This March break, 11 students and two faculty members are traveling to Berlin, Prague, and Krakow to explore the idea of monuments and memorials and their role in public memory, and learn more about the Holocaust and how Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland responded in the late 20th century and early 21st century to the study of Holocaust memory, public art, and their fusion in contemporary life. Please enjoy the blog post below from Max ’26 and John ’26 where Max tells us about the groups experience riding the German U-bahn, or subway and John reflects on the groups visit to the German parliament’s (Bundestag) seat of government at the Reichstag building:
We endeavoured to take the German U-bahn, or subway. We traveled across the U1 subway line, passing nearly 10 stations, observing countless examples of graffiti and found ourselves on the Eastern side of what was West Berlin, bordering the Spree River. Not only were we able to admire the picturesque river view as we crossed into what was East Berlin, but we discovered the atmosphere at the time of the wall’s tearing down: one of slight uncertainty, excitement and quick acceptance as the old order faded away.
Our scenic river and wall walk concluded, we headed to our final stop for the day: the restaurant Alex, where we would experience the classic German delicacy of “currywurst”, a sausage with a curry sauce and fries, and also a popular street food. The currywurst provided us with the strong, savory punch that so many other Berliners had experienced before. After some banana-infused and flavored ice cream to finish off the meal, we headed back to our hotel once more, this time on the S-bahn, similar to the U-bahn but not underground and more for local public transport. – Max ’26
After a sightseeing tour of Berlin, we arrived at the German parliament’s (Bundestag) seat of government at the Reichstag building right next to the Brandenburg Gates. We explored the building’s history from its initial completion in 1884, the Reichstag fire of 1933, and to its reinstatement as the parliamentary building of United Germany in 1999. Taking an elevator to the top of the historic building, we were met with a glass dome with a window in the middle looking down into the parliamentary chambers below. The window symbolized how the actions of the Germany parliament were under constant scrutiny of the German people, serving as a reminder to the German politicians that they served their electorate. The architectural symbolism reminded me of the theme of the trip—Vergangenheitsbewältigung, literally translating to “dealing with the past”—was present throughout German consciousness. Just 66 years after the same body had passed the Enabling Act, enabling Adolf Hitler to rise to power, the Bundestag now stood under and worked for the German people, both physically and metaphorically.
After visiting the Reichstag and a quick lunch, we embarked on a trip to the historic district of Schoneberg, where we joined a guided tour of the neighborhood that Christopher Isherwood depicted in his novels on Berlin in the 1920s. Led by our tour guide Brendan, we travelled back to 1920s Berlin, a bustling avante-garde city marked with a lively nightlife. We learned about the city’s historical night clubs, known as Cabarets, which represented the freedom that Berlin promised during the Weimar years. As a member of last year’s trip recounted, the tour served as the “background to the background,” providing important contextual information that served as explanation as to how the National Socialist party gained such traction in Germany. – John ’26
