Pupils from Year 13 and 14 travelled to Berlin before half term for a very successful History and German study visit. As the trip was booked before the
founding schools came together it was ‘girls only’ this time. With a packed itinerary the pupils were kept on the move and visited a wide range of
historical sites and also had time to take in the rich culture of Berlin. The visit linked to the AS and A2 History courses which study the Weimar
Republic, Nazi Germany and the Cold War.
On our first full day in Berlin, there was a guided tour of Berlin which gave the pupils a great overview of the city and its unique history. The tour
criss-crossed the former East and West Berlin (from the Cold War era) and visited sites of interest from the Nazi period such as the square where the
‘burning of the books’ occurred. In the afternoon there was a visit to the Berlin Underground – a World War Two air raid shelter. In the evening the
group went to the TV Tower in Alexanderplatz – the centre piece of East Berlin during the Cold War.
On Day 2, there was a guided tour of Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum, one of the first Nazi concentration camps. The afternoon was spent in the old
‘Jewish quarter’ of Berlin and we stopped at the eastside gallery section of the Berlin Wall for some photographs. In the evening the group visited
the Reichstag Building (the scene of the infamous Reichstag Fire of 1933) for a guided tour. Although a modern building inside, the original exterior
has been retained as well as some inner walls containing graffiti from Russian soldiers at the end of WW2. The building is now the home of the German
parliament.
The next morning we visited the Wannsee Conference House outside Berlin and the pupils listened attentively as the guide explained how the house had
been used for a meeting of key Nazi officials in January 1942 which led directly to the Holocaust and establishment of deaths camps such as Auschwitz.
A visit to the historic city of Potsdam allowed the pupils’ time to reflect on the morning and relax. In the evening, the group took a short walk (!)
including a visit to Potsdamer Platz and the Sony Centre. On the way back to the hotel, some of the group caught a glimpse of Angela Merkel as her
official car sped past.
The final day took in the Olympic Stadium – built for the Olympics in 1936 by the Nazi regime and the scene of some amazing moments in sport from Jesse
Owens four gold medals to the 2006 World Cup Final and most recently the 2015 Champions League final. It was then time for the girls to finally get
some serious shopping time on the Kurfurstendamm – though the designer labels did stretch budgets a little! The journey home was relatively smooth
and judging by the silence at the back of the bus – it had been a busy trip. Berlin is a truly historic city and Coleraine Grammar School look forward
to returning soon – and this time with boys as well as girls.
Thanks to Mrs Steger-Hoey and Mrs McCurdy for all their help with the visit.
Mr J. Frew