Returning to the United States from my semester abroad in London this past week, I have been recovering from jet lag and reflecting on my exciting semester abroad that has just concluded. Reflecting on the experience, I’ve spent the past week sharing photos with friends and family and preparing to travel to Winter Park, Florida,…
Easter in Germany
This Easter I got to spend the holiday with my Aunt Katrin, Uncle Jackie, and my two cousins Lina and Gatlin. My uncle, who is my dad’s oldest brother, has been living in Germany for as long as I can remember. It had been a couple of years since I had last saw them. So…
Finishing the Chapter
I can’t believe that my time in London is now coming to an end.It seems just like yesterday that I arrived here, eager and ready to begin a great adventure, and now it is time for me to say goodbye. It doesn’t seem right or fair. No, I refuse to call this a goodbye, for…
Being Home
It has now been about a week, since I arrived back home to the States. I find myself still adjusting to being back here. I feel as though mentally I am here, but physically, I am still in England, if that makes any sense. I am so happy to be back home with my parents…
“Where it All Began”
The atmosphere in Germany had been changing around us. Like the seasons go, our world around us began to fade from a warm and welcoming summer into a crisp autumn, we knew it was going to be a long winter. When the Nazi’s came to power we had no idea what that would mean for…
“We did not want to know.”
Something that I could not help but think about while reading Chapter 8, “Into Oblivion,” was the proximity of the Jewish deportations to non-Jewish German citizens. What I mean by this is that those who were taken from there homes were the friends, neighbors, and acquaintances of German citizens. This was illustrated by the anecdote…
Jewish community in Berlin
The Nazi system withered one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in Europe. It was mentioned that it was not the constant depredations and humiliations of the authorities, but the lack of information on what happened to those who were taken away was what deeply worried the evacuees. The Nazi regime managed to break this…
Foreign Workers
Staying true to the book’s premise, the chapter Unwelcomed Strangers was all about giving a voice to those who have not been given one before. Moorhouse stated that ‘foreign workers’ were seldom mentioned in first-documents in wartime Berlin. They were a substantial group within Berlin (they worked at Speer’s megalomaniacal constructions) yet natives managed to…
Air Raids
After reading about all of the air raids and how people had to almost constantly seek shelter I got interested in seeing what the shelters really looked like. What I found surprised me. When I try and put myself into their shoes I just am shocked. I am a very claustrophobic and would have seriously…
April 11, 1939
A journal entry from Edith Färber, age 11 living in Berlin the morning her friend moved away. This morning I woke up to our land lord arguing with Erika’s dad. I ran outside and saw her mom crying. Mother quickly rushed me back into the apartment and shut the door. I went out later today…