Video of our trip

Final Reflections & Thank You

Mrs. Wilson and I have been home just a little over two weeks and in those two weeks I have found myself reflecting on all we did, all we saw, and all we learned during our travels. I am so thankful for this experience and I do not know if I can truly express how much of an impact this trip had on me. It has taken me these two weeks to even muster the courage to open up our blog and actually read all of our postings. Reading my own words and those of Mrs. Wilson has had a surreal effect on me. I have been reliving some of our favorite moments, so I thought as my closing post, I would share some of those favorites with you.

Warsaw was my favorite surprise. I had no idea that I would be so taken with this hard working proud city. It was the perfect introduction to our trip. We were eager and ready for adventure in Warsaw and we attacked this city with an interest that didn't die out when we left.

Picture: My favorite symbol of the Warsaw Uprising


Prague was my favorite landscape. Prague is beautiful, simply beautiful. Everywhere we went looked like a postcard picture and Mrs. Wilson and I snapped photos non-stop. The city-scape was breathtaking in the early sunlight, the fading twilight, and the illuminating moonlight. One of our best nights was spent walking the Charles Bridge and listening to a trio of string players performing on a dock beside the bridge. Prague felt like home to me, but unlike any home I have ever known.

Picture: View from the Charles Bridge

Munich was my favorite educational experience. I learned so much in Munich about who Hitler was and who he became. Top five things I learned: Hitler was a postcard artist, Hitler was a vegetarian, Hitler escaped death on numerous occasions, Hitler hijacked an ambulance to escape the Munich government overthrow gone-bad, Hitler was afraid of fog (yes,fog!)

Picture: Beer Hall where Hitler started it all with his power of speech

Musée de l'Orangerie was my favorite museum (not related to Holocaust or World War II). In Paris, Mrs. Wilson dragged me to one last museum and I so debated skipping out on her and just sitting in a lovely green chair in the park alongside the museum. But I pulled myself together and followed her in to l'Orangerie, the museum where Monet donated his famous lily pad paintings. The first room you walk into has four lily pad paintings, one on each wall. They take up the whole wall and there is a sign asking people to use these rooms to reflect on their lives and to try to refrain from speaking. Mrs. Wilson and I did this; we sat in silence and looked around the room of lily pads and calm settled upon us. We also found one painting that we loved by Modigliani called Le Jeune Apprenti (Young Apprentice). When we saw this picture, I looked at Mrs. Wilson and said, " I think I know that boy." and she knew exactly what I meant. The young boy growing out of the arms of his jacket, the eyes half closed, the resting pose, the disengaged mood all spoke to us of students past, present, and future. We both purchased a postcard copy of this portrait, so stop by and have a look and see if you too know this boy!


PIcture Le Jeune Apprenti

And lastly, my favorite site is the most important site we visited: Auschwitz. Seeing Auschwitz/Auschwitz-Birkenau was an amazing moment in my life. I have said before on this blog that I was aware of the statistics of this site and I knew the calamity of it all, but seeing it and standing in that spot felt so much more real than I could ever have imagined. I know that being there will change the way I talk about our reading of Night. I always felt the book portrayed such an amazing balance of hope and despair. Seeing Auschwitz brought all of that to the surface for me. The hope of life coming from the ashes of destruction and the despair of knowing that such evil existed was difficult to ignore standing by the railroad tracks of Auschwitz. I hope that I can relate all of that to my students because in the words of Elie Wiesel, “Not to transmit an experience is to betray it.”

Picture:Remains of Auschwitz-Birkenau

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A special thanks to all of you who read our blog and especially to those of you who posted a comment, emailed us your thoughts, or called to let us know you were with us in our travels. It meant so much to me and Mrs. Wilson to hear that someone was reading our words. We chose to create the blog and update it as much as possible to benefit our students, but in actuality, we benefited the most. Writing our thoughts down and collecting photographs for the blog helped shape our memories. Knowing that you were out there reading our thoughts made us feel closer to home and we were so grateful to read someone else's views, as it got tiring listening only to ourselves. We wanted to take you all along with us on our journey and we hope we have accomplished that. Thank you for bearing with our spelling and grammar mistakes (ouch that hurts to say as your English teacher), but they were inevitable due to our late hours, busy schedule and lack of revising time. It is our hope that the blog will continue on with other Arrupe trips in the future, as well as being re-visited when 8th grade arrives at the point in our curriculum where reading this might help. Thank you again for reading and we hope you got as much out of it as we did.

A Good Way to End Our Trip

Pictured: Mrs. Wilson at the Eiffel Tower

Pictured: Hall of Mirrors where the Treaty of Versailles was signed.

Pictured: Ms. Guiney at Versailles

Pictured: Notre Dame

By Elise Wilson

In many ways our trip seemed to fly by and we did not feel that we had been traveling in Europe for a week and a half when we reached Paris. On the other hand, we were getting tired of packing up, taking a train, getting a new map of an unknown city, figuring out customs, etc. Warsaw seemed like the distant past. But here we were arriving in Paris relieved we would not have to take another train, and relieved that when we packed up our bags on the last day, it would be our last.

Paris is plain and simple a beautiful city. Buildings have these lovely little terraces or Juliette balconies strewn with flowers and plants. We arrived late at night and as we zoomed through the streets in our taxi, we caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower golden in the deep of darkness. The gardens throughout the city are charming with flowers of every variety. Paris wins for the best gardens out of all the cities we visited. I highly recommend walking through the Tuileries and take time to pull up one of their green chairs by a fountain or a perfectly composed flowerbed, and simply be.

Paris was a place on our trip where we took time to slow down and simply enjoy. We still packed in our days, but we found moments in parks or museums to revel in the moment. We were pleased to meet with Ms. Smith who is now a dean at BC High. She was visiting a friend in Paris and we were able to meet at a lovely bistro and relax. The next day we met with Mr. Kiely at the Eiffel Tower who was also exploring parts of Europe with one of his brothers. We exchanged stories and enjoyed some French food at some cafes. Mr. Kiely, his brother, and I all tried beef carpaccio which is thinly sliced raw beef. It was pretty good, though I can't say I would order it again.
Pictured: Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Kiely, and Ms. Guiney.

Out of all the cities we traveled to, Paris is the most diverse in pretty much every way, the people, the religions, clothing, types of shops, food, etc. You will find the mecca of high fashion contrasting with people begging on the streets outside their storefronts. Of course there is French food, but there is also a wealth of food from around the globe. Ms. Guiney and I made sure to go to a landmark bakery, Laudree, and their caramel macaroons are delectably divine. But we also meandered through unique shops in a center for artists along the canal where one can find all sorts of treasures.

Pictured: Duck Confit

We bought a museum pass which made Paris so much more enjoyable since one can wait in a ticket holder's line which is significantly shorter than the regular line. Ms. Guiney and I have learned that we do not do well with long lines. We get antsy and a long line can set a mood that will negatively affect how well we enjoy whatever we were waiting in line for. Crowds are a major issue in Paris. It really makes me think about how empty Warsaw and Krakow seem by comparison. There is almost constant bumping and nudging which leads to irritation and maybe even exasperation. We were dumbfounded by the audacity some people have of cutting the line and refusing to move even when it is pointed out by angered people in queues. The Louvre is a perfect example of how crowds can have a negative impact on one's experience. We spent several hours looking at all sorts of art, and of course we saw the Mona Lisa, but I was left uninspired. The crowds made the experience uncomfortable.


I suggested that we go to the Musee L'Orangerie known for its impressionist paintings. Ms. Guiney had reservations about yet another museum, but we both walked away liking this gem of a museum more than the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay. It is a modest size which helped me as I did not feel overwhelmed, and it focuses on the collection of one man who worked with and sold the art of Picasso, Monet, and Renoir, to name a few. This is a museum worth seeing in Paris and it was my unexpected jewel.

Pictured: L'Orangerie

Pictured: Our favorite painting from L'Orangerie by Amedeo Modigliani


My last surprise was the Arc de Triomphe. We went to the Eiffel Tower where we gazed at its famous design, but we did not go to the top of it. Instead we went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe which was included in our museum pass. One gets stunning views of the city and a spectacular view from up high of the Eiffel Tower.



I am glad we finished our trip in Paris as we were really able to reflect on our trip as a whole. It felt like a wonderful conclusion to a phenomenal experience.

Bonjour, Paris!

Mrs. Wilson and I arrived in Paris, France late last night via our very last train ride (which we were quite happy to say). In our first official day in this beautiful and lively city, we toured the Concierge or the "bed of justice" during the French Revolution which was famous for its executions. One particular prisoner executed here was Marie Antoinette. We saw the cell were she wrote her final thoughts, received communion, and awaited her punishment. We walked through the cells and we read of the horrible treatments of the prisoners, and it all just seemed ridiculous to me. Throughout our trip, we have seen horrific pictures and read haunting accounts of Polish prisoners of war, European Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals who were all tortured by the Nazi regime, but this bizarre French prison just seemed crazy to me. The justice system pretended to a power it did not have and it all just left me angry. The French seemed chaotic in their regard to justice, but the Nazis were so calculated. I guess it all serves to remind us that power can be a truly dangerous thing in the hands of the wrong people. A favorite quote of mine by Abraham Lincoln sums this up nicely: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”


After the visit to this prison, Mrs. Wilson and I spent a good portion of our day in church! Much of our trip has been about balance. We have seen places of destruction and despair, but we have also seen amazingly beautiful sites that remind us why we are here and why we carry on, even with the sadness in our hearts. Many of these uplifting sites have been churches and today was no different. First we visited Saint Chapelle and saw some beautiful stain glass windows depicting the books of the Bible. Then we headed to the Notre Dame Cathederal of Paris. It is a massively beautiful church with so many arches, stain glass windows,paintings, statues, and side alters where we lit candles and said some final prayers of thanks for this wonderful trip.


Our final stop of the day was the Memorial de la Shoah. This is a Holocaust memorial dedicated to the the French Jews who were deported and killed by the Nazis. This was a very different museum/memorial for us as it was created by the Jewish community of France and not the government of a city we were visiting. The museum had a more emotional feel to it because of that, whereas other museums seemed more fact based. It was interesting for us to see this side of presenting the information. During our trip through Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, and now France. we have come at this topic from every possible angle and learned so much from each lens we tried on. I am soaking up the information from all our stops and hoping that I can use it all to deliver a better understanding of the people, places, and the times we read about in our novels of World War II and the Holocaust.

The Birthplace of the Third Reich Remembers Its History Well

By: Elise Wilson

We arrived in Munich on a rainy day and were happy to find that our hotel was right across the street from the train station. As weary travelers we found that this could not have been planned out better. This hotel wins for best view as one can look and see steeples and domes in the old town of Munich. This is what we were missing in Berlin.

As I mentioned before, Berlin is a modern city with a sprinkling of old monuments. Munich, on the other hand, looks more like old Europe with men walking the streets in lederhosen, and women in Bavarian dresses. Interestingly though about 90% of the city was destroyed after WWII, so most of the buildings have been rebuilt to look old, but are really relatively new.

Ms. Guiney and I went on a city walking tour of the Third Reich because Munich is the birthplace of the National Socialist Worker’s Party and it was Hitler’s favorite city. Our tour guide was very informative and had many anecdotal stories and details about the events which transpired from 1918-1933. As a history teacher I was familiar with all the events, but our charismatic tour guide brought the facts I knew to life. The famous beer hall putsch, for example, was far more engaging than I thought. There were many mishaps and ironic twists that I did not know. For example, Hitler’s plan was foiled because he forgot to lock the door containing the leaders of the Munich government. During the actual firefight 11 soldiers were standing about 20 feet from Hitler and they all fired. Not one bullet hit him as a bodyguard stood in the way! By the way, that body guard survived as well.

Pictured: The area where the putsch took place.

Aside from the stories about Hitler and the rise of the Third Reich, what also struck me were the diminutive memorials throughout the city remembering all those who were victims, including many Germans of the Nazis’ reign, and those who resisted the Nazis. Some resisted by refusing to walk down a road where they would be required to give the Nazi salute. This small act of resistance came at a high cost, one could end up in a camp for “re-education.”
Pictured: Bronze path to mark where resistors walked.

A more overt act of resistance was a students movement that produced leaflets informing the German people of the crimes the Nazis were committing. They suffered a horrible death of decapitation with axes, not a guillotine, when they were eventually caught, and there heads were plastered on the covers of newspapers throughout Germany warning what could happen if Germans did not follow the Nazis.

And this is what is important for me and all my students to keep in mind, that the Nazis used such terrorizing tactics on everyone, that many many Germans were also victims of the Nazis. Today Germans have to live with the guilt of about 12 years of their history. Our guide said that there are very few large memorials because one does not want to be faced everyday with such immense guilt that a large memorial will evoke. At the same time the Germans, unlike other countries deal with their history. Children as young as 6 start to learn about the Nazis, and throughout a child’s education in Munich, he will go to Dachau 3 times. Bavarian soldiers go to Dachau with an order to act for justice if the army ever asks them to go down this horrible road again. They want all of us to learn from their mistakes. Perhaps there are lessons for all of us not only of preventing atrocities like those committed by the Nazis, but also lessons on how we would deal with our own history.

Tempus fugit

Pictured: Monument to the White Rose Resistance -- the student martyrs.

Lessons in Germany

Our travels in Germany have been fast paced and very educational. My favorite stop in the city of Berlin was the museum called the Topography of Terror. It was an extremely informative museum with amazing pictures and details of how the SA & SS were formed and who they victimized. This museum provided me with the opportunity to look at the face of evil. For days, Mrs. Wilson and I have seen photos of the victims of the holocaust, but in Berlin this museum allowed us to see the instigators and inventors of torture. Another valuable lesson this museum gave me were the pictures and stories of those Germans who refused to fall in line with Hitler’s views for Germany. One such picture that both Mrs. Wilson and I spent a good deal of time admiring, was of a man surrounded by Germans doing their enthusiastic salute and shouting “Heil, Hitler.” This man, though, is not doing the routine salute of respect. Not only is this one man refusing to conform and participate, but he is crossing his arms expressing his clear disinterest and even disgust of this activity. Seeing this photo made me think about the millions of Germans who didn’t like Hitler’s politics and about those who were brave enough to stand up against him. It might not seem like much, but not saluting Hitler could have had serious repercussions for this man. If he was found out, his name could go on a list and he could be sent to a concentration camp to be “reeducated.” This photo and this man were inspirational to see and I am thankful for the reminder that Germans were victims of the Nazis as well.




Munich served to teach me similar lessons. Mrs. Wilson and I took a walking tour of Munich to see the sites of the Third Reich. It was a very interesting tour led by a very engaging man who really knew his history. His passion for the stories he told us and the sites he showed was contagious for us. I very much enjoyed learning about the White Rose resistance movement. White Rose Movement was young people writing leaflets trying to educate the German people about the extermination and torture of the prisoners in concentration camps (death camps). Our guide also pointed out a bronze walkway down a small side street. This was the path that Germans took to avoid walking by a wall at which they were required to “Heil, Hitler.” The SS men eventually caught on that people were avoiding the wall and they waited on that side street to viscously beat the resistors. After all this many resistors continued to walk down this side street and just as many were probably sent to concentration camps to be “reeducated.” These were brave people and I think it is sometimes hard to look at the Germans and think that they too were victims of Hitler and the Nazis. So many of them joined Hitler and there are numerous factual and emotional reasons why, but so many other Germans refused to follow him, refused to believe that he had Germany’s best interest at heart, and refused to allow him to take control of their lives, even if it meant their imminent death.




I enjoyed our trip to Germany very much and I feel that I have learned more of the truth behind who the German people really are and who they have become because of Hitler and the Nazis.

Berlin: A Modern City with a Long History

By Elise Wilson

Upon arriving in Berlin one is immediately struck when stepping off the train. The main station, Hauptbahnhof, is a huge complex made of glass. They boast that they are the premiere station in Europe, and so far I agree. This is a very modern looking city and our hotel is situated in the city’s busy shopping district, Kurfurstendamm. It sounds, smells, and looks much like New York City. After we arrived and settled into our hotel room, we meandered through Tiergarten which to me looks very much like Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. We stopped at the Soviet Memorial for WWII, the illuminated and almost magical Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial for European Jews who died in WWII, and the Reichstag. The Memorial for European Jews is large and stark, and as you weave your way through you cannot help but get an ominous feeling. It was annoying however to have adolescents playing hide and seek disrespectful of the people who are there to memorialize, and to the victims for whom the memorial was created.
Pictured: Soviet Memorial

Pictured: Brandenburg Gate with Ms. Wilson

Pictured: Memorial to European Jews

Among other things we went to the Topography of Terror, a museum on the grounds of the former Reich Security Main Office. In Poland and the Czech Republic we spent much time looking at the victims of the Nazis, but this was a look at the Nazis’ security force, and the tools and justifications they used to terrorize people and ultimately murder them. No excuses were ever made at this museum like people were “brainwashed” as many of my students come to my class thinking. Nevertheless, people who chose to commit acts knew what they were doing and their methods were meticulous, calculated, and frighteningly clever. For example, the Nazis required a company to produce a radio that was cheaper than anything else on the market so that Germans, or members of the Volk Community, could afford to purchase one inexpensively. This action increased the number of households with radios. The Nazis then put forth a tremendous effort to broadcast their propaganda via radio. I would highly recommend this museum to anyone traveling to Berlin, and it is free.

Pictured: Advertisement for cheap radio

Pictured: Topography of Terror Museum

Pictured: Covers of American periodicals exhibited.