On Wednesday, May 10, we, classes 9a and b, visited the Buchenwald Memorial on the Ettersberg near Weimar.
Our visit began with a tour of the grounds around the bell tower, the "Tower of Freedom". The path past the seven steles, which stand for seven years of history of the Buchenwald camp, down to the "Road of Nations" was impressive. Among other things, it connects three ring graves (mass graves for the dead from the concentration camp). We then walked up the "Stairway to Freedom" towards the bell tower. We looked at the largest group of bronze figures dedicated to the resistance struggle, created by Fritz Cremer, and we heard the muffled sound of the Buchenwald bell. On the door of the tower we could read the "Buchenwald Oath".
Our guided tour of the former concentration camp, which lasted over 2 hours, began with a film in which, among other things, contemporary witnesses had their say. This gave us an insight into the arrival of the prisoners, their work, their life and also their death...
We walked along the so-called "Kachacho Road", on which the prisoners were brought to the camp, visited both the main camp and the crematorium.
The effort and the impressions, due to the difficult and moving topic, were clearly noticeable on the bus ride back. However, we had the opportunity to discuss what we had experienced and seen with our teachers afterwards.
Max Mustermann - student AK26b
Mrs. Arzig - history teacher
Phone: +49 3764 2331
Fax: +49 3764 49234
igm@saxony-international-school.de
International Gymnasium Meerane
"Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi"
Pestalozzistraße 25
08393 Meerane