The Jewish Museum of Berlin
Many students started off the day attending a worship service at the notable church of the Kaiser’s, the Berliner Dom. It is a congregation that is said to represent all protestant denominations in Germany, not just the Lutherans. We were able to hear several pieces by a visiting choir and we were also able to witness a couple infant baptisms. The service was translated for the students and the hospitality on display by the church staff was fantastic.
One of our students also had a birthday today, Maris Wainwright (Happy birthday, Maris!) – lunch at a Mexican restaurant hit the spot!
The main feature of the day was a walk through the Jewish Museum of Berlin. (It was a bonus to have Christian Marx from the Brandenburg Euthanasia Memorial, come and join us for our visit.) Encased in a tortured and torn post-modern outer-shell, this uniquely-designed building walked us through the entire history of Jewish life in Berlin, and in Germany at large – special attention was given to the years of National Socialism. True to form, the students did an excellent job processing what they experienced. One question that we spent a good bit of time on had to do with trying to come to understand the change in the public’s attitude toward the treatment of the Jews (and others) between the failed boycott in April of ’33 to the “successful” violent spasm of Kristallnacht in November of ’38. Another issue that grabbed our attention concerned why so many who ostensibly claimed affiliation with Christianity could ever come to treat members of another “people of the book” community in such a way; or, at a minimum, to acquiesce to their mistreatment by others. Other topics included the proper role of hope when studying the holocaust and how to interpret the imagery of an exiled garden, as prompted by one of the exhibits in the museum. These students have jumped-in, with bravery and with both feet.
Afterward, students scattered about to find some food and enjoy the city. Andrew Gibbons and I, after being thwarted in our attempt to reach the well-known “Platform 17 Memorial” at Grunewald Station by rail line maintenance, decided to visit the Berlin Wall Memorial, just north of downtown. (I’ll hope to get to Platform 17 tomorrow afternoon.)
Pictures from the day are below.
