Junyuan Secondary School – Germany Trip June 5-11 2007

Entries categorized as ‘Day 5’

Group 4 Reflection for Day 5

June 9, 2007 · Leave a Comment

On the fifth day of the Germany trip, we visited a few interesting places. Our first stop was the Anne Frank museum. Anne Frank was a Jew. During Hitler’s rule, he wanted to exterminate the Jew and Anne Frank was one of them. However, she didn’t give up and persevered to the end. At the age of fifteen, she was sent to the concentration camp and she died there sadly. From the visit, we learnt that we must preserve and never give up. Secondly, we must also have aspirations. Although Anne Frank was young, she had big dreams of becoming a writer. Hence, we should learn from her so that we can work towards our dreams.

Next we went to the Berlin wall. The wall signifies the cold war and separation of Germany. It was erected on 13 August 1961. The East Germans wanted to have a better life and therefore attempted to climb the wall. However, many lost their lives as they were shot by the Eastern border guards. Our learning point is we must live harmoniously together or conflicts will arise.

The third place was the Reichstag building. The building was actually a parliament building. When the old building was burned down, the new one was rebuilt with a dome to provide a better view of the building. The old Reichstag building was believed to be burned by Hitler.

Last but not lest, we visited the Stasi museum. The museum was a place where the secret police worked. They spied on people by placing pin-hole cameras in handbags and clothing. We learnt that we must never judge a book by its cover. We must also respect each other privacy.

Categories: Day 5 · Group Reflection

Stasi

June 9, 2007 · Leave a Comment

The Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS / Ministry for State Security), commonly known as the Stasi (from Staatssicherheit), was the main security (secret police) and intelligence organization of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The Stasi was headquartered in East Berlin, with an extensive complex in Lichtenberg and several smaller complexes throughout the city. Widely regarded as one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the world, the Stasi’s motto was “Schild und Schwert der Partei” (Shield and Sword of the Party), showing its connections to the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the equivalent to the CPSU of the Soviet Union. Another term used in earlier years to refer to the Stasi was Staatssicherheitsdienst (State Security Service).

The Stasi was founded on February 8, 1950. It was modeled on the Soviet MGB, and was regarded by the Soviets as an extremely loyal and effective partner.

Wilhelm Zaisser was the first Minister of State Security of the GDR, and Erich Mielke his deputy. Zaisser was removed by Walter Ulbricht, the leader of East Germany, in 1953 and replaced by Ernst Wollweber. Wollweber resigned in 1957 after numerous clashes with Walter Ulbricht and Erich Honecker and was succeeded by his deputy, Erich Mielke.

Also during 1957, Markus Wolf became head of the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HVA) or General Reconnaissance Administration, its foreign intelligence section. As intelligence chief, Wolf achieved great success in penetrating the government, political and business circles of West Germany with spies. The most influential case was that of Günter Guillaume which led to the fall of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

However, the Stasi also played another, more external, role; it saved the lives of many leftist activists and politicians during the 1970s, especially in South America. For example, it is suspected that immediately after the Pinochet Coup in Chile (September 1973), Stasi agents organised the rescue and transportation to the GDR of hundreds of members and cadres of People’s Unity.

In 1986, Wolf retired and was succeeded by Werner Grossmann.

In 1989 , just before the dissolution of East Germany, the Stasi was renamed the Office for National Security and headed by Stasi general Rudi Mittig.

Source:
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Wikipedia

Photos:
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Wikipedia

Related Websites:
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Photos of Stasi Headquarters in Berlin
- Read about the Defection of a Stasi Agent

Categories: Day 5 · Places we visited

Anne Frank Museum (About Anne Frank)

June 9, 2007 · Leave a Comment

Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank (June 12, 1929 – early March 1945) was a Jewish girl who wrote a diary while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Frank and her family moved to Amsterdam in 1933, after the Nazis gained power in Germany, and were trapped by the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. As persecutions against the Jewish population increased, the family went into hiding in July 1942 in hidden rooms in her father Otto Frank’s office building. After two years in hiding the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps. Seven months after her arrest, Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp within days of her sister, Margot Frank. Her father, Otto, the only survivor of the group, returned to Amsterdam after the war ended, to find that her diary had been saved. He had it published in Dutch under the title Het Achterhuis: Dagboekbrieven van 12 Juni 1942 – 1 Augustus 1944 (The Backhouse: Diary notes from 12 June 1942 – 1 August 1944).

The diary, which was given to Frank on her thirteenth birthday, chronicles her life from June 12, 1942 until August 1, 1944. It was published as The Diary of a Young Girl and eventually translated from its original Dutch into many languages and became one of the world’s most widely read books. There have also been several films, television, theatrical productions, and even an opera based on the diary. Described as the work of a mature and insightful mind, it provides an intimate examination of daily life under Nazi occupation and in hiding; through her writing, Frank has become one of the most renowned and discussed of Holocaust victims.

Source:
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Wikipedia

Photos:
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Wikipedia
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabulousminge/497722700/

Related Sites:
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Wikipedia
- Anne Frank House
- Anne Frank Online

Categories: Day 5 · Places we visited

Berlin Wall

June 9, 2007 · Leave a Comment

The Berlin Wall, known in the Soviet Union and in the German Democratic Republic as the “Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart,” was a separation barrier between West and East Germany.

An iconic symbol of the Cold War, the wall divided East and West Berlin for 28 years, from the day construction began on August 13, 1961 until it was dismantled in 1989.

When the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that entering West Berlin would be permitted, crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove the rest of it.

The fall of the Berlin wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on October 3, 1990.

Source:
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Wikipedia

Photos:
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Wikipedia

Related Sites:
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Wikipedia
- Berlin Wall Online
- Berlin Wall – Personal Stories
- Personal Account of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Categories: Day 5 · Places we visited