A group of 45 A-Level and GCSE Historians enjoyed a packed 5 day tour to Germany at the start of half-term to support their exam courses.

We began in Munich, where the focus was on the early stages of the Nazi Party. We were given an excellent guided tour of the city, seeing the Hofbrauhaus, where the Nazi Party was founded in 1919, and following the route of the Putsch to the Feldhernhalle where it was stopped in 1923, which brought this period to life. The next morning we had a sobering and thought provoking tour round Dachau, the first concentration camp opened by the Nazis in March 1933. It was then up to Nuremberg where the nature of the Nazi regime was considered, with a tour round the notorious rally grounds, before pupils had time to explore the excellent Documentation Centre in Speer’s monstrous, and never finished, Congress Hall. The next morning we enjoyed a fascinating visit to Courtroom 600, site of the Nuremberg Trials after the Second World War, which is accompanied by a very detailed and informative exhibition.

The focus then switched to the Cold War with a stop off en-route to Leipzig at Modlareuth. This little village was divided in two by the iron curtain and one is still able to see a portion of it. Having it explained so vividly by the excellent, and highly entertaining guide, certainly brought it to life and emphasised the realities of what living in a divided Germany had been like. Leipzig saw us visit the superb Contemporary History exhibition, which focused on what life was like behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany, which was reinforced by the tour of the House on the Round Corner, the Stasi Head Quarters in Leipzig where we able to see the extreme surveillance lengths they took to ensure total control, including keeping samples of peoples’ scent. Our final visit, by contrast, was to Colditz, where we had a fascinating tour of the ex-PoW camp, and heard countless tales of daring-do and escape attempts, including the famous Colditz glider built under the noses of the German guards.

Tim Fletcher - Head of History

Flickr album: History Trip to Munich, Nuremberg & Leipzig - February 2020 | Height: auto | Theme: Default

Supper for the @KSBHistory senior tour at the Hofbrauhaus History and culture. A great evening pic.twitter.com/lgoUZWn5L8

— Blackford House (@KSBBlackfordHse) February 14, 2020