WW2 Abroad 2016: Life in a Time of War

To tie up our last day in Normandy we headed out to take a tour of several American memorials as well as and Omaha beach. It was another beautiful sunny day – we haven’t had many on this trip so everyone is soaking it up.

Our first stop of the day was the La Cambe cemetery where there are nearly 13,000 German soldiers buried. The sun was streaming through the light fog layer over the grounds and it made for an incredible sight. I would attach pictures from our visit however European wifi can’t seem to handle that task unfortunately.

After the cemetery we jetted over to Point du Hoc. This is a cliff point that protrudes out into the ocean where the Germans had a strong series of bunkers built. Point du Hoc was scaled by American troopers as part of the D-Day plan. There were two main munitions bunkers that were supposed to contain artillery guns but they were filled with wood on D-Day and served as a decoy. All of the concrete buildings are mostly in ruins today but we were able to walk through a completely intact bunker which was incredible.

Our third stop today was Omaha beach where our tour guide, Sean, told us stories of the perils on the morning of D-Day. Omaha beach seems deceptive in present day because of its beauty. There’s a memorial built recently that depicts two American soldiers arriving on D-Day. The view there was breathtaking, especially keeping in mind the history of that location.
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Today was our first day in Normandy, France. After a nice breakfast (containing scrambled eggs) we met our tour guide who took us to a site where the 52nd airborne division landed before D-Day. We were told an incredible story of two American soldiers that were best friends during the war but got wounded and separated during a fight. After the war they both assumed the other was dead. However, 60 years later they were reunited through a series of phone calls and family members information.

The area we were in today was where the “A” division landed in the flooded fields. The paratroopers landed with an average of 150lbs of equipment on their person at 20mph. The objective of this division was to defend a bridge from the Germans. This bridge served as one of the few modes to get vehicles farther inland.

Our next point of interest was a village about 30 minutes from Bayeux. In this village there were American paratroopers dropped incidentally in the middle of the night. One of the paratroopers landed on top of the church where he was hanging for hours hiding from German soldiers. After he was cut free we learned that he lived on past D-Day.
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Good evening parents, friends, fellow classmates and anyone else still with us on this blogging journey. This morning we traveled from Frankfurt, Germany to Paris, France on the German ICE (a super high speed train) – we reached speeds of up to 310kph (approx. 200mph). Upon our arrival in Paris we met our tour guide, Margo.

Margo took us first to the Arc de Triomphe where we walked all 284 steps to the top. We were greeted by an incredible view of Paris. I’ve included a photo from the top where you can see the Eiffel Tower on the horizon. After this breathtaking experience (literally) we stopped by an Eiffel Tower viewing area for some tourist photos. It should be noted that the weather here is a solid 30 degrees warmer and much sunnier than our previous European stops – morale is high.

Our last stop of the day was the famous church of Notre Dame. Margo told us about all the intricate carvings on the front of the church and how they each tell a detailed story. We also learned that the church was built over the span of 170 years – so it’s only a few years older than me. The interior of the church was immaculate. The chandeliers as well as the massive stained glass windows broadcasted elements of greatness. Trying to imagine the amount of engineering that went into it’s construction makes it seem impossible given the time period (1400).
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Our first day in Nuremberg began with a slight melancholy feeling settling over the group because we had just parted with our fearless leader, Gabe. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery in Berlin. Fortunately, morale began to pick up as we began to walk through the old town under the guidance of our new guide, Andreas. We visited several sights that morning, including the Church of St. Sebaldus, the Church of St. Lawrence, and the Kaiserburg castle. Even though as much as 90% of the city had been destroyed by allied bombings in the later years of the war, the people of Nuremberg had done a fabulous job restoring the city to its former glory. They had also had the foresight to place twelve million works of art in storage prior to the start of the war just in case the allies reached the city. These pieces included statues in the churches, stained glass windows, and paintings. Thanks to this, Nuremberg had many works of art that date back many hundreds of years. After touring the historical sights, we were allowed a few hours to get lunch and get souvenirs for our loved ones and friends back home.
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I was unable to included one of our events from last night. We had the pleasure of one of Gabes friends performing a concert for just our class. Rolland was an incredibly talented musician and he gave us a one of a kind performance where he was able to included some of us into the act. After a brief intermission he had two friends join him for some combination. Not being someone who is musicially gifted I cannot do the experience justice. But I can say that I absolutely loved the performance. It is rare to see someone perform who is so talented in such a personal venue.

Today we visited Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp that was briefly a death camp for soviet prisoners of war in the fall and early winter of 43 and 44.
The camp is situated just outside Berlin and was in function for a long time. The camp housed mostly political prisoners and criminals. The Nazis used the prisoners as an excuse for the camp. They said that they were reforming the scum of society to make German society better.

We talked about what conditions were conducive to the prison guards treating the prisoners so Inhumanely. One was that a ss training camp was right next door and their training worked to dehumanize the soldiers so they could then easily be so ruthless to the prisoners. Also a solely masculine environment in a very authoritarian society that took young boys made the men more detached as well. Furthermore the soldiers frequented brothels which are not conducive to young men’s developments. It’s healthy for men to socialize In normal way with women.
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Berlin day 3.
Gabe is back in action and was full of energy today at our museums.
The first museum I visited was one commemorating Otto Weidts workshop for the blind. He was a convinced Pacifist and thought very little of the Nazis. After going nearly blind he started a workshop for the blind. making brushes. He made it a purpose to protect his employees; most of which were blind deaf and Jewish. He helped them by bribing officers, getting them food and he even went as far as Hiding them in his own workshop which put him at great personal danger. He had a helper circle or several friends who helped to obtain food, hide Jews as well as a doctor who treated this in need. Because his Brushes were used by the Wermachant he saves his employees my arguing their products are vital for the war. During the war he saved the lives of several Jewish persons that he employed. It is men like him that give us faith in the human spirit in times of strife. After he war he started a home for children and elderly After the war. It is one of the first places of its kind

The Pergamum museum is one of the largest museums in the world it is just a little under the reader because it is still under repair from the Second World War. Mostly due to the fact that the soviets didn’t seem it necessary to fix it.
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Berlin blog 2.
Spirits were high this morning, Gabe is scheduled to meet us this afternoon after lunch and everyone is very happy to have him back.

This morning Alex led us to the famous Brandenburg gate. The gate has changed hands several times throughout history. During the Napoleonic wars the French swept into what was then Prussia and claimed Berlin. Napoleon was very taken by the bronze statue, dedicated to the Greek God Nike (victory). He brought back the statue to France and changed a few things about the goddess astride a horse drawn chariot. But, 10 years later the Prussians had their revenge and took back Nike and set her atop her rightful place. Gave her an iron cross in order to mock the French.
After we made our way under the gate marking a cross from west to east We made our way to the Holocaust memorial that had just been completed in 2005. A very controversial process eventually led to a large area with 2,711 of large cement blocks ranging from 0-14 feet high. The blocks are plain, there is no decoration or anything of that nature. which leads to a somber and bleak vision that aligns with the Holocaust. What is very interesting about this sight is its location. It is within sight of the Reichstag and just meters away from personal bunker of Adolf Hitler which is the place that he committed suicide in the waning days of the war. The mans health was waning and his megalomania finally overtook him, and unable to truly accept defeat he took poison and had his men cremate his body with gasoline.
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Berlin Blog

Our arrival in Berlin was shrouded with sad news surrounding our beloved guide, Gabe. Due to pressing medical conditions he has been in a hospital for the past several days and had a surgery this morning. Our prayers are with him.
This being said we have an acquaintance of Gabe as our temporary guide. Alex (our new guide) brought us through a brief tour of an old Jewish section as well as stopping to show us what he referred to as Tripping stones, these are small brass plaques that commemorate Jewish victims of the holocaust. The planes had the names and occupations and some the other personal information. All the plaques are made by a singular german artist and the organization is completely not for profit. Our next stop was another more formal memorial commemorating the German Jews at the sight of Jewish cemmatary. I learned that in the Jewish faith it is customary to place rocks at a sight to commemorate the memory of the fallen. The rock symbolizes the dedication to the deceased memory. Although a snowfall the night before covers most. Many towers of rocks could be seen.
After our tour of the Jewish area we went the previous center of the Prussian empire on what we today know as museum island. Many museums now occupy the old churches, palaces and other historic buildings. It was wild to see all these old buildings whose facades were pock marked by bullet and shrapnel marks from the intense street fighting that took place between the Nazis and the Red Army. Museum island is an interesting mashup of old and new. Standing in the middle of the square. To my left I could see a church dating to the early 1900s. And then to my right I could see multiple cranes working on a several billion dollar project on a replica palace. It was wild, at one point I could count 11 cranes but that is largely due to the fact that Berlin has 3 billion euros invested in restoration and other projects all scheduled to be finished by 2025.
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Our last day in Prague we drove into the suburbs of the Czech Republic to venture into the town of Terezin. Terezin was originally a town that was home to 6,000 people. However, when Terezin became a ghetto it housed close to 50,000 Jews. The overcrowded buildings made disease inescapable and living conditions unbearable.

Living in a hostel with 5 other students, in which 4 of them I’ve never met, we all got along and had the accommodation of a spacious bathroom.

The Jewish living experience in the Terezin ghetto was a much different one then ours in Prague. To try and feel what it must have been like I pictured 30 young men in our room with 10 beds and no bathroom. They must have felt incredibly uncomfortable and violated. Not to mention not knowing why they were being held captive in the ghetto.

The town of Terezin was melancholy and depressing. Many years ago Terezin was a horrible place and I believe the town has not escaped its terrible past.

-KC

We arrived in Dresden with a traditional German dinner waiting for us. We got meat and potatoes. There were several different kinds of pork. We then got free time to explore the city and prepare for a full next day.

Our first and only full day in Dresden was a packed one. The day started off rough when our fearless leader, Gabe, had an appointment. He set up us with a walking tour all morning with his friend, in which we learned several different things about the city. We learned a lot about the bombing of Dresden in 1945. The bombing was done by Americans so we discussed how the bombing was used as propaganda for the Nazis. Our tour guide also mentioned a quote from a German Jewish survivor stating how the day of the bombing, February 13 1945, was her second birthday because it gave them another chance. The bombing destroyed parts of the city and few people or buildings survived. The buildings that did partially survive were at times destroyed and few were restored. We saw the Semper opera house, Zwinger Palace, the Church of our Lady, and the Procession of Princes. All of these places were restored except the Procession of Princes, which is one of the only things that survived the bombing. We observed these places from the outside, however, it was still beautiful. The Zwinger palace was my favorite because the different sculptures and statues along the building. The building had turned a black color, which we learned was due to the material it was made of. These buildings were made of sandstone which contains magnesium. The magnesium apparently turns the buildings black. Some of the statues had been painted over white, but this is debated because once painted over, the texture of the building is lost. We then got some free time to go into the mall for food and to look around.
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