Day 11: Nuremberg

We arrived at Nuremberg after six hours of sitting, time goes by fast when you're sleeping on the train. Today our goal is to visit the parade ground, the place that hosted Hitler's march to the zeppelin field for numerous Nazi rallies. The march lasted about two miles and was filled with people on both the left and right, these people having travelled from all over Germany to hear Hitler speak. The parade ground was made of cobble stone, which is a big different from the rest of the streets that where just dirt roads. The length of the parade ground is large enough that millions of people could stand shoulder to shoulder to cheer for Hitler. The end of the parade ground lead us to the zeppelin field, with its stone walls and now a soccer field where millions of Nazi supporters once stood.
Today we had to woke up early to take the train. In my opinion the train from Berlin to Nuremburg was the most comfortable train. Well, perhaps the price really does determine the product. Once we arrived at Nuremburg we saw many historical sites. We saw the parade routes that Hitler used as well as the zeppelin field where Hitler spoke. The zeppelin field was a vast open space. While learning about the zeppelin field, we found out that this was the place where Hitler gave his speech to all that came out to support him. Standing from the German citizens point of view during the time I would not blame them for following the influence of Hitler. The German people had no choice; Hitler and the Nazi Party were the only hope to lift Germany from the depression of WWI. Overall today is the day that we wish to stay a few more days. It is a day that in our heart we are lost of wanting to return home and wishing to stay a few extra days. Our trip to Europe has truly given us an opportunity to experience history face to face. We have seen some somber places that have been emotional.
In a way you really can't blame the German people for believing every word that Hitler said. If you were in their position and were very desperate with the way of life and the situation you were in, you would believe every word Hitler said. Hitler was very smart because he used all of the issues people had to his advantage and brainwashed them. It's amazing how the Nazis had a plan to be in power for 1000 years and in the thirteen years that they were actuallz in power they killed over 11 million people, the biggest genocide the world has ever seen. In the end, even though Hitler was unsuccessful in his mission to eliminate the Jews from the face of the Earth, millions of innocent people still lost their lives.

Day 10: Berlin

This morning we slept in later than usual which made up for the long train ride. We woke up around 9 am to get breakfast before we went on a tour of Berlin. On the tour we started walking to the site of the Berlin wall. We went to a part of the wall that an eighteen-year-old hero was shot down. His name was Peter Frechter and he was one of many people to die trying to cross the big wall. When he was shot the East German soldiers left him dying for an entire hour before they took his body away. No one was able to help him because if any action was taken then it would have been the start of World War III. Instead of people trying to risk their lives to help, the media that had gathered took pictures of this dramatic event. It was shocking to know that the Berlin wall was made in 1961 and was not taken down until 1989.
While walking down a street I noticed that there was a pretty nice monument for the Holocaust. On its right side there was a grassy hill with no monument, no words, not even a post of where Hitler committed suicide. I was so excited to see this because Hitler deserves nothing! I learned that Hitler ordered his inner circle to burn him after he shot himself, so the Russians would not get to him. He wanted to be unrecognizable, however, that didn´t work. Now, parts of his body, like his skull and teeth, are still in Russia. Knowing that Hitler is not remembered in any nice way is a relief.
After a long tour we had finished by visiting the Reichstag building. This is the building that helped Hitler gain control of Germany after the SA burned it down. Hitler sent the SA to burn down the capitol building in order to gain power. Then, he blamed it on the Communists for burning it down. However, the thought that stays on my mind is that Hitler did burn down the building because he wanted power. Hitler's dishonest but brillant ideas helped him gain that power by using the law the right way and involving people to help him get there. One question I was left with is why would a smart man use his mental capacity for evil?

Day 9: Warsaw

As I walk through the area of what used to be the ghetto in Warsaw I realized the area was huge. I had walked a portion of the ghetto and I had gotten so tired through the walk. The walk seemed like it was about a mile yet I had not finish walking around the narrowest part of the wall. Jews were placed inside the ghetto as part of the extermination process. Over 400,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps through this ghetto. In just over one year, 100,000 people died of starvation before anyone was sent to a camp. Warsaw used to have a decent amount of Jews in this city, however since the war there are barley any Jews left. There aren't as many Jews in this city now compared to before the ghetto.
What makes this ghetto special is that the Jews didn't stand by and wait to die. They tried their hardest to put up a fight, with help from a strong man that led the resistance named Mordecai Anielewicz. Even though he was only 23, he led the Jewish fighters in the street battles against the Germans, and on the third day of the battles, A German SS officer named Juergen Stroop began burning the ghetto building by building to force the remaining Jews out of hiding. The Jews didn't go out without a fight, although some believed the Jews tried nothing to protect themselves but in the end you find out otherwise.
Life after the ghetto was tough because there were not too many Jewish people left after the ghettos were evacuated. Not only did the Nazi's plan to exterminate the Jews almost work, it made them not want to come back after the war was over. After the war, there was still not many Jews to be found around the city. What made the ghettos different is that the people rebuilt the Old Town to the exact way it used to be, but when they rebuilt the ghettos not too much effort was put in. Knowing the conditions of the ghetto made the Jewish residents unwilling to come back. Not only would the Jews have to return to a city not built up to its former standards but they would also have to come back to the bad memories. With that in mind most made the decision not to return and that is why there are not that many Jews located in Warsaw today.

Day 8: Majdanek

Today was such a great day after staying in a really nice hotel in Lublin and waking up feeling well rested after a long journey the day before. The goal for today was to visit and learn as much as possible at the Majdanek Concentration Camp. The Majdanek Concentration Camp was constructed in Lublin, Poland in 1941. The camp was a labor and extermination camp. The prisoners were Jews from Poland and Western Europe, non-Jewish Poles, tens of thousands of Soviet Union POWs, and some Roma Gypsies. This Concentration Camp was divided into six compounds; one for women, another field hospital for Russian collaborators, and the rest were for male political prisoners and Jews. Conditions there were extremely poor. In fact, the conditions here were in some ways even worse than Auschwitz. It makes you think about what was going on in all the other camps.
I think that the camp visit was very disturbing. The smell had made a lot of peoples' stomachs turn and they were unable to enter the cabin. It has been 62 years since the camp had been liberated. Just think how bad it smelled 62 years earlier. I believe that because of so many dead bodies, it had given the whole cabin a stench. Besides the smell, I could not help to think about all of the people who lived next door to a concentation camp. Could you believe that these people's backyards was a gas chamber, Nazi watch towers and a crematorium? A lot of us had been wondering the same thing about all of the camps we had visited.
The most horrible thing about our walk through Majdanek was the fact that the Nazis left the ashes of the Jews that were killed there in the gas chambers in a nice, neat pile. The ashes where all put together in a huge pile that was the size of an average house. It makes you think because all of these ashes came form a very small crematorium. This was one of the only camps that used two ways to kill the Jews. They used the popular Zyclon B as well as carbon monoxide. Also it was shocking how the people of Lublin let these killings go on for so long without saying anything, and then claimed that they never knew about it. The entire concentration camp was visible from the town, because it was on a hill, so it was impossible to say that they did not see anything. To show the people what was going on the Russians gathered up all the town people and walked them through the camp. This whole experience just makes you think about how cruel people can be to each other, and how others can sit back and watch this happen in the middle of their town and stay quiet about it.

Day 7: Lublin

As the train arrived in Lublin, Poland, we went to the hotel to unpack. After that, we went on a scavenger hunt around Lublin. The object of the game was to find evidence of Jewish life. When we were taking pictures we found a sign that spoke about the gate that separated the Jewish people from the Christians. The gate was put up in the 14th century, well before the Holocaust took place. At that time Lublin was populated mostly with Jewish people and Christians. The Christians wanted to be separated from the Jews because they believed that anyone that handled money was considered evil. There were very few Christians that handled money because of this belief. Since the Jews did not believe this, they became bankers. That is one of the reasons why the Christians wanted the Jews to stay on their own part of town. Eventually their belief became a stereotype that labeled Jews as money hungry and stingy. The gate was taken down in 1862, 77 years before the Nazis invaded Poland.
There was not that much evidence of Jewish life here in Lublin. In my group we only found two Jewish restaurants in the old town, but the restaurants are located on a side street where most people would not even go. Before WWII there were more than 38,000 Jewish people living in Lublin. However, today there are only about two dozen who still live in city. I think it is important for there to be more memorials to the past because most people in the city today are not aware of its diverse past.
As other groups found signs of Jewish life, my group didn't find anything. The reason is that we stayed in the Old Town and didn't pass through to the other side of the city. But in a way I think that was the point to the game because as you read before this city was heavily populated with Jews. In fact, Jews made up 35% of the population. Now the city is a ghost town with very few Jews. It's very shocking to me how a city filled with so much Jewish life can end up the way it is now. This is a perfect example why we should never forget because the hatred of the Nazis destroyed Jewish life and it could happen again with any race.

Day 6: Auschwitz

Today was the day we all had been waiting for. After the long speeches, books, and essays we got to experience it for ourselves. Auschwitz! We walked the actual death march that over one million people took to their inhman death.
The day started out cold and early. Most of us were rushing to get into the shower before the rest of our classmates woke up. I found that for some reason inside the hostel was much colder than outside. Being in Europe is hard, yet it can be fun. We had breakfast and we were on our way all bundled up in our slickers, jackets, and umbrellas. The train was there as we arrived on the platform. The train that took us to Ocwiecim was about two hours, two hours that for us was like water in the desert. We took our sweet time and slept.
Our journey to Auschwitz was an eye opener; new details, new information, and an inside look to what life there was really like. I found that some of the information given to us from our tour guide was information once already given to us, yet I found that most was new. I was very shocked about some of the new information that was shared, mostly about how far some of the trains traveled to bring people into camps. On a map shown to us the calculations were made and a train coming from the North (Noregia) traveled a distance of 2000 km to get to the camp, while a train travaling from the South (Greece) traveled a distance of 2150 km. What surprised me is that people spend so much time and effort bringing innocent people into death camps. Another surprising fact was when they told us that all items taken from the prisoners were then sold to others, like factories. Items like shoes, pots, pans, and even luggage. Prisoners that had artificial legs and had crutches where deprived of such items, as these items where then sold to factories or given to hospitals for the use of German soldiers. Another items that was sold was the hair of women and young girls that were sent to gas chambers. In the museum a display showed about 2,000 grams of hair that was not sold; the hair we didn't see was sold to factories that made clothes.
"Jews is a race that must be exterminated." While at Auschwitz, this was the most striking thing that I can recall from our tour of the concertration camp. During the tour, when I saw this statement notthing but anger and frustration came into my mind. It's hard to think how some people see things this way. From this statement, I have learned to realize that by believing in this phrase, people have ultimately caused the death of millions of innocent individuals. This phrase is inhuman, unbearable, and unfair. What people should do is to treat all people of all color fairly, despite differences.
Today was one of those days that we will never forget, and we will pass on the experience to our children and grandchildren. Just imagine if you would like to pay your respect to each victim and have a moment of silence, you would have to be silence for over 3 years. The knowledge and information we gained today will never be forgoten, we were all moved by the galleries and exhibits we had seen. Throughout the tour of the camp, one question popped in my mind; how? How could all of this have happened? The only thing we could do now is learn from it; if we do not learn from past experiences and past history the same thing is bound to happen again.

Day 5: Krakow-Kazimierz Tour

Today we took an overnight train to Krakow, Poland from Prague. Due to a long journey and trying to find our hostel, we were exhausted. After that we found out that our schedule was changed because of Easter, so we were not able to tour Aushwitz today. Then we made plans to go take a tour around the town of Krakow. On the tour I learned that the town square has been the most popular place in Krakow. In the town square there is a large Gothic Church that has survived through the Holocaust. We were also able to see the Synagogues that also lasted during the Holocaust.
A young girl named Sonia Weitz had a tragic childhood. She lived through the Holocaust. Sonia became a Holocaust survivor and got a chance to tell her story and to give a chance for people to get a feel of her experience. I am one of those young people who got a chance to walk through her streets and her former childhood. I also got a chance to see one of her special gifts and that was her tree in the courtyard behind her former house. It's amazing how this one tree stood out to me about her life. It was a gift from her father but also was the only tree to survive just like Sonia during the Holocaust. Sonia's story made me feel different and to see the Holocaust differently. I got a chance to hear and see where this heart-felt story began.
After a pretty interesting and relaxing tour and our walk to see Sonia's tree, our teachers decided to take us to a concert where the musicians were waiting for us. As soon as we entered, the music began. The music played was influenced by the Holocaust. You could actually tell by the way you felt as they played their music. Even the musicians' faces showed emotion. While the first song played I noticed a woman with a handkerchief crying. The music and the Holocaust had a lot of the same emotions. Many of the songs were sad, dramatic and even hopeful. The musicians did such a great job. I never thought I'd enjoy listening to just violins, a hand drum, and a cello. Just like Sonia's poems in her book, the music showed as much emotion of the experience of the Holocaust.

Day 4: Jewish Quarter and Old Town Tour

On our journey through the city of Prague, the day was great, the sun was shining, and our tour guide was nice. Our first stop was the wounderful Astronomical Clock which was created in 1410 by a blind man named Jens Olsen. As we continued our tour we moved along to Paris Street where the Jewish people were forced to live and eventually settled. Wondering why the Jews had it so bad from the early centuries until the Holocaust had my mind puzzled. Our tour continued to the synagogues where we saw many different styles of architecture and different religion's houses of worship along with other religion cultures. Finally we visited the Charles Bridge located over the Vlatava River, followed by a quick tour of the city.
While learning about the Old Town we also learned about one of the concentration camps that is located in the Czech Republic. That camp is called Terezin. This camp was supposed to be what they called a "model camp." This was a camp that invited the Red Cross in to observe how it was run. Once the war started getting heavy, the workers from the Red Cross were asked to leave. After the people from the Red Cross left the camp the prisoners than were sent to Auschwitz. If this was a model camp then how come the other camps were not ran the same way? The answer to that question is because the Nazis did not want the public to know exactly what was going on and also how many people were being killed and their many different ways of torture.
In addition to Terezin we visited Charles Bridge which was also part of the Old Town. Charles Bridge was beautiful with its very own unique style and structure. Once we stepped onto the bridge as we slowly walked across it, we were able to see the beautiful landscape of Old Town. Once we stepped onto the bridge we realize how beauitful Old Town was with distant landscapes of buildings and churches. The Charles Bridge was unique with its structure of showing histories of Old Town with statues of Jesus and others religious symbols. In addition, people were performing and selling things on the bridge from singing to drawing and selling souvenirs. The bridge was crowded yet it felt comfortable because everybody seemed nice and close even though many of us come from different places and speak different languages. Yet, at this wonderful place King Fredrick and native Bohemians conflict had broken out in the 17th century causing King Fredrick to kill 27 people in order to stop the rebellion that was occuring at the time. After King Fredrick killed 27 people he hung the heads belonging to the executers for 10 years on the Charles Bridge.

Day 3: Museum of Communism

After a wonderful stay in Munich, a German style breakfast was provided to us the morning of our departure to Prague on an overnight train. Before getting on the train, we had prepared ourselves for the long train ride. While on the train, we made friends with a few other Americans, an Italian boy, and some Germans in lederhosen, who turned out to be entertaining dancers. They were very nice, friendly, and made our ride more exciting.
Once arriving in Prague we went to see the Museum of Communism where we saw pictures, displays of original artifacts, and an interesting movie about the Czech citizens fighting against the police and government officials to overcome communism. In class, we had learned that the Czech citizens wanted freedom from the Nazis and later from communism. Watching the movie, you could see those citizens protesting and fighting against the policemen and army for freedom. The movie allowed us to learn from actual news footage rather than learning from a preventing and pictures. The video gave an insight into things and showed how the Czech people had courage in order to get what they wanted - freedom.
Another thing that I found most interesting in the Museum of Communism was the burning of Jan Palach. Jan was a young man who understood human rights, and helped create a very powerful movement that led to a non-communist Czech Republic. Jan Palach lit himself on fire in Wenceslas Square on February 25, 1969, because he felt so bad about communism. I would never have thought that communism was so bad, but after this, not only do I now understand how much it was disliked by the people, I now understand that it was like hell for a lot of people. Then in a message that Jan left behind he asked people to protest against communism, because he thought that "to die in the name of truth and freedom is the ultimate sacrifice a man can make in his life".
Yet another interesting thing that I found at the Museum of Communism was the Marshall Plan, because the Marshall Plan was rejected by Czechoslovakia. The Marshall Plan was named after General Marshall from the United States. In 1947, General Marshall proposed a plan that would help end the economic chaos in twenty- two European countries which were experiencing social and economic breakdown. It would also help the United state's economy. The Marshall Plan was rejected because the Soviet Union had rejected it and pressured other members of the Warsaw Pact to do the same. They wanted to be uniform. Like during many other times in Yugoslavians history, they were not allowed to do something they wanted to do. This made it even more special for them when they finally gained their independence.

Day 2: Dachau

Today was such a wonderful day visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp. I have seen and learned so much in one day. There were so many things that I saw, but one thing really stood out to me and that was the beds that the prisoners slept in. The reason why this particular thing stood out to me was because as I looked at these beds I could picture how uncomfortable it felt to have to sleep in the same bed with four other sick and starving people. I just couldn't believe that prisoners didn't want to get up to use the bathroom because another bunkmate would take their spot. All of these things that happened to these people can make them feel dehumanized because they were being treated unfairly.
While I was in Dachau today what really stood out to me was when I saw the video of the US Army liberating the Dachau camp because it was very explicit. It showed all of the dead Jews that were in the camp. For me it was very difficult to watch because I have never seen anything like that before. Also, I know that the soldiers in the US Army felt the same way because after they saw the condition of the prisoners they lined up some SS soldiers and executed most of them. The SS soldiers deserved what they got because of all the Jews they killed and brought suffering to. For example when the SS soldiers knew the US was drawing near their camp they gathered up 67 thousands of Jews and took them on a death march through the cold, and out of those prisoners only sixty of them survived. The amazing thing is that this is considered a small camp, so the larger camps must have been even worse.
As you can see the Nazi Party really hated Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah witnesses and people with disabilities. From the concentration camps, the gas chambers, and to the mass shootings, the Nazi Party had everything planned. Little by little the Nazis took away the rights of the prisoners in the camps. They would give them one uniform which they were responsible to keep nice and clean. If one button was missing or the uniform got dirty they would be punished with a beating from a whip. The one thing that I realized was that the Nazi Party did everything that they could to keep this mass execution from the American soldiers. When the American soldiers went to the concentration camps the Nazis would make the prisoners march out really fast, so they could transfer them to the nearest camp. The planning of the conentrations camps and the mass killing should make people think differently and appreciate the value of life.

Day 1: Nazi Party Walking Tour - Munich

On our first tour in Germany, we were able to see many important sights concerning the rise of the Nazi Party. We started our tour at the sight of the former Sternekerbräu, the beerhall that was the birthplace of the Nazi Party. The second was the Hofbräu Haus, where the goals of the Nazi Party were laid out. Finally, we saw the Feldherrnhalle, where Hitler started his "Beerhall Putsch" and became a parade ground for the SS.
One of the most outstanding parts of the walk was when we stopped in front of a matress store. We students were all wondering what we where doing here. We thought we should be looking at a Nazi monument, yet we stopped at a matress store.
As Mr. Malanga went on, we learned the store was once an early 1900's a beer hall called Sternekerbräu, a place where Hitler conducted many Nazi party events. We all stood in amazement and confusion; how would others know that something this awful happened here? That beer hall was where the Nazi Party was born. Now it is just an ordinary matress store.
Another part of our tour was seeing the Feldernhalle, a marching ground for the putschists in Munich. We learned that Hitler created the whole Feldernhall just for the marches, and to inagurate all SS soilders. We also got to see the official marking of a plaque of all the dead putschists. The plaque is no longer there, but the discolored brick lets us know that it was once on display for all to see.
Also we all noticed that throughout the tour we saw no evidence of Hitler or his Germany. Is Germany trying to erase all thought or memory of Hitler? I found that very intresting because it seemed like the Germans were just trying to erase the past and what happened during the Holocaust. In addition, it is illegal to be a member of the Nazi Party. After reflecting on this, we feel that Munich simply does not want to be linked to the Nazi Party.