May 25th
The 25th wasn’t a very busy day in the sense that we had a seven-hour bus ride from Krakow to Berlin. It was kind of nice to be able to sit down and just relax for a few hours because the entire trip has been so busy and packed with activities. Once we reached Berlin, we were running behind schedule, so we had to rush to make our guided tour of the Bundestag. The tour was interesting because the building itself, the Reichstag, did not entirely relate to WWII history, because the building was never actually used by Hitler during the war. The building was seen as a political symbol, and was captured by the Soviets upon their invasion of Berlin. The most memorable thing about the building was that it still contained the original graffiti left by the Soviet soldiers who captured the building in May 1945. I thought the fact that the German government displayed the graffiti and left it in its original state is an incredible testament to the history of the building and the city as well.
May 26th
The German historical museum was teeming with historical artifacts and information from German involvement in both WWI and WWII. It was laid out chronologically, from the era before German involvement in WWI all the way through the end of WWII, and was very thorough in the way it laid out the progression of events. The museum presented the information without much embellishment – they did not attempt to glorify or gloss over any of the things the Germans did during WWI or WWII, and instead presented it as-is in a very matter-of-fact manner. I appreciated this because it felt like the museum was not trying to present a “deeper meaning” behind anything and was there to educate people on what happened and exactly how it happened.
Later, we went to the Topography of Terror Museum, which was extremely reading intensive, seeing as it had no artifacts to view in the museum. It was interesting to see how the Germans presented the rise of the Nazis – they laid out exactly how they came to power, and the lesson behind the entire museum was to educate the public on how to prevent something like this from ever happening again. It was strange to see this shift in how a museum is presented – the countries we had toured prior had been the victors in WWII, and were proud of their accomplishments in WWII to defeat the evil that had arisen in Germany. This museum, however, seemed largely apologetic and placed a large emphasis on the notion that this was a one-time issue and that it would never happen again. The museum made it seem as if the Germans were progressively working towards a future that was the polar opposite of what had happened in the 1930s and 1940s, and this would be a theme that would be carried on throughout other German museums and memorials that we saw in Berlin.
That night, a big group of us decided to experience a true German pastime and visit a traditional bier garten for dinner. We found ourselves at Pratergarten, which is supposedly the oldest bier garten in Berlin. It was a very relaxing, laid-back social atmosphere that was full of good conversation, delicious food and amazing beer. Here, I felt like I was experiencing German culture to its fullest and felt truly absorbed in the moment. I loved it so much that I wanted to return to Prater, and (luckily) I found myself back in the bier garten just a few days later.
May 27th
Today was spent walking what seemed like all across Berlin in the scorching heat of the day. We began at St. Mathias church where we listened to a site report and then traveled to the Bendlerbloc and Claus von Stauffenberg memorial. This site was interesting because it was the site where von Stauffenberg and the other anti-Hitler conspirators were executed after the failed Valkyrie plot, the assassination attempt on Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair. Additionally, we toured the museum dedicated to the assassination plot and learned more about its conception, its development, and its execution, and the effect it had on the Nazi political structure once it failed. I could not believe the extent to which it affected the Nazi political structure and the amount of executions that were carried out as a direct result. Once again, it was a very reading-intensive museum, but it was also very informational and gave me much more detail about something that I previously knew very little about.
We later walked to the Soviet War Memorial that was dedicated to the Soviet liberators of Berlin during WWII. It was strange to see such a large monument dedicated to people who then occupied the city under an oppressive regime for so many years after the war. This memorial, as large as it was, paled in comparison to the larger memorial that we would see the next day in the Tiergarten.
May 28th
We took the train to Treptower Park to view the Sovet Memorial to the war, and it seemed more like an entire park itself than just a memorial. The Soviet memorial was one of the most beautiful and well-designed parks/memorials that I had seen during the entire trip. It was massive in all aspects, from the mature trees lining the walkways, the large carved walls that depicted Soviet war scenes and quotes from Joseph Stalin, and the immense main statue that towered over the rest of the memorial. Once again, it was strange to see such a glorious memorial to a country that occupied the host country for so long and caused so much social distress and unrest during the Cold War. For people that may not know of the exact tensions between Russia and the other countries after WWII, the memorial may just seem like a magnificent memorial to the army that had liberated an entire city from evil. The memorial made no mention of any Soviet acts after WWII, so if only taken at first glance, it was incredibly awe-inspiring and overwhelming in its intensity and size.
Later, we traveled to the German-Russian Museum in Karlshorst to view the building in which the German-Soviet pact was signed to officially end WWII between Russia and Germany in May 1945. This museum also conveyed the message that Germany was at fault during WWII and that they would be doing their best in the future to right the wrongs that they had committed during this era. This was a common theme in German museums, and not something I was used to seeing after touring museums of the countries that had emerged victorious from WWII.
May 29th
This was our last day in Berlin, and it began with a trip out to Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin. Potsdam was beautifully lush and located near a large lake, and provided a much needed change in scenery after being in a city for several days straight. We first stopped at Glienicker Bridge, a short detour from our day of touring. This bridge was featured in the movie Bridge of Spies, and was the division point between east and west Berlin during the Cold War.
The main attraction of the day was the Wannsee House, which was both beautiful and menacing. Set back in a vibrant garden and overlooking the lake, the Wannsee House was the location of the Wannsee Conference, where it is widely believed that the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was decided. After touring the museum dedicated to the conference, I gave my site report on whether the Final Solution was actually decided at the Wannsee Conference or not. It was interesting to compare the actual museum to the book I read – the museum presented the information and evidence in a very different way, and attempted to place the blame on the Nazi party alone. I found that I enjoyed the museum more and got more out of it because I had read about the Wannsee Conference and researched it extensively, so I was able to compare more of my prior knowledge to the knowledge being presented to me in the museum. Overall, it was a great exhibit, but it really pushes the Intentionalist argument and does not really do much to support the Functionalist argument on who is to blame for the Final Solution.
We then stopped by the Olympic Stadium, which was home to the 1939 Olympic games in Berlin. This stop was purely for a fun photo op, and to visit the street dedicated to none other than Jesse Owens, a fellow Buckeye. It was here that I realized that our trip, which had seemed so long from the start, was finally drawing to a close, and I was overcome by a wave of longing and sadness – longing to continue the trip and the adventures, sadness that I would not be able to spend time exploring the world with these people ever again. It was here that it hit me just how fortunate I am to be a Buckeye, and how being a Buckeye presented me with an incredibly opportunity like this in the first place.
We concluded our day as well as the trip with a group dinner at Lindenbrau, a traditional German restaurant not far from our hotel in the Sony Center. Here, we came together as a group one last time to celebrate and reflect on all we had accomplished as a group in the past 23 days. We listened to DS give us an extremely touching “After Action” report of the trip, in which almost all of us made cameo appearances featuring our marvelous misadventures. It made me proud to be included on such an incredible trip with a group of such wonderful people. We enjoyed conversation and company as well as wienerschnitzel and Berliner Pilsner and had one last bonding experience together before we traveled back across the pond to being the next chapter of our college experience. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that this program has presented me, and the memories and friendships that came along with it. The past 23 days was an adventure that taught me much about myself, other people, and the world, and will serve as cherished memories that I will keep with me for years to come.
Blue Skies and Tailwinds,
Katie