Week 5

The excursion this past Friday in Wagner's class was one of the toughest moments that I have dealt with during my trip. We went to view a couple memorial sights and one of them was the Grunewald Deportation site. I have been to the Washington D.C. holocaust museum and have even been to Yad Vashem in Israel. Many visitors cry over the shocking pictures and descriptions of the holocaust, yet I never have. At the Grunewald Deportation site, there wasn't a picture or description of the Jews that were deported from there. Instead there were empty rail road tracks, one plaque that mentioned the 50,000 plus deported and rocks that lined the plaque. The class quickly glanced at the memorial and then headed back for the bus, but I couldn't move. There was something so tangible about this monument that made me sink into this spot. This was the actual site where people went to their death, this was not a picture, this was not the re-creation. The rocks that lay silently across the plaque are symbols in Judaism that are usually only found in graveyards. These rocks are placed by individuals to signify they remember and have traveled to see you. I stared at the rocks and realized that this memorial was a cemetery. I started to wonder about how many of my own relatives walked up to the train tracks and into their own graveyards without even realizing it. I then left the memorial and boarded the bus to continue our field trip.

Over the weekend I went to Leipzig. I never even heard of this town until 2 days before I left when Joel asked me if I wanted to go. So I ventured to Leipzig without any expectations and was completely blown away. When I decided to apply to this Berlin study abroad program, I had no expectations. I am constantly being pleasantly surprised through the entire program. From the classes to just walking around Berlin and taking a new street home, and to even finding a new city to travel for the weekend, this program has surpassed any expectations I could have made.

The movie we watched in class this week entitled "Berlin Romance" showed the progression of Berlin films of the era. The previous two films we watched held dark characteristics to express the grief of a post war Germany, including two suicides. In this weeks movie the story consists of innocent and yet naive young love that personifies the struggle of the present time Germany. The movie takes a less haunting approach to tell the story of a struggling Germany in the post war era. Berlin Romance made me realize how serious the divide of East and West Germany was and how movies were a real tool for propaganda. The portrayal of West Germany in this East German production was one of disgust and criticism. When two of the main characters are looking to wash cars for work in the West, their boss informs them that the lack of "bad weather" and the abundance of sun has prevented them from washing cars. This view of West Germans making their money from jobs that involve the suffering of others, in this case bad weather, is prominent in this film. I was really struck by some of the blatant and harsh criticisms made by this movie and did not realize that the movie industry in post war Germany used propaganda after what Germany suffered under the Nazi regime's propaganda.

My group is going to have a meeting this week in which we are going to present our finalized story ideas and the process in which we will undertake the movie. This is a major step for our group because from here we can start shooting more footage on a regular basis. I have come up with a theme for my movie idea and have started shooting. I am going to answer the question "Why am I in Berlin?" This question has many different meanings to me. I have been asked this question from many friends and family members. I want to create the answer to this question not for them, but for me. I want to show through film, how I respond to this question. I am very excited about a couple scenes of my movie and cannot wait for the group meeting so that we can really get this movie rolling.