Sachsenhausen Reflection

During our visit to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp it became apparent to me just how much Germany is making an effort to overcome its past. Germany has done a great job memorializing and paying tribute to the victims of the Sachsenhausen camp. There was such a wealth information there it was hard absorb it all.  It was very sobering to see how a “civilized’ country could commit such atrocities. I think the German government did a very good job of preserving the site, even though many of the buildings were lost during Soviet control. I am glad to see that Germany is not trying to gloss over what happened under the Nazis, but instead is doing everything its power to make sure things like this do not happen again.

BERLIN

As the professor, I have truly been blessed by a great group of students on this trip. It was a little busier with only one professor this year but all the students helped out and supported me with my teaching and traveling around the city of Berlin. All the parents should be very proud of your sons and daughters as they have been great representatives of their families, Calvin and engineering.

We are truly very busy every day. During the week, we cover about a chapter in our engineering book every day with homework due the next day. We have already had one test and one more is scheduled for tomorrow. Every night, we are all gathered around the dining room and help each other with the assigned homework. I have not had one late set of homework or ask for an extension. On Friday through Sunday, we are busy sightseeing and getting to know Berlin. It is amazing that we can get 29 people around the city without losing a few. We try and let everyone know where we are going, what train or bus station we are traveling to and when and everyone works together to make sure we are all there. The group looks out for their peers and keeps others on track as well. By now, they are very proficient in getting around the city and starting to explore a little more.

This weekend, I will be leaving the group and turning them over to Professor Nielsen. I have been very honored and blessed to get to know a wonderful group of students and I look forward to seeing them around campus this fall. It has been fun and rewarding for me and your parents should be very proud of these wonderful Christian young people.

Initial Reflections

This past week has been a whirlwind. We hit the ground running, visiting new places only on public transportation, which is a new experience for me. We had classes for four days and our first test here. But also during this week, we visited so many places that it is difficult to even remember where we went on which days.

So far Germany has left a good impression on me, but never in the ways I would have expected. Continue reading “Initial Reflections”

Sachsenhausen Memorial

Probably what I most remember from the trip to the memorial was standing over the trench just staring at the roughly cobbled ground. The sun’s rays were frying my back, but I honestly didn’t notice as I listened to the audio guide’s description of the area. There was an incline to my right into the wood log-lined pit. “They used to unload trucks of people into the ramp, forcing them to run down into the trench where soldiers would shoot them from above,” the audio explained. Continue reading “Sachsenhausen Memorial”

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Walking through the front gate was a very awakening experience. Seeing the writing on the barred gate: “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work sets you free). I heard this saying from history classes and I had seen it in many historical movies, however seeing it in person was very different experience. It brought a real realization Continue reading “Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp”

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

This past weekend we visited the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. The main concentration camp headquarters in World War II. We began the tour by walking down a long path with a wall on our left that told the timeline and details of Sachsenhausen’s use during the war, as well as its liberation. I’ve read the words before in other exhibits in Berlin, as well as in history classes in the past, but words are just that, words. Nothing could really prepare me for seeing the the compound myself, behind the large gate with the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (work sets you free) written on the doorway. From the moment I walked through that gate there was a constant haunting feeling that chilled me despite the eighty degree heat.

My first impression upon seeing the camp was that it was massive, Sachsenhausen was far larger than I had ever anticipated, and just like that my image of the concentration camps during the war shifted. Although I had read details about the events multiple times, the numbers and statistics meant nothing to me until I saw it. Even though most of the buildings had been burnt down and destroyed, it was clear that an immense number of human beings were forced to work, and be tortured there. I stayed there for 4 hours, seeing all the buildings still standing, and all the museums the compound had to offer. I read hundreds of plaques and memorials, though there were thousands more available. There was so much to take in. At the end however I found that I had not taken any photos. I realized that really there was nothing I wanted to take with me when I left. So much evil happened there and it left me feeling ill. There was nothing that made me want to think about that place again. But despite my discomfort and weak stomach, I know that this is something that I will never be able to forget, and I believe it is rightfully so.