By: Randy Brown Jr.
Today was a lot different from day one. It involved gaining a feel for the environment, learning the rail system, and taking in the city (all it has to offer at face value). Day two welcomed the reality: Berlin has a history that even Berlin has trouble coming to terms with from time to time.
Our day started at the Jewish Museum (Jewish Museum photo above). I enjoyed this museum a lot. I was not expected much.
The museum was filled with work from artists whose lives and work changed as a result of the Nazis’ actions during the 1930s and 1940s. Bedrich Fritta, a German artist, was captured and placed in a concentration camp. His duty was to create artwork that framed the Nazi’s propaganda. Fritta and his studio of artists did their duties, but also created anti-Nazi artwork. 
Fritta and his studio hid the artwork from the authorities. On one his son’s birthday’s, Fritta, presented him with a book. The book consisted of artwork, depicting the real living situations, which Nazis tried to cover up, in concentration camps. 
After the Jewish Museum, my group visited the Typography of Terror, the Gustapo and SS Headquarters. These offices were the center of oppression in Nazi Germany. 
Inside the museum, accurate depictions and original photographs of mass slayings (Nazi Oppression) are on full display. The museum traces the beginnings of Hitler’s Nazi Germany, why he instituted the laws as he did, why German civil rights were taken from them, why Hitler chose to oppress specific groups, the Nazis invasion into neighboring countries, and the downfall of the SS State.
The Typography of Terror was important to see. Many do not want to recognize Hitler as a leader but he was. My classmates asked me why would anyone follow such a leader. The museum explained why. It was the perfect storm. Germany was in the middle of a regime change. The people of Germany stood by Hitler. His charisma, charm, and resilient nature drew a nation to him. Early on things changed for the better, and because of this more people gave in to his propaganda. In the end, Hitler had an end game. He had a plan all along.
By the time the people of Germany realized Hitler’s vision for the world it was to late. The people of this country were begin governed by fear.
Though we may seem dictators with similarities to Hitler, it is safe to say that we will never see another again; another Nazi Germany or a nation who would allow such terror to exist, at such a rate, for so long.
Students in Berlin 2014 