U.S. Embassy, the Jewish Museum of Berlin, and time to explore Wednesday’s agenda had us visiting the U.S. Embassy (thanks to Dan Hutchens and his connections), an exploration of the Jewish Museum of Berlin, and then some free time to explore the city. Here are some pictures from the day (we are still waiting for the folks at the U.S. Embassy to send us some pics – we weren’t allowed to take any): On Thursday we will go out to Oranienburg, a community just to the north of Berlin – the location of one of the most significant concentration camps

Brandenburg and East Side Gallery On Tuesday, the group was accompanied by Dr. Christian Marx out to Brandenburg-an-der-Havel, a beautiful historic city about 45 minutes by regional train to the east of Berlin. Here we explored the town and had an extensive presentation and educational experience at the memorial/museum situated on the grounds of the first euthanasia actions in Nazi Germany. Then, later in the evening, many of us made our way to the East Side Gallery and finally on to dinner in Alexanderplatz. A full and challenging day. Here are some pics: Tomorrow we will visit the U.S. Embassy

Walking Tour of Downtown Berlin On Monday, fourteen AU students arrived in Berlin, jet-lagged, but with enough vigor to push through a walking tour of downtown Berlin. Below are some pics from the day: Tomorrow we get up early and train it to Brandenburg-an-der-Havel.

Tour at Schindler Factory and Free Kraków The last two full days for Group 1 featured a guided tour through the museum that now sits at the Schindler Enamel Works Factory and then some much deserved free time exploring the beautiful Old Town of Kraków. Here are some pictures of Friday morning: Assorted pictures from the free day in Kraków. On Sunday morning, they depart for home and Ashley and I make our way back to Berlin to welcome Group 2 on Monday morning.

Auschwitz I and II (Birkenau) On Thursday, we traveled the 50km or so out of Kraków to the Polish village of Oświȩcim, renamed by the Germans as Auschwitz during WWII occupation; therein sits the infamous set of camps. For nearly 8 hours the students made their way through cobblestone alleys, and over the rutted and uneven paths that criss-cross these camps. Our guide, David Kennedy, was (as always) informative, patient, respectful, and welcoming of questions. We spent our first 3 1/2 hours at Auschwitz I. Here are some of the pics: We then traveled the three kilometers to Auschwitz II

Travel Day On Wednesday, the team took an 8+ hour bus trip from Berlin to Krakow. It was uneventful, beautiful, restful…needed. We got to the hostel early enough to walk around Old Town Kraków and visit Wawel Castle. Here are a few pics: Thursday we will visit Auschwitz I and II…

U.S. Embassy, Babelplatz, and the Olympic Stadium of Berlin Tuesday was our last full day in Berlin. We managed to cram in a visit to the U.S. Embassy where we had a very interesting and impressive meeting with and briefing by a spokesman for the ambassador and several of his deputies, a visit to the Rosenstraβe Protest memorial, Bebelplatz, and may other venues. One group I met up with went to the Olympia Stadion, location of the 1936 (Jesse Owens) Olympics and another went exploring through Hackescher Markt. On Wednesday, we travel to Krakow. Thursday will be our visit to

Ravensbrück Concentration Camp On Monday, we journeyed by regional train one-hour north of Berlin to Furstenberg-an-der-Havel. Just on the other side of the beautiful Lake Schwedtsee sits the women’s camp of Ravensbrück. Here are a few pics from that site – as well as the rest of the day. The next day we will get a briefing at the U.S. Embassy and enjoy some “free Berlin” time.

Sachsenhausen – one of the most important camps in the Nazi system On Sunday, we toured the Sachsenhausen labor camp in Oranienburg, just a few miles north of the German capital. This “city of oranges,” was renamed in the 16th century due to one of William of Orange’s granddaughter’s fascination with the town. However, in addition to this interesting history (complete with baroque-style castle, by the way), it also carries the burden of playing host to one of the most significant camps in the Nazi Lager Camp system, Sachsenhausen. This camp was designed to be the one on which other