So updating everyday just cannot happen. I post the photos
of the day but I am too exhausted when I get back to the hotel each night. But
to keep y’all up to date as much as possible I will sum up each city. We are
currently on a four hour train to Prague and I am sad to leave Berlin. From the
second we landed, I was at home. I love hearing the German language spoken and
being around good food all the time. After the first night and hanging out with
Kortnie and Laine, we spent the day walking basically all over Berlin. We did
not finish until probably 7am or 8am after starting at 9:30am. We started with
the Topography of Terror museum, which I saw the last time. It gives the same
general overview of the Holocaust as all the others but I decided to see how women
were portrayed or what languages was used to describe them. I am not 100% sure
what I really can come with yet, but I notice that the word “innocent” is used
with the killing of women more often than with men.
After that we took a walking tour with this laminated
pictures of an artistic installation from 1991. It was weird to be confronted
with these three times periods all at one time. Then I got to switch off with
Dr. Blutinger and teach my fellow classmates about a few memorials. It was fun
to share this information with them and to see their reactions to the
memorials. Jack actually pointed out the fact that the Rosenstrasse Memorial,
while dedicated to women, has like no women on it. I may end up writing about
that. I am just obsessed with the gendered language within Holocaust
memorialization
.
We conclude the tour and grabbed dinner at anarchistic/punk
pizza place. The pizza was so good and the company was even better. I am
enjoying the group but I still feel like I am not really accepted. I try to get
things going and no one wants to join. I find what is even more frustrating is
the fact that Dr. Blutinger is so willing to spend time with everyone. Last
time he was trying to escape from us at every turn.
Monday I had to be at the archive at 9 so I headed out
earlier than the others. It was a good experience and taught me to be brave
when asking for directions from Germans. I did get some good information on how
to prepare for my next archive visit and the archivist said she wanted me to
come back and do more research. She was so nice!
After the archive, I went with some of the students to Café
Einstein Stammhaus for Apfelstrudel and whipped cream as well as a wonderful
iced coffee. We also went to KaDeWe to look at the toys and ate döner kabap at Mustafa’s.
It was fun to drink beer in line and then eat delicious food.
Yesterday we went to the Wannsee Conference house and I got
to walk in the backyard. I want to live there so badly. I then broke off from
the group to just see Bonhoeffer’s house. I got there not expecting the guide
to be there but he was. He was a wonderful archivist who let me see the whole
of the house and gave me such great information for my thesis. I was also asked
to come back to do research there as well.
I need some coffee so I went to Fassbender und Rausch. I had
an iced coffee with a tiramisu tort. It was freakin bomb. I loved it so much
and did not want to leave the cool of the café but I had to meet with the
class. We toured the information center under the Memorial to the Murdered Jews
of Europe. We discussed the museum but one thing people do not seem to notice
is the voids that are created intentionally within Holocaust memorials. Broken
space meant to represent broken relationships. It is one of the things within
studying the Holocaust that always points me back to the need for Christ.
We concluded out day with dinner near the hostel and
packing. Berlin is such a wonderful city but I am looking forward to seeing the
Disneyland-meets-a-frat-party that is Prague. Will update in a few days.
