11:07

The clock said 11:07, but it was not a real clock. The clock was hand painted. Hand painted with the time reading 11:07. On April 22, 1945 at 11:07am, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was liberated by Soviet armed forces just outside of Berlin.

I can honestly say that after visiting this memorial, I am a changed person. It is one thing to read about the horrors and disgusting events that took place in concentration camps, but to see it first hand and walk where tens of thousands of people were systematically exterminated, is something that I cannot really fathom into words. Myself, along with the entirety of my group all do not know how to describe it. The minute you walk in, you immediately feel pure evil. As you walk past the execution pit you want to drop to your knees and wish that this never happened. As you walk past the crematorium ovens you think this is a dream and that this is not real. As you read the names of the people killed, each name getting harder and harder to fight back tears, you wish you could unsee these things.

This quote can be seen before entering the crematorium.

The trip to this memorial has changed my life forever. Even trying to find pictures to use in this blog was hard for me to go through without getting a stomach ache. I will only be posting two pictures from the camp itself. The rest I am withholding.

 

I did not want this post to be depressing but I figured I would start with this because it was the first thing we did as a group in Berlin.

Berlin however was very beautiful and incredible. It was hard to believe that over 70% of the city was completely and utterly destroyed after the second world war. Some of my favorite parts of Berlin were all of the museums I was able to visit. Included with the trip is a 3 day pass to museums in Berlin. Depending on what museums, you could get in for free. In total I was able to visit 6 museums, 5 of which were covered by the program. Myself along with other members of R-95 went to the Altes Nationalgalerie, Altes museum, Neues Museum, Pergamon Museum, and the DDR museum. The DDR museum was very interesting because it was an interactive museum involving life in East Germany under the German Democratic Republic (It was also the only museum we had to pay for). But with our student discount we were able to go through the whole museum for 4 Euro. Also one of my personal favorite sites was the Brandenburg Gate. 

This was actually the monument I wanted to see most when coming to Berlin and I can say that I was not dissappointed. The gate itself dates back to the 18th century, but was very badly damaged during the second world war. Victoria the goddess of Victory ontop of the gate is actually not original. The first statue ontop of the Brandenburg Gate was the goddess Eirene or Irene who was the daughter of Poseidon and was the goddess of peace. This Victoria statue is actually the third to be ontop of the Brandenburg gate because during the Napoleonic wars, Napoleon took down Eirene to be brought back to Paris.

Another beautiful masterpiece of architecture was the Berliner Dom or the Berlin Cathedral. This massive cathedral is the largest in Germany and also one of the most beautiful.

Underneath the cathedral lies the eternal resting place of a number of Hohenzollern family members in the crypt.

Another must was the Berlin wall and the famous Checkpoint Charlie (which now is sort of a tourist attraction than an actual checkpoint).

 

Berlin overall was spectacular and I wish our group had more time to explore, even with five days, we could not see it all. Also I forgot to mention that our group was lucky enough to stuff ourselves with some of the best food I have ever had, all covered by Valpo. The meal itself included various specialties from around the Berlin area. I would have included a picture but our entire group literally inhaled both platters before a single photo could be taken, not to mention there was enough food left over to feed the entirety of Scheele hall for 6 weeks.

After Berlin, myself with a couple of my friends from the group decided to go to Bremen and Hamburg. Both places were absolutely fantastic. I just wish that we could have stayed longer.

Underneath the Bremen Town Hall lies the Rathskeller restaurant which is over 600 years old and is home to the largest wine selection in all of Germany. Needless to say, our entire group had a fabulous time there.

Hamburg was also quite amazing. Hamburg is home to Germany’s largest exporting port and also great fish and the infamous Reeperbahn. Y’all can google it cause I ain’t explainin it. Either way, Hamburg was amazing and like Bremen, I wish I could have stayed longer.

This trip so far has meant so much more to me than I could have ever imagined. I am so thankfull that I have this opportunity to see the world and learn about it from first hand interaction. Everywhere you look there is history to be told and lessons to be learned. This has been one of the best decisions of my life and I am already sad that it will come to an end sooner rather than later.

Our group will be traveling again this upcoming week so expect another long time before posts. I hope you enjoyed and if you have any comments or requests please leave them! This is Austin Pittman signing off from Reutlingen. Good night.