We learned a lot during our time in Berlin. We enjoyed exploring the city on foot, seeing the many famous building, monuments and important memorials.
A visit to the Berlin Wall Memorial helped us gain a much greater understanding of the history of East and West Berlin, and what life was like for people living on either side or the wall. The background to how it came to be and how it came to an end was very well documented and displayed. We appreciated the narrative videos of people sharing how they were personally impacted by this tragic piece of history. We followed this difficult learning experience by a visit to the Zoo on the East side of Berlin, Tierpark, an interesting alternative to the famous Berlin Zoo. It is huge, over 160 acres, in a large forested park, it focuses on natural habitat and breeding. We all laughed at how many animals from Canada where on display, but also enjoyed some of the more exotic animals.
Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum – a Concentration Camp from 136-1945, then a Soviet Special Camp from 1945-1950. Sadly this camp was designed as a prototype for other concentration camps and a training ground for SS officials. The audio guide provided an excellent, detailed and heartbreaking explanation of many aspects of the camp throughout its horrendous existence. It also documented many of the atrocities of the Nazi era, helping us understand the true horror and terror of this time. The extensive medical barrack and infirmaries where the site of many medical experiments and unethical medical procedures was shocking. Seeing the gas chambers and killing trench was terrifying. It felt very real to be in a place where these horrors had actually occurred, it was very overwhelming and devastating. It is impossible to understand this level of evil, but also the contagion of it. We have been learning more of the history about how Hitler came to power and how this terrible history evolved.
