Berlin Wall – 25 years on
During the first few days days of the October half-term break, 21 Year 11 pupils and three members of staff travelled to Munich, Nuremberg and Berlin. They visited a number key sites relevant to the history of 20th century Germany.
The trip began in Munich where the group completed a tour of Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. From there, they followed the route of Hitler’s attempted seizure of power in 1923 around the city centre of Munich.
On day two the College group drove up to Nuremberg to see the site of the Nazi Party rally ground in this historic German city before travelling on to Berlin – their base for the remainder of the trip.
Visting Berlin on the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall was an event the group will not forget quickly. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful bike ride around all the main areas of Berlin’s history, learning more about Germany between the wars and the post-1945 Cold War period in particular.
They visited the fascinating German History Museum and the DDR Museum which provided an excellent insight into life in East Germany during the period of Soviet control. On the final day, the group caught the train to the Olympic Stadium built by Hitler for the 1936 games.
The trip provided a very valuable learning experience that will prove extremely useful as the pupils complete their IGCSE History course on Germany 1918 – 1945 and the Cold War from 1945. The whole trip was greatly enjoyed by pupils and staff alike.
