Week Eleven - Final Exams and Final Thoughts

Mon 18.3.13:

Aww this week has a sad shadow over it, as it means the end of our lovely vacation in Berlin :( As we finish up our finals and check out, our group gets smaller and smaller - I just hope everyone has a lovely Spring Break and that we make time to hang out back on campus!

So, friends... I will strongly miss having E40 class downstairs with you

Today I finished up German in the morning - so sad to say good-bye (nay, see you again!) to Jochen - and then E40 in the evening. I felt pretty good about both exams, and very relieved to have finished, but definitely sad not to see Jochen or Timur again (though we did get a group picture with him! … after an extremely long and difficult 5 hour final). Ah, well - c'est la vie. 

Tue 19.3.13: 

Today I checked Econ off the list - now completely done! That leaves a full day and a half to explore and buy gifts :) - and headed to Sachsenhausen with Anna and Susan. An hour and a half's train ride north of Berlin, this concentration camp primarily held political prisoners at first, then expanded its scope to accommodate other demographics as the pogroms occurred and the war drew on. Roughly 30,000 prisoners were killed in Sachsenhausen, which held 11,000 prisoners at its peak - very cramped conditions then. Our tour began with an overview of how the camp developed, even in the middle of the city of Oranienburg, and how the locals could do little more than watch as the prisoners were unloaded and walked from the train station to the camp. From there, we entered the camp itself, passing the 'Arbeit macht Frei' gate and seeing the wintry desolation both outside and inside the sleeping quarters.

The fateful words entering the concentration camp

So desolate and hopeless - although I knew conditions in these camps were
terrible, I didn't even imagine them with snow. Apparently, prisoners had to
stand outside for daily roll call, and remained in formation until all prisoners
were accounted for - if anyone tried to escape, this process could last overnight

The sleeping quarters were just as I imagined - bunks stacked three high, with just two washbasins and eight toilets for roughly 150 people (but 300-400 when the camp was full). A few of the buildings now are exhibits detailing the conditions in the camp as the war progressed, and describe notable prisoners (such as George Elser, who attempted to assassinate Hitler) as well as the labors of the camp. During the war, Germany used Sachsenhausen prisoners to counterfeit British currency and attempted to airdrop it into Britain in an effort to devalue the currency and undermine the economy. Nifty idea, though I don't think it was particularly successful.

The Gestapo barracks, now an exhibit

Any prisoner stepping in the 'Neutral Zone' could instantly be
shot by the guards, who received bonuses based on number of
prisoners killed. Many threw prisoners' hats here just for sport

SS 'doctors' had prisoners stand against this -
then shot the prisoner in the back of the neck

I'm unsure of the precise meaning; but I'd guess that it represents the guards' meticulous inspection of and willingness to kill prisoners

We proceeded to the 'Execution Trench,' the site of hundreds upon thousands of the killings. The inscribed plaques and memorials - including one with the faces of eight resistance prisoners - were moving but did little to mitigate the overwhelming sensation of depression. The image directly below stands in memory to all the camp's victims, and surrounding it are the foundations of one of the execution chambers. Quite solemnifying.
Finally, we visited one of the medical experimentation and killing buildings. Scientists could request any number of prisoners to inject certain pathogens into, or to cut open and let their wounds fester, and observe how quickly (or not) the patients recovered. Horrid as this was, we also learned that these buildings were also where much of the resistance (however small) took place, as many guards were reluctant to enter these buildings that contained infectious diseases. All in all, I'm glad I saw a concentration camp in person, as it emphasized and deepened my perceptions of them. The entire time, I felt an all-encompassing pressure and depression from the site, and I imagined the atrocities within as I paid my respects.

"In memory of the victims of Sachsenhausen concentration camp -- 1936-1945"
A fitting memorial - the water dripping from the letters looks chillingly like the blood from the concentration camp

Me at the front of the memorial site entrance

Upon returning (on the ride back, we laughed when Anna finally realized that the drink I'd consistently been sipping from was a Bushwhacker and not a protein shake), Susan and I had a quick dinner before meeting Esther and Peter and Cafe Einstein for (again) the best Apfelstrudel ever :) Then we relocated to Bar 39 with Keziah, Sherri, Juan, Zixiang, Allison, and Tim, and gave each other farewells for our respective spring breaks.

Apple strudel makes everything better!

Wed 20.3.13:
After checking out at and taking pictures of the center, I planned out what I wanted to do and see on my final day in Berlin. First, I met Susan and Zixiang at Mustafa's for one final delicious döner. I certainly will miss this back in the US!

Pathway to the Villa 

Susan representing our common room and kitchen area

We then returned to the Brandenburger Tor (meeting up with Tim and Allison), as we wanted some pictures of ourselves in front of Berlin's iconic gate, followed by Ritter Sport and Fassbender and Rausch, where we picked up goodies for friends and family back home.

Zixiang and I under the Brandenburger Tor

Ringing up 43.51 garnered us a free Ritter Sport bag!
Totally worth it :D

Faberge egg, Fassbender and Rausch style!

The facade of the old Anhalter Bahnhof

Then we visited the site of the old Anhalter Bahnhof, a station with much history. During Nazi reign, it was used to deport nearly 10,000 Jews - even in normal passenger cars attached to the back of regular service trains! Near the end of the war, to prevent the Soviets from advancing, SS soldiers blew up the supports for the underground canal, flooding the tunnels and blocking the link between North and South Berlin. Finally, during the Cold War, some trains traveled across the West-East border and back again, but Soviet soldiers guarded these Eastern stations to prevent anyone from escaping. The trains still slowed as they passed these 'ghost stations,' granting passengers views of the eerily derelict stations guarded by Soviet troops. Anhalter Bahnhof was the first station back in the West, but still developed a very empty feeling.

Even today, Anhalter Bahnhof has a ghostly feel to it

Tim und Struppi??? Haha!

Afterwards (we passed some hall of horrors building - would've been interesting to explore if we'd come earlier), I returned to Kottbusser, explored a comic book shop, and met Esther and Sarah at Miss Saigon for dinner. Then I said good night and good-bye to my host family (I had a wonderful three months with them and will certainly miss staying with them!) and then met up with Zixiang, Allison, Tim, Anna, and Spencer (plus a friend) at a bar to just relax and enjoy our last evening in Berlin. Eventually, I made it home, packed up my things, and made my 7am flight back home - after a sprint through CDG in Paris and four full movies, we touched down in SFO. I was incredibly happy to see Mom and Terence, and savored the sunny weather!

Things I'll miss from Berlin and/or being abroad in general, aka my personal ramblings:
our E40 class, especially for Timur (and Brianna and Mikaela's impersonations of him)
Timur's refusals of our profferred food, claiming he'd have to run 100m per chocolate square
our German class with Jochen - all of us proclaimed that we had the best German class
Mustafa's, falafel, and the plethora of cheap, available, delicious Turkish food
... to be continued