Facing History & Ourselves in Europe 2008

Today was our last full day in Paris. We began the day by going to the Memorial de le Shoah which was the first Holocaust memorial in Europe. At one time, many people were upset that the memorial was in France and not in Israel. This memorial was dedicated solely to the French-Jewish population that was deported during the Holocaust. The Shoah Memorial Center collects names of the victims from the German National Archive and displays them alphabetically on walls made of stone. The names included in this archive are proof that they were deported from France during the Holocaust. However there are millions of people whose names weren’t documented in this archive, and unfortunately cannot be included in the memorial because there is no definitive documentation. After viewing the memorial, we toured the museum which included a tomb in the shape of the Star of David, filled with ashes from victims of concentration camps. Our tour guide gave us in-depth answers to our many questions concerning France’s involvement in the war and the Holocaust. After the tour, we walked down Avenue Des Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe where we were given free time. We all decided to spend our time exploring the beautiful city of Paris. We climbed the Eiffel Tower, shopped on the Champs, visited museums, viewed the sites, and relaxed in the City of Lights. We concluded the night by hanging out in front of the Eiffel Tower, taking pictures, eating crepes, making human pyramids, and releasing our emotions. We enjoyed every minute because we knew this was our last night. It was a bittersweet night because after this trip graduation would only be weeks away. This has been a once in a lifetime experience that has shaped our perspectives on the past and will influence our futures based on what we have learned about history and ourselves.

This morning we arrived in Paris around 11:00. After checking in to our hotels and freshening up, the first thing we did was meet at the Eiffel Tower. When we reached the tower we were all truly amazed. That’s when it hit us that we were actually in Paris! We were really standing in front of the Eiffel Tower! A few of us went up to the top of the tower and saw just how beautiful the city of Paris is. To get to the top of the Eiffel Tower was a long process. We had to take an elevator to the second level and wait in a very long line only to get on another elevator to take us to the very top of the tower. By the time we reached the top, the sun was setting and it was one of the most beautiful sights we had ever seen. After our visit to the Eiffel Tower we took a boat tour along the Seine River. While sightseeing we observed a lot of beautiful architecture, but the first thing that caught our eye was Notre Dame Cathedral. The Notre Dame Cathedral is a Gothic structure on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité and it holds the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. The French words Notre Dame translate to mean “Our Lady”. One fascinating aspect of the cathedral is that it has five different bells. The Great Bourdon Bell is also known as Emmanuel, is located in the South Tower, and weighs just over 13 tons. Its task is to mark the hours of the day for various occasions and services. The other four bells are on wheels that are swing chimed. These bells are also used for services and festivals. The bells were once rung manually, but now run on electric motors. The bells also have external hammers for tune playing from a small clavier. As the tour continued, we had the chance to see three of the most famous bridges in Paris. The first bridge, the Pont des Invalides, is the lowest bridge traversing the Seine of Paris. The next bridge, Pont Alexandre III, is known as the most elegant bridge because of its design and the beautiful gold sculptures surrounding it. The third bridge is Pont de la Concorde which is 400 years old and was constructed during the French War. Today, this bridge bears the brunt of the city’s road traffic. Also visible from the boat was the Louvre Museum, which is one of the most popular museums in Paris. The museum hosts a very famous painting, the Mona Lisa. The construction of this building was first proposed by King Philip II of France, and later many kings lived in this site and proposed new additions to it. It was Louis XV who transformed the Louvre into a museum. The museum opened to the public on August 10, 1793. Among other French royalties, Napoleon established residence in the building. He invited Leonardo Da Vinci to stay there as well, which is why Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is in the Louvre. The Mona Lisa was once stolen off the wall of the museum by an employee who was obsessed with the painting. After three years, the Mona Lisa was recovered and is still on display in the museum. We learned a lot about the city of Paris and know that one day we’re going to go back for another visit.

Today we visited the Nazi Party Rally Grounds at Nuremburg. We walked along the parade route where Hitler once marched before entering the enormous stadium to address the people of Germany. The Zeppelin Field served as one of the key sites where Hitler persuaded people into believing that what he was fighting for was the right cause. Thousands and thousands of German citizens appeared at the rallies to hear what Hitler had to say. Some people actually camped for weeks in advance for a good seat. People of Germany were hopeless and needed someone to solve their problems. Germany was in a dismal situation after World War I. The Treaty of Versailles blamed the Germans for the war and destroyed their country economically. Hitler promised to make the country great again and to punish the people who punished them. The German people were tricked into thinking that the wrong was right. Of course, Hitler never announced that he wanted to exterminate people, but somehow he managed to brainwash his followers to the point where they’d do anything necessary for the Nazi cause. These rallies played a major role in the conversion of the German citizens. While sitting in the stadium, we were asked to complete a writing assignment. We had to take on the voice of a German person in 1935 and explain why we attended the rally and supported Hitler. Hitler made promises that the people of Germany wanted to hear. They were hopeless and defenseless and he spoke about change and making life better for the German people. We found it surreal to be walking on the same grounds where Hitler and his disciples once marched. We imagined Hitler walking gallantly in his crisp Nazi uniform while thousands and thousands of people cheered and showed their devotion. Although we walked the same route as Hitler, we knew that we were doing it for completely different reasons than him. Our reasons were to acknowledge history, try to understand what humans are capable of, and be more open-minded. Hitler’s reasons were to preach hate, brainwash people, and encourage his followers to be more narrow-minded.

Today we went on a walking tour throughout Berlin, the capital city of Germany. One of our first stops was at the Berlin Wall. It may not seem like much of a wall since it is very thin but it is marked with great history. The Berlin Wall went up in 1961 and came down in 1989. The wall was an amazing 100 miles long and it took 56 hours to build. The Berlin wall started as a chain link fence and was the border to separate the East which was the Communist section, and the West which was the Democratic section. Today, the remains of the wall attract many tourists and the area contains many historical photographs. The wall itself is marked with graffiti and many pictures. From this tour we learned a lot about Hitler’s impact on Berlin. When Hitler was incarcerated, he wrote Mein Kampf. In this book, he referred to the Jews as vermin and influenced others to do the same. Not only did this cause people to believe that they were superior to the Jews, but it led to Hitler carrying out his plans to exterminate the Jews. Our tour guide reminded us of the seemingly small roles that many, many people played in carrying out Hitler’s mission. For instance, people worked in the train stations where the Jews departed and others issued tickets for their journeys. Even when the secrets of the Holocaust were exposed, Hitler’s approval rating was at 90%. We believe he was supported because people were afraid of him and thought that disagreeing with Hitler could become a death sentence. However, we were reminded that some Germans risked everything to protect Jewish people. They felt for these people who were living in pain. Some Germans would take them for as long as two years. This shows that people actually cared about Jews and didn’t want to see this group of people be erased from mankind. We actually stood on the ground where Hitler’s underground bunker once existed and learned that he hid there to protect himself from the advancing Soviet Army. At one time, it was a huge, comfortable complex with plenty of food and supplies to survive. Although Hitler was safe, he wasn’t safe for long. We learned that he and his new wife committed suicide in this bunker and were ultimately turned into dust and thrown into the river. Throwing the ashes into the river eliminated the possibility of designating a burial site where shrines could be made. Another significant place we visited today was the Holocaust Memorial created in honor of those who perished in the Holocaust. It consisted of 2,711 stones of different shapes and sizes. The granite used for this memorial is graffiti proof so no one can write anything on the stones. Visitors can interpret the memorial in many ways. We thought it was a good way to show how the Jews felt during those times. As we walked through the design, it felt like a maze and when the stones got larger, we started to feel very alone and confused. It was almost creepy, but it sends an important message.

Click here to view a slide show of our Tour of Berlin today : 

Today we were in Lublin, which is a town in Poland about ten miles from the Ukrainian border. Lublin was once a center for Jewish life in Eastern Europe. These people once flourished in this town until the Nazis invaded. After that, the Nazis put them in ghettos and later sent them to the castle to await departure to concentration camps throughout Europe. After the war, the city was left almost completely barren of Jews. Based on this information, we decided to do a scavenger hunt to find evidence of this rich culture. After we met in the center of the town, we split into our teams. Each blogging group joined another blogging group to create four teams. We were given the instructions, which were to find any evidence of Jewish life in the city center such as symbols, buildings, and memorials. Our proof was a digital photo which would be judged after the scavenger hunt was completed. After 45 minutes of scavenging, we returned to the center with little evidence. This proved that the Nazis were successful in ridding this town and many others of Jews and their culture. The winning team found things that suggest that Jews once lived there but no longer inhabit the town. This proved to us how effective the Nazis were at killing the Jews. In the locations which were occupied by the Nazis, nine million Jews resided. By the end of the Holocaust, six million of them perished. They were nearly successful in killing all of the Jews in these areas despite fighting a two front war. In the end, although the Nazis were unsuccessful in exterminating all of the Jews in Europe and winning the war, they were successful in eliminating most Jewish life throughout Europe.

Please click on each slide show :

•  Visit to Auschwitz camp

• Visit to Dachau camp

• Tour of Prague

Click here toview a slide show of our tour of Majdanek 

Today, we visited another concentration camp in Poland called Majdanek. This camp was created because of Rinehart Heydrich’s assassination in Prague, which led to the deaths of many Jews in the ghettos as well as the deaths of 1,000 citizens of Prague. Under Heinrich Himmler’s orders, Majdanek opened in the fall of 1941. It was initially a prisoner of war camp used to house Soviet POWs, however, it was eventually turned into a concentration camp. Between April of 1942 and July of 1944, extermination took place in Majdonek using gas chambers and the crematorium. The capacity of the camp was originally meant for about 50, 000 inmates and was referred to as a ‘little Auschwitz” because it contained everything that the larger camp had, but on a much smaller scale. When we arrived at Majdanek, we noticed how closely located the camp was to the city. This made us realize that the people who lived in this area had to know what was going on in the camp. It is impossible for things to go unnoticed if they occur in someone’s backyard. In fact, after the Russians forces liberated this camp, they made the residents of the town come in to bury the dead bodies. Once again, it became clear that reading about the Holocaust in class is completely different than being physically present in a concentration camp. Standing in Dachau, Auschwitz, or Majdonek is a much more emotional learning experience. 

The seventh day has come and unlike other bus rides we’re not thinking about what is ahead of us, instead we’re thinking about what is behind us. Our thoughts turn to what we’ve seen and learned over the past six days. The long trip from Boston was quickly erased by the beautiful and unique architecture of Munich and the busy city provided an outlet of exploration very much needed.  The hostel experience, new to most, was both fun and challenging.  The ride to Prague was long, but restful, and we rode with anticipation of our next adventure. The rainy weather attempted to quell the excitement of the new city, but even cold, wet, and a little hungry, we all made it through the day (even Mr. Love after the 700 steps up to the Castle of Prague).  Four whole days passed before the first signs of homesickness appeared.  Tears were sporadic, yet noticeable, and patience was harder to find, but what followed was truly special. Relationships that were already established grew stronger, new ones formed, and others were temporarily strained. As a group, however, we showed maturity, chose to put our differences aside, and came together as a class and as friends. Throughout this personal process, we began to understand even more about each other and the importance of this trip. We are, after all, 32 individuals with 32 different personalities, and we had to find a way to align our needs and expectations and form as one. Our visit to Auschwitz reminded us that our problems were trivial, brought us closer together, and helped us gain perspective.