Earlier this month the Year 10 and Year 11 IGCSE History students had the opportunity to explore firsthand the sites and memorials of Nazi and Cold War Germany with a visit to the capital, Berlin.
Following a very(!) early start, they arrived safe and sound and proved to be an inquisitive and articulate audience for our walking tour guide who showed them everything from the Reichstag Building to the remains of the Berlin Wall itself.
Students had the opportunity to soak up the stories behind these iconic sites as well as ask a number of interesting questions. That evening they scaled the heights of the city by visiting the TV tower and we were suitably exhausted on our return to the hotel. After a quiet night, the following day we took a coach out of the city to explore the solemn sites of Sachsenhausen concentration camp and the Stasi prison. Despite the heavy weight of the historical events that had taken place at such sites, the students showed a maturity and engagement that was a credit to them as young adults and students of history.
After an intense day the students let off some steam at the bowling alley! On our final day students visited the crossing point between east and west Berlin to hear the human stories of the wall they had heard so much about, and we finished with a visit to the DDR museum. This final museum, a life size recreation of life in East Germany, provided hours of enjoyment as students played table football, sat in East German “apartments” and rode in the iconic trabant: the East German car of choice.
After three days of exploring we returned to Madrid, excited by all we’d seen, tired from three nights of extended bedtimes, and excited for the next adventure!
