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College trip to Berlin

16 March 2023
From 8-12 March ten College students visited Berlin with their History teacher

This year’s first-year history students have been very fortunate: their teacher Joni Makivirta (from Finland) has given them the chance to do more than just learn about European 20th-century history in class and has taken them on a trip to Berlin. A city where history seems to leap out of books onto the streets and historical names like the Weimar Republic, the Holocaust and the Cold War come to life.

Making the most of their time there, they visited the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial, the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and East Side Gallery to name just a few.

“
Germany has this completely unique cultural aspect that I have never experienced before. As a country with a long and complicated history, it has incorporated its history into everyday life. As a community, the German people have come to terms with what happened, and actively make an effort to stop it from happening again. This trip has allowed me to question, how can my country do this, and why don’t we. How can I actively come to terms with the past, while living and progressing into the future?
”

Says Mya from Canada.

Our students were very impressed with what they saw and noticed that Berlin is a city marked by sharp contrasts.

“
On the one hand the city lives up to expectations based on the stereotypes of Germans one has in mind – with punctual trains, clean streets and excellent organisation in general. On the other, I was very intrigued by the strong presence of graffiti – an art form that is essentially based on an illegal activity. In Berlin one feels that expressions of freedom and humanity are everywhere to be seen
”

Says Irene, from Italy.