A tour of Berlin

Over the half-term holiday Year 11 GCSE History students from Pipers Corner set off to Berlin for a three day tour of the city. The purpose of the trip was to visit places of historical interest from the period of the end of World War One, through the Weimar Republic and Nazi Third Reich, to the Cold War split and the construction of the Berlin Wall.

The girls’ first port of call was a visit to the German Historical Museum where they were able to view artefacts from the 1920s and 1930s including Nazi and Communist propaganda and uniforms. They then went on a walking tour of the city taking in major landmarks including the Reichstag, the Soviet and German War Memorials, the Brandenburg Gate and the site of Hitler’s bunker.

On their second day in Germany the group went to see the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp which was set up by the Nazis as a model camp in 1936. They also visited the site of the 1936 Olympic Games, a museum commemorating the work of Otto Weidt, an “Oskar Schindler” type figure and the DDR Museum. The DDR Museum is an interactive museum providing a journey into Germany’s Socialist past. A wealth of exhibits provides an in-depth insight into the realities of everyday life in a long defunct system: Coming of age and going to school; full employment and queuing for food; Stasi surveillance and the Berlin Wall.

On their final day the girls focussed on the period following the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and into the Cold War. They visited the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall in Bernauer Strasse and heard stories from people who lived through this time. From there they went to the Stasi Museum, Checkpoint Charlie and then on to the Holocaust memorial in central Berlin. This provided the group with a perfect opportunity to reflect on what they had learnt throughout their three days in Berlin.

Head of History, Mrs Tinnelly said “The girls had a wonderful trip to Berlin where they were able to see a great deal in three days. All the activities we participate in really helped to bring these historic events to life and reinforced everything the girls have been focussing on in the classroom.”

For more information contact:
Rebecca Conroy, Senior Marketing Executive, Pipers Corner School. Telephone 01494 719850 or email [email protected]
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