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

The Jewish Museum of Berlin Today was primarily taken up with a visit to the Jewish Museum of Berlin. In the installation, the visitor in confronted with a fantastic amount of factual information spread across three floors of displays, and it is all wrapped and presented within a structure bursting with symbolic meaning – from the interior design of the hallways and “voids,” to even the outside of the building, which looks scarred and torn. Here are some of the shots taken by those of us on the tour: The next day we will go to Sachsenhausen, one of the

A trip to Brandenburg an der Havel The main event for today was a trip out the western side of Berlin on a Region 1 train to the historic town of Brandenburg. Before we left Berlin, we were met by Dr. Christian Marx and his colleague Dr. Petra Fuchs who chose to not only travel with us but to also give us a tour of this beautiful northeastern German city. Eventually, we made our way by foot to the Brandenburg Euthanasia Memorial, where Christian serves as the director of education. On the way, we saw building, churches, walls, and towers

First Day Summary Challenging first couple of days here for Group 1. Despite several challenging traveling issues, all made it here safely and on-time except one group who, due to a flight cancellation, will arrive tomorrow morning. Thankfully, we were able to make adjustments to the schedule and we are very hopeful that all scheduled events will still take place. Highlights of the day – safe arrival at the airport and transportation to our hostel (Ibis, Mitte Berlin); walking tour of Museum Island and Hackescher Markt, a visit to the famous East Wall Gallery, and a group dinner at Vapiano’s