Thoughts and Reactions....

On the last night of the trip, the class had a meeting in the hotel. Students, survivors, and chaperons were asked to answer three simple questions:

1. What surprised you?
2. What did you learn?
3. What will you take back with you?

Then, we asked the survivors our own questions.

Here are some responses ...

Wannsee House, Germany

The Wannsee house is located on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. This is where 15 men, most of whom were very well educated, came up the with "final solution" to the Jewish question. It was at this house that Nazi authority came up with the decision to exterminate all the Jews of Europe. Before the house was confiscated from them, it was owned by a wealthy Jewish family. How ironic that a house that was once owned by Jews would become so famous for being the house where the solution was formed. The meeting took place on 20 January 1942, and ended a couple hours later with a plan fully intact.

Rosenstrasse, Germany

The events that took place on Rosenstrasse street were extremely significant towards what was happening with the Holocaust. Aryan women, whom were married to Jewish men, stood outside a building located on Rosenstrasse street and protested until the German guards would let their husbands go. Many people at this time began to divorce their significant other if they happened to be Jewish.




These women wanted no part in that, and were fully committed to setting their husbands free. After a matter of days, they got their point across and thei husbands were set free. A memorial now stands on the street of Rosenstrasse to remember these brave women.

Berlin, Germany

Berlin was a major part of the study tour. We spent more days here, than any other location. It played a major role in the history of the Holocaust and World War II. There were also many memorials and museums that payed tribute to that horrible era in European history.

One of the memorials we saw in Berlin was the Holocaust Memorial. According to our guide, it consisted of over 2,700 slabs of concrete. Each one was a different height, but all were the same length and width. The slabs of concrete were arranged in rows, and when you walked through them it was almost like a maze. You could easily get the feeling of being lost. Along with the concrete blocks, there was also a museum that could be walked through. The stairs lead below the memorial, and there were pictures, maps, artifacts, and letters that really made everything become realistic.

A few blocks away from the museum was the site of Hitler's underground bunker, and suicide. It was kind of erie being there. There were apartment complexes built over it, and it was hard to believe that people could actually live there. However, it was ironic because his place of death is simply built upon and forgotten, but a memorial, for all the Jews of Europe who died under his command, is right down the street.

Another site we visited was the Brandenberg Gate, and parts of the Berlin Wall. It was awesome to see these sites because they are relatively new part of world history, and many people on the tour could remember the wall coming down. They could also remember the Brandenberg Gate being bombarded with people moving from east to west Germany.

A third major site we toured in Berlin was the Jewish Museum. It had a unique design and architecture. The artist who designed the building did this in order to symbolically show a link between Jewish history, present times, and future. For instance, one part of the building contains an exhibit known as the "garden of exile." This "garden," consists of high walls, and tilted walk ways. It gives and illusion of being unstable, and at times lost and alone (not to mention a little nauseating due to it's instability and inclines). Another exhibit in the museum consisted of thousands of metal pieces, in the shape of faces. According to our tour guide, the goal of that exhibit was to walk across the faces without making a noise. Obviously this was very difficult to do, because the faces weren't always stable and stacked neatly on top of one another.

While at the Jewish Museum, Ernest brought up a point that really made us all think about how lucky most of us are. We all know the Holocaust killed millions of people, but he brought up the point of the reprecussions it had on the European Jewish society, even today...

One of the most interesting places we went to was the Workshop for the Blind. At first, I think the class was shocked to go there because it was hidden in an ally-way. However, once we got in, I think everyone learned something they new. The workshop was owned and operated by a man named Otto Weidt. He not only employed handicapped people and Jews, but hid Jews and their families as well. Unfortunately, he got caught and eventually arrested and killed, along with the employees in the shop. However, it was reassuring to know that even in a time of evil and complete turmoil, there were still people trying to be "good neighbors," and do what's right.

While in Berlin, there was a traveling memorial/exhibit at one of the train stations. It was a train, similar to the one that Jews and other victims, would be forced to travel on their way to the camps. Inside the exhibit were pictures, mainly of children. It was so small in the cars, and extrememly hot and stuffy. Normally there were hundreds of victims crammed into these cars, there were only about thirty of us! I couldn't imagine what it was really like, and how hot it really was.

Euthanasia Center

While in Germany, most of us learned more about Euthanasia than we had ever known before. One of the sites we toured was the "T-4" Euthanasia Killing Center. In this building physically and mentally handicapped were experimented on, tortured, and killed. After a brief seminar and briefing, the tour of the center began.






We headed down to the basement towards the gas chambers. This seemed to be extremely difficult for everybody to stand in such a confined area where so many people unfortunately died. It was hard for everyone to hold back their tears, I tried to stay as strong as i could. The number of people in our group would have been tripled in comparison to how many people were shoved in the gas chamber in one sitting. As anyone could imagine it must have been a chaoctic environment, as these people knew no good could come of this. The gas would be turned on, and a little viewing hole was conviently placed by the door so those conducting these heinous acts could watch. Leaving the gas chambers we entered a room where the bodies were dissected by one man. We saw the table in which he would lay these bodies on and observe them, yet another difficult room to be standing in. Then, we went into the room where the crematorium once stood. In this room we learned about how random ashes were given to the families of the loved ones who had been killed with a description of their death. On more than one occation the same family would receive another letter with a different death date and reason for their deaths along with another urn of random ashes. This is how the act of Euthanasia, at this center was discovered, through their own careless mistakes.

Buchenwald, Germany

Buchenwald was one of the first concentration camps, and also the largest in Germany. It is located on Etter Mountain right near the town of Weimar and was established in July 1937. Barracks where the guards once slept still stand today. After liberation, on April 4, 1945, those barracks were turned into a hospital for the prisoners. Our study tour group, including the survivors, stayed in these barracks for two nights while visiting the camp. Again, not many things still stood in the camp, but those that did were extremely significant. A "reward" building still stood in which prisoners, who were not Jewish, could go to buy food, or females after being rewarded for good behavior. The Jewish prisoners were never allowed to receive rewards and being that the camp was mainly for men, women were not that common either. However, the ones that were there were exploited and used for sex. We were told that sometimes, women would be raped ten times in an hour! This really bothered one of our survivors, because he explained to us that his mother was raped to death and killed this way at a camp.

Another building that still stood was the crematorium. the crematorium was one of the hardest buildings to walk through. Many of the original pieces remained inside of it. When you first walked into the crematorium, there was a white table. This table was used for experiments on the prisoners. As we continued to walk through, we passed another room full of urns. Finally we got to the room where the actual oven were. The ovens were still in tact, and it was a very erie experience. People placed flowers and memorials around the ovens, which was a little calming. In the basement of the crematorium was another torture chamber. There were hooks as high up as the ceiling. The Nazi guards would hang people from these hooks for hours or days on end, and eventually the prisoners died from it.

Oddly enough, the crematorium stood across from a zoo. The zoo was directly outside of the camp fence. It was visited by the guards and their families, and wasbuilt after the crematorium. As bodies were being burnt inside the camp grounds, guards took their children to the zoo to see the animals right outside. This shows how normal the killings of the people in the camp became. It was such an an everyday thing that outside the gates their lives were going on as it usually would and the killing just became a normal, everyday occurance to them.

Though many of the buildings were gone, a memorial was made near the front entrance. I found this to be one of the most interesting memorials. The artist who desined it made it so the center of it stayed around 98.6 degrees farenheit, or the temperature at which life is needed to be sustained; the opposite of which this camp once stood for.

About one mile down the road from the camp itself was a large monument that towered over the trees around it. It was on the top of the hill, and could be seen for miles around. This monument was there to remember all the resistance fighters and political prisoners of Buchenwald (because many people at the camp were political prisoners, not just Jews or gypsies). Thanks to our tour guide, Marten, we were able to understand the symbolism of the memorial, from start to finish.
When you enter the memorial, you walk down a flight of stairs, and on the left side of the stairs are six concrete pieces. Each piece has a different picture on it, starting with the rise of the Nazi Party, and ending with the resistance overpowering and winning the opression. Then you come to the bottom of the stairs, and take a left which lead to huge structures with fire pits on top. On each structure was a name of a country, which signified the first victims of the Nazi party. At the end of this, was a huge pit. When you walked around the pit, towards the left, a flight of stairs laid in front of you. This was to symbolize the rise of the socialists, and the Socialist/Communist party prevailing. At the top of the stairs was a small monument, and then the large tower behind it. Thanks to our tour guide, we were able to get the keys into the monument and climb all the way to the top. It was a lot of stairs, but well worth the hike up. The view at the top was amazing!

Bergen-Belsen, Germany

Bergen-Belsen was a concentration camp located in the outskirts of the town Celle, Germany. This is the last camp that Holocaust survivor, Fred Spiegel, whom accompanied the group on our trip, was taken to before being liberated on April 15, 1945, by the British 11th Armoured Division. Walking into this camp, the first thing you see on your right side is a huge mound with a plaque in front of it. It states that 1000 bodies lie there.

This was only the first of many on the property of Bergen-Belsen.Nothing except these mass graves still remain. Everything in the camp had been burnt down, in fear that it would spread disease. Although it was not a death camp, those who once stayed in Bergen-Belsen can tell you how many people were just simply worked to death. This was the first concentration camp that the study tour group had been brought to so it was a very emotional experience. One thing that helped with the experience was having Fred right by our side. He seemed calm, being that he has been there a few times since his liberation, and also eager to share his stories with all of us. On of Fred's main reasons for coming back to Germany is to share his experience and to let people know what really happened there.

Netherlands

Our first stop in the Netherlands the study tour group went to a little town called Elburg. This town was significant for our journey overseas because in this town stands the house in which Maud Dahme, a child Holocaust survivor whom accompanied the group on our trip, was hidden.The town of Elburg was rebuilt in 1296 and is still in the same form today. The group was able to walk around the town, in which Maud had played in as a child, and take in the experience of what it would have been like to be around at the time of the Holocaust in this very town. As you walked around the town certain houses obtained a metallic star on the side of its front door. These stars indicated that a Jew once lived there during the time of the Holocaust. However, the house in which Maud was hidden did not obtain a Jewish star. Maud explained that there was no star on the house because at the time she was not considered a Jew. Her identity of being a Jewish person was covered up by being raised Catholic by a family whom she did not know. Maud's parents went into hiding while Maud and her sister stayed with several different families.
After visiting the town of Elburg we then ventured off into the woods where a hidden village once stood. This village had about 150-200 Jewish refugees living in it. They carefully built their houses halfway underground, and each housing unit contained a family. One day two young boys were out gathering water when two German officers spotted them. The boys ran towards the village to warn the people while the officers ran to gather more troops. Later on that day the town was invaded by the Germans. Everyone except for 6 people were able to escape. The ones who didn't were forced to dig their own graves and were then killed by the Germans.The village no longer stands but three replicas were built as a memorial. Also, there is a plaque right before the village as a reminder and memorial to those 6 people whose lives were lost.

Finally, we were taken to a home on a farm. This was another house in which Maud Dahme was once hidden in before being taken to Elburg. Since that time, relatives of the family that hid Maud no longer own this home, but the people who do are kind enough to let Maud come back and visit. The house is not exactly what it looked like when Maud was hidden there, but some original rooms do remain. She even pointed out to us that, what is now the owner of the houses' closet was once where her bed was. After giving a brief tour of the home we were taken outside to listen to some of Maud's stories. She shared with the group how she had to hide in the field with her sister with nothing but an umbrella to put over their heads. They were told to stay very quiet, but that did not last for long. Maud's sister was scared and began to cry. She was so loud they decided it was not such a great idea and took them back inside. The stories made the entire trip to the Netherlands come to life for us.

Cologne, Germany

Our day in Cologne (or Koln as the Germans say), was a highlight of the trip. It was an hour train ride from our host families’ homes in Dinslaken. Not only did the American students go, but a good amount of the German students went on the day trip as well.

As we entered the city, the train crossed over the Rhine River. However, that was nothing compared to the first sight that greeted us as we entered the city; the famous Cologne Cathedral. It is a Roman Catholic Church, and historic landmark to the city. It towered over all the other buildings around it. We were also given the privilege to walk up to the top of the cathedral. In total, we climbed well over one-thousand stairs.

After the Cathedral, we had a tour of the El-De Haus, Documentation Center on National Socialism. This tour was of a building that was once Nazi headquarters. The basement contained jail cells, which held political prisoners. Prior to Nazi use, the building was privately owned. However, the owner got into financial trouble in 1934, and sold it to the Nazis. The building was not completely finished, and therefore made a perfect new, and slightly discrete, headquarters for the Nazis. It allowed them to renovate the building to their liking.

While in Cologne, we were also able to meet the artist Gunter Demnig. He is also the creator of the “Stumbling Block” memorial project. This project helps put a name with a number (a Holocaust victim number that is). A block of concrete is plated with a brass covering. Engraved on the brass is a name of a victim, their birthday, deportation date, and where they were killed. These blocks can be seen throughout six countries in Europe, though most are in Germany.

Dinslaken, Germany

Dinslaken Germany was our first stop on the study tour. Here, we were greeted by our host families. The students

of Theodor Heus Gymnasium, the town’s high school, welcomed us when we arrived in town. We were all eager to meet one another, even if we were a little tired. The families got together and made a variety of local foods, and we had a buffet of homemade cuisine for dinner. The students also put on a show, filled with music, dancing, and information about the school’s international relations with another school from Israel.

Behind the high school, approximately a five minute walk away, was a park. This park had a memorial dedicated to an orphanage in which most of the children were killed during the Holocaust. The memorial made a powerful statement because we read a little about the children of the orphanage and their hardships in Fred Spiegel’s book, Once the Acacias Bloomed.