Teacher blog

First of all, a big thank to all the friends and colleagues who presented their work today. I learnt something, and will probably borrow ideas and tips, from each and every one of you. Also thank you to our hosts this afternoon, the venue added a lot to the very pleasant atmosphere.

We spent the day in the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, at 30 Tiergartenstrasse. We listened to several presentations, and no mention of what lay down the road at number 4. Now it is the Berlin Philharmonic, and the original building long since gone in the bombings and Soviet assault on Berlin. But what was once there was the origins of the Holocaust. Action T4 involved scientists explaining why some humans were unworthy of life and how, scientifically, economically, and politically, euthenizing them, giving them a "good death," was not only acceptable but desireable.

Fabian and Frank really brought to light the life and times of Berlin east and west during the Cold War.  

Wednesday: Another interesting day in Berlin. learned a lot from Fabian.  He is extremely knowledgeable and smart.  The Cold War has so much to do with the attitudes and cultural developments of the European countries in the aftermath of World War II.  A great book to read would be Savage Continent by Keith Lowe.  

The first two days of the academy have been great!  It has been so wonderful reconnect with friends from last summer and to make new friends this summer!  I especially loved going back to the New (Neu) Synagogue on day 1 of the academy.  For me, this place means a lot because it is the first reform/liberal synagogue  in Germany, and the first female rabbi (ever!) worked there, even though she only played a small role.  Today, day 2 of the academy, we saw the last remaining piece of the Berlin Wall that has no graffiti.

It's thrilling to be with Centropa colleagues in Berlin, learning and sharing together.  Yesterday, we had a walking tour of the Berlin Jewish neighborhood of the 1920's.  We had dinner at the famous Centrum Judiacum which is part synagogue complex from before the war.  Today was a day of hearing from educators all over the world about how they are using Centropa resources in their school. Here is a photo of the Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Berlin.  Stay tuned for more updates.

On 24 of July we have  visited the remains of the Berlin wall, wall that has separated East from west Germany. Walls  some times  give as comfort and security, and some time wall is symbol of the hot home.

But there a walls that separate, walls that divide…

Today we visit pain making wall ! Luckily hi is gone, we visit only its remaining, and we hear the a lot sad life stories….

Did people learn the lesson?  

The morning was quiet. With plenty of sun and shade. We walked in the footsteps of communism and, I at least, I feasted on a lot of ethical questions. I'm just a guy from East ...

By the way, you will find the graphic novel of Eva Deutsch at:

http://www.centropa.org/sites/default/files/documents/we_had_no_time_to_say_good1_0.pdf

I promised when I finished my presentation I would post links to the websites that are related to the project for people to review as well as to post my contact information if anyone has any follow up questions or feedback.  Thank you so much to everyone who offered feedback and had questions and I would love to collaborate with anyone else that is interested or to even help you along the way to do a similar project, I truly believe it made a difference in my students lives.

Below is the link to the WikiSpace website for the project: