By Rachel Watson An experience that was particularly breathtaking and informative to me in Berlin, Germany, was the Sinti and Roma Memorial and the way which it was constructed. I feel that there is a lack of regard for diverse minority communities in several history courses that cover the Holocaust and World War II era. […]
By Maddie Petherick Gleis 17 is the platform in West Berlin from where the Jewish citizens of the city were deported to concentration camps, extermination camps, ghettos, and other mass death sites beginning in 1941. On May 29, 2017, our class visited the memorial at this platform. Here, our German teaching assistant Josefine, who has […]
By Jonalynn C. Lao The gorgeous city of Berlin; is home to many famous sights and landmarks throughout the city. For instance, the magnificent Brandenburg Gate is an iconic symbol of Berlin and is one of Germany’s most visited landmarks. After seeing the Gate, visitors can head to the Berlin Television Tower (Fernsehturm) and enjoy […]
By Erin Harrison As I stood on the platforms of Grunewald Station: Track 17, located on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany, I tried to deeply grasp the feeling of what it would be like as the trains pulled up. I tried to imagine boarding on a path to the unknown. Thousands of Jewish families were […]
By Eric Weisansal I never quite understood why most of all high schools used George Orwell’s 1984 as a required reading until I visited Hohenshönhausen, a memorial at the site of a former East German political prison. Reading the text and deciphering it previously in my education made the whole visit a lot more meaningful […]
By Emilie Bouchard As a child, whenever I visited a memorial or any historical site, my father always told me to imagine myself as if I were there. He always said to stand and take in my surroundings. As I do this, I imagine myself as if I were witnessing the historical moment. While this […]
By Abigail Thaine Time after time it has been said that seeing is believing. While this statement does ring true, a more accurate version may be that experiencing the feeling of a location leads to greater understanding and believing. This past week in Central Europe has been a whirlwind of rediscovering history. Like so many […]
By Brigitta Pupillo I have mentioned before in my previous blog that the power of memorials is how they represent more than what they are. Of course, they represent an event, people, or a person, but more importantly they represent an interpretation of those events, people, or person. However, as a society progresses the view […]
By Ali Dunbar This morning I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to see who was in the lead of the presidential race. To my dismay it was Donald Trump but I thought it was a dream so I hit my snooze button a few times. I received an numerous text messages from people back home […]
By Rosa Beyk Nelson Mandela once said, “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its […]