Berlin Wall, Stasi Prison, and Jewish Museum

     

No man's land between the two sections of the Berlin Wall (left) and the guard tower (right).

Berlin Wall

     

Brush machines from Papa Weidt workshop (left) and staff photo of the blind Jewish workers (right)

                                          

Visiting Otto Weidt's workshop was so amazing to actually see the shop where an individual along with his colleagues was able to hide Jews and save a few lives. Papa Weidt went against the odds to protect and provide shelter for individuals in his workshop. We were able to tour the place where Papa Weidt hid a family behind a closet door. This put into perspective the book that we read in German class because we were able to see the size of the rooms and see how people had to live and what kind of mind set they were in being in such cramped corners. Learning more about Papa Weidt, helped me and hopefully my fellow classmates learn that sometimes civil disobedience is needed to do what is right and just and humane. 

   

Stassi Prison

   

Stasi Prison room (left) and the door peek hole into the prison room (right)

  

Stassi Prison room (left) and the interrogation room with our tour guide (right) 

The Stasi Prison was quite a unique experience for us. Instead of having a historian as a tour guide, we had an actual prisoner as our tour guide. He was able to share how hard life was in the prison, including the mental torture that he had to endure. It was awesome to hear his stories and it gave us a first hand learning experience that a historian would not have been able to capture. 

  

Rabbi who wrote all our names in Hebrew at the Jewish Museum (left) and an artful memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

The Jewish Museum was the highlight of my day and walking on the "screaming" faces was super surreal. The sound of the metal reminded me of chains and all I could think of was the horrors the Jews went through during the Holocaust. The faces also looked like they were screaming as you stepped on them. The entire Jewish Museum was a very deep and touching experience.

-Written by: Felecia, Kim, Arianna