop at a statue of Peter the Great, the founder of St Petersburg. The show was great fun with a Russian version of a barbershop Quartet. Much to the delight of everyone, Dickens' recommendation of sitting on the front row because 'that was where our seats were' lead to three of our boys, Harrison Costi, Elliot Ward and Lucas Crumb, going on stage and strutting their stuff with some Russian women.

To end a great trip, a classy five course dinner at the Palace where the show was held had been organised for us with live music, decorated chairs, the works! The food wasn't quite to everyone's taste but it was the experience that counted. The coach back was full of high spirits with sing-a-long chants such as 'One Pint Wardy' just as earlier in the week when we were singing Jerusalem.

Drinks back at the hotel finished a good day, along with Rob Parker, Jacob Sparrow, Ethan Stacey and Sam Grants own makeshift rendition of a ballet back at the hotel. And now we have half a day left then journey to England, see you there! We are going to miss you Russia!

Day 6

Day 6 was pretty awesome, nice and relaxed tours for the day were just as much fun as they were insightful.

To start off, our school group was split in half and taken to two different locations for tours. First stop, museum of Political history. A very important building to our school course as it was the Bolshevik headquarters for a time including 1917. As well as this, we went inside and saw the offices of Lenin and the balcony from which he gave speeches to all his devoted followers. Dr Coke-Woods underestimated the delicacy of the rooms, setting off the 'do not touch' alarm a few too many times.

Meanwhile, the other group boarded the battle ship Aurora, and soaked up the enormity of both the ship and it's significance in Russian history. It managed to be one of the only surviving battleships from the Russo-Japanese war, which played a big role in the 1905 revolution - and also fired the warning shot in October 1917 to signify the beginning of the Bolshevik takeover of the Winter Palace and Petrograd (St Petersburg).

We had some free time at lunch which was expertly used for some Russian pancakes and souvenir shopping to give to the parents. Unfortunately for Lucas, it was too late before he realised that his 'traditional' Russian vinegar that he wanted to give to his mum was, at a second glance, italian  balsamic vinegar.

After this, the building which hosted the murder of Ra-ra-Rasputin in its basement, Yusupov Palace. Much to everyone's surprise, there were freeze-frames in some rooms of plastic dummy's depicting scenes from the night of the murder which were particularly unnerving.

Once it got dark, we headed to Nevsky prospect, the main street in the city for a very well told story telling tour from Mr Dickens and Dr Coke-Woods. With as much passion and vigour as Lenin in 1917, the Doctor's words rang in our ears, raising spirits and saying 'All power to the Soviets!', which at one point had us convinced that Lenin had been reborn. In sharp contrast, Mr Dickens spoke softly and intensely about the tragic affairs of Bloody Sunday, which took place outside the Winter Palace which we were in. We thank both teachers for their awesome tours and also to Mrs P and Miss Morris for our pleasant wake up calls every morning.

Off for a folklore show tonight, exciting stuff, see you tomorrow.