Impactful Berlin trip for Perse history students

Berlin was the scene for an insightful trip for 50 Perse Year 11 history pupils as part of their GCSE studies on life in Nazi Germany.

The pupils began their visit to the German capital with a walking tour of Jewish life, taking in the Otto Weldt Museum, where they discovered more about ‘the Blind Schindler’ whose efforts saved the lives of hundreds of Jews employed in his brush factory.

They then toured the Topography of Terror Museum and heard from expert curators about the role Nazi terror played in their rise and consolidation of power.

Their visit to the Sachsenhausen Memorial showed the way that prisoners were treated in a concentration camp in Germany. The infirmary block and Station Z were particularly sobering and prompted many questions about the way totalitarianism could lead to such atrocities.

Meanwhile, the excursions to two Russian War memorials in Berlin and Treptow highlighted many of the controversies that history encounters.

A final focus on East Germany saw visits to the DDR Museum and the Stasi Prison Museum, demonstrating that even as late as 1989, terror was used to control the lives of many thousands of ordinary people.

Perse Head of History Nuala Long said: “The trip was very impactful and thought-provoking. The students were struck by all they saw and experienced.”