Easter

Week 11

The week before Easter was fairly typical. We had 211 homework and worked on the DHF for the enmodes project. Other than that, nothing academic really stood out all that much to me with one exception. Dr. Wasser gave us lectures on Operation T4 and the Nuremberg Trials. These lectures really struck me. It made me consider how humans can do something like determining who to kill and who to not. Also, I was trying to realistically consider how far the Holocaust is different from many other tragedies and systematic discrimination. Dr. Wasser ensured that he included the counter-arguments in the Nuremberg Trials, something I really enjoyed hearing. I agree that the Holocaust was a horrible event but it is taught about in all schools, without acknowledging the complex political and cultural environment of the times and similar events around the world in history and today. I like that he implicated the US to some extent and pointed out a little of the hypocrisy of the placing blame. Of course, I am not arguing that the Holocaust is ok or that the Nazi's committed horrible actions, but I believe the environment of the times and the motivation behind other atrocities should also be considered.

We embarked on our Easter adventure Thursday evening. We drove first to spend the night in an RV park next to the Rhine that had liquid ice for shower water. We drove along the Romantic Road, a popular travel route in Germany. We stopped in Rothenburg for a while to visit the popular churches. Also, Darby, Michelle (her mom), and I climbed the Rathaus tower and overlooked the city. It was a beautifully surreal. Here, I entered a church on Good Friday for the first time ever. Also, the city was all set up for Easter with many of the little shops closed, but with the fountains decked out with strings of painted real egg shells. We enjoyed the sunshine and cheery-nature of the city and went to Munich for the night.

When we arrived in Munich we visited the Rathaus and had dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. This was incredible just like it was the previous time I had gone. I ate weißwurst this time with beer and pretzels of course. When we returned the following day, we went to Viktualienmarkt and found some great presents for friends back home with all of the Easter merchandise. I really enjoyed Munich as a city both times that I visited. To me, it seemed very family oriented and fun while being more down to earth and realistic than Berlin. I can only equate Berlin to Austin, TX in that eccentric people seemed to reside there. Munich seemed more like what I imagine Dallas to be, more settled and stable.

From Munich we left to go visit Dachau on our way out of town. The history behind Dachau is incredibly sad. This was the first Nazi work camp. Here, over 188.000 people were held and over 30.000 died. Also, this camp was infamous for medical experimentation on inmates, specifically some of those as part of Operation T4. Even just the simple action of stepping into the ground of the camp was an experience for me. While crossing the threshold of the gate that read "Arbeit macht frei" (work will set you free), I became acutely aware that incredible numbers of the people who had passed that same gate, only did so once and died on the inside of it dreaming of crossing it again. There I stood, waiting to willingly cross it, when so many people would have never dreamed of doing such a thing. I wasn't sure if I could even step foot inside the camp, but finally did so. Inside, I got to see the locations of so many atrocities and consider the depths of the human heart that could commit such things to other humans. We watched a short movie about the history of the camp and got to know more about the procedure and the practices. Finally, we walked out towards a small building, just outside the gates of the camp. I wasn't sure exactly what the building was but went inside. Based off the labels on the walls I walked first into a room where bodies were stored, then into a second corpse storage room. Third, I walked into a room with incinerators and chimneys. Fourth I walked into an empty dark room with no windows or doors and no labeling. I was confused what this room was until I went into the next and read that this was the changing room where the inmates would derobe before entering the room I had just come from, the gas shower. I was shaken to find out I had just walked through a gas chamber. I had to go back into it to take it in more fully. After all of this, I was emotionally exhausted and I had to leave the camp and go back to the RV. I couldn't shake the thought that I had been able to choose when I wanted to be there and when I wanted to leave, but almost two hundred thousand people hadn't had that choice. I had walked freely in places that people would have been shot for walking in 70 years before me.

We left Dachau and headed to Fussen for the remainder of the weekend break. There we visited Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle, as well as some of the churches and shops in town. The castles were surreal and fairytale-like because they were built by Ludwig II, the Bavarian crazy king. We got to hike to a beautiful bridge while it was snowing in a light fluffy way. Also, the castles sit in the Alps, which I have always wanted to see. The inside of the castles was ornate and incredible, but the tours were minorly disappointing because they felt rushed. One of my life goals has become to backpack from city to city along the Alps. I want to go during the summer, backpack into the mountains for a couple days and hike along towards another town and come out the mountains to stay a couple nights there. Then repeat the process all along the beautiful valley.

On Monday we headed back to Bonn, but made a quick stop in Ulm. We got to see the largest church steeple in the world that was the top of a wonderful church. I really liked a large statue of the crucifixion placed at the back of the church opposite the alter. My Monday evening, I was ready to be back home in my bed in Bonn, although the trip was amazing and unforgettable. I am having the most incredible experiences studying abroad. Its amazing to think they are coming to a quick close.