On Friday 26th February most of our IGCSE students visited the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände (or Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds) in the historic city of Nuremberg. This is the third such excursion in 5 years. It continues to provide valuable information for our students studying in the IGCSE History course by taking the learning outside of the classroom.
The students were able to see the methods and scale of the Nazi propaganda used to brainwash the people into accepting their twisted visions. In addition to the visit to the museum, the students were able to see the large Zepplinfeld, where the Nazis held their infamous military parades and rallies for upwards of 50,000 Germans. In two weeks we will be visiting the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, as that was where most of the stone quarried and cut came from to construct the arenas in Nuremberg. The contrast between the grandiosity of the stadium and the conditions of the workers to build it has started to hit students.
In addition to this the students were given a small amount of time to visit the historic centre of Nuremberg, where they were able to see some the cathedrals and the home of the Holy Roman Empire in Nuremberg castle, to do a small amount of shopping, and to sample some local cuisine.
Student behaviour was as expected, excellent. The students were respectful when needed, and were fantastic ambassadors for Townshend’s. Our excursion on March 11th to Mauthausen concentration camp will greatly expand the learning of this dark period of history.