When teaching US History or European History, educators usually include a study of the Cold War period, which spanned the years from 1947 to 1991. Such a study inevitably includes a discussion of the Berlin Wall, a twelve-foot concrete barrier erected by Russian authorities to prevent those living in the Soviet-dominated Eastern sector of the city from defecting to the more democratic sectors governed by the United States, Great Britain, and France. To aid the teaching of this important period in international relations, I recommend the teacher make a personal visit to Berlin to view the Wall and related sites.

On a recent visit to Berlin, author Terry Lee Marzell stands beside a section of the Berlin Wall, erected during the Cold War to prevent citizens from defecting from the Soviet-dominated Eastern sector of the city.

Before the Wall was erected, approximately 3.5 million East German citizens fled the highly-restrictive Soviet rule by simply crossing into more democratic West Berlin. Then they were free to emigrate to other cities within the German Democratic Republic or move on to other countries. The mass defection was embarrassing to Soviet leaders, who wanted the world to believe their Communist regime was preferred by their people. To stem further flight, the Soviets constructed the twelve-foot concrete barrier that became known as the Berlin Wall. Behind the Wall on the East German side was the area that came to be called the “Death Strip.” The Soviets equipped this area with a number of features intended to betray the presence of defectors. Among these were soft sand that allowed for easy detection of footprints, barbed wire, floodlights, vicious dogs, trip-wire machine guns, and patrolling soldiers with orders to shoot escapees on sight.

By the time the Wall came down on November 9, 1989, more than 100,000 people had attempted to circumvent the obstruction and escape to freedom in the West. They used incredibly creative methods to achieve their goal, including jumping out of windows adjacent to the wall, climbing over the barbed wire, flying over it in hot air balloons, crawling under it through the sewers, driving through unfortified parts of the wall at high speeds, disguising their bodies in inhumanly-shaped suitcases, or hiding in tiny secret compartments in cars. Although more than 5,000 people were able to achieve their goal, at least 171 individuals were killed during their attempts to reach freedom.

On a recent trip to Berlin, I was able to see and touch first-hand a remaining standing portion of the Wall. A memorial with a photograph of each individual who died trying to reach freedom humanizes the number of dead. The spot evokes conflicting emotions: Grief for the loss of life, sadness for the families who were torn apart when the Wall separated them from loved ones living on the other side, and joy for when the Wall finally came down.

While visiting Berlin, the author visits a reconstruction of Checkpoint Charlie, the well-known Cold War border crossing between the East and West sectors of the city.

I was also able to visit the well-known crossing that marks the border of East and West Berlin known as Checkpoint Charlie. It is important to note that what the tourist sees at Checkpoint Charlie today is a reconstruction of the original checkpoint. The famous photos of the American and Russian soldiers are fictional; the guard shack is from the period, but is not the original guard house; and the uniformed men posing for pictures are just actors trying to collect tips from tourists. The reconstruction offers a degree of physicality to a study of the Cold War, but the teacher will doubtless want to share authentic photos from the period with students.

Although it has been nearly three decades since the Berlin Wall was felled, the lobotomized city of Berlin is still trying to knit its two halves back together. You can’t really get a sense of this unless you visit the place in person. And that’s why I recommend a visit to the capital of Germany to anyone who teaches the Cold War.

Author Terry Lee Marzell contemplates teaching the Holocaust during a recent visit to Dachau Concentration Camp in southern Germany.

History teachers, particularly teachers of US History or European History, are usually tasked with leading their students in a study of World War II. Such a study must, inevitably, include a discussion of the Holocaust. For any teacher, a study of the Holocaust would be greatly enhanced by a visit to historical sites commonly mentioned in literature about the period. Recently I was able to visit one of these sites: Dachau Concentration Camp, located just outside the city of Munich in southern Germany.

Dachau was the first concentration camp opened by the Nazis. Established in 1933 for the purpose of housing political prisoners, it also served as the prototype for many of the Nazi death camps that were built after it. Eventually, Dachau was used as a forced labor camp for Jewish and Romani (Gypsy) prisoners and foreign prisoners of war. Over the 12 years the camp was operated by the Nazis, more than 206,000 individuals were incarcerated there, and of these, nearly 32,000 were exterminated. After the war, the facility was used by the Allies to hold Nazi soldiers awaiting trial.

The visitor to Dachau enters by a gate that, like the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Theresienstadt, bears the words “Arbeit Macht Frie,” which translated means “Work will set you free.” The greeting creates a strong sense of irony, since the prisoners became slaves who could not earn their freedom, no matter how hard or how long they worked. Continuing further, the visitor can view the roll-call square, a guard tower, the reconstructed barracks, the crematorium, the Nazis’ offices, and memorials. The Nazis’ offices have been turned into a museum to house exhibits and a movie theater which plays a video providing background information about the camp.

A visit to this place is sobering. The souls of those murdered or incarcerated here call out to the visitor. It is a testament to the German people that sites connected to the Holocaust have been preserved as historical sites and repurposed into learning centers, instead of being bulldozed in an effort to forget what happened here. It is interesting to note that Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany, and it is against the law for German citizens to give the Nazi salute. Furthermore, young German students are required to take a tour of a concentration camp as part of their general education, and during the school year such groups can be seen at Dachau, escorted by their teachers.

The American teacher is, in most instances, unable to take students on a visit to this historic site, but you can share a virtual tour of facility by clicking on this link: Dachau Virtual Tour.

Author Terry Lee Marzell on her recent “field trip” to the Rijksmuseum, the Dutch National Museum, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Almost every educator would agree that physical experiences create opportunities for the most indelible learning. I would assert that a field trip is an excellent way to create a learning experience for students. This was the thought that popped into my head when I encountered several groups of Dutch school children while I was on my own personal “field trip” recently to the famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The Rijksmuseum, also known as the Dutch National Museum, was first established in the Hague in 1800, and was later relocated to Amsterdam. The institution is dedicated to the art and history of the Netherlands, and houses a collection that spans the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

Author Terry Lee Marzell examines the ship model William Rex while on her “field trip” to the Rijksmusem in Amsterdam.

I loved seeing the eager faces of the school children (I think they were about ten years old) as they sat on the polished floor in the massive museum surrounding their teacher, who was detailing the history and significance of the objects they were looking at. The Rijksmuseum owns over one million objects, 8,000 of which are on display to the public. Included are works of art by such Dutch masters as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and Van Ruisdael. The museum’s collection also features sculptures, weapons, armor, ship models, antique furniture pieces, tapestries, fashion items, and a notable collection of Asian art.

I found the ship models absolutely amazing. I was particularly impressed by this large-scale model of the 17th-century Dutch warship Willliam Rex. This specimen was built in 1698 at the Vlissingen shipyard, which also produced real warships. The model is one-twelfth the size of an actual warship and features 74 guns. It was originally set up in the meeting room of the Zeeland Admiralty in Middelburg. I’ll bet many of the Dutch kids in the school groups were just as mesmerized by this model as I was.

The 17th-century doll house belonging to Petronella Oortman found in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

I also particularly enjoyed the 17th-century doll houses, especially the one that belonged to Petronella Oortman, a wealthy citizen of Amsterdam. For her doll house, Petronella ordered miniature porcelain dishes from China, and she commissioned cabinet makers, glassblowers, silversmiths, basket weavers, and other artisans to contribute to the furnishings of her doll house. She was so proud of her creation that she had it portrayed in a painting! I’m sure many of the Dutch kids in the school groups loved the doll houses, too.

As you can tell, I thoroughly enjoyed my “field trip” to the Rijksmuseum, and I feel confident many of the school children did, too. The teachers in Amsterdam are fortunate, as the museum is easily accessible by foot, by bicycle (which nearly every student owns), or by public transportation. Furthermore, the Netherlands supports visitations by students by making admission to the Rijksmuseum free for children under 18. For teachers in the United States who would like to explore this marvelous museum with students here at home, you can tap into the museum’s web page to view their collection at this link: Rijksmuseum Collection. Enjoy!