Enjoying Art and Religion in Berlin

Published by Bedford Upper School on Tuesday 11th of September 2018

Pupils from Bedford School Fifth and Sixth Forms attended an RE and Art trip to Berlin at the end of the summer holidays. Germany’s capital is a city of culture, politics, media and science, and is home to world-renowned universities, orchestras and museums, which makes it an ideal venue to blend art with religion for a hugely interesting and educational trip. The party managed to fit in many different sights into their four-day stay. Highlights included: • Seeing remains of the Berlin Wall, which was pulled down in 1989 • Visiting the striking ruins of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche (bombed in WWII) • Enjoying a fantastic tour of religious art at the Gemaldegalerie, which included Rembrandt’s ‘Moses with the Ten Commandments’ • A visit to the memorial to the victims of the Nazi T4 Euthanasia programme • Viewing the Lessing monument while listening to two of the boys read from ‘The Ring Parable’ from Lessing’s play Nathan the Wise, which delivered a message of religious tolerance banned by the Nazis • Investigating the moving memorial to the homosexual victims of Nazism • Walking round the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe – a powerful and moving experience • A private tour of the super-cool Boros collection situated in a former Nazi bunker which became an East German food cooling building, then a paintballing venue and techno club! • A visit to the Topography of Terror, built on the former Sicherheitspolizei Headquarters and next to remnants of the Berlin Wall By night they took a trip to the Alexanderplatz, and all the way to the top of the TV tower to soak up stunning night-time views of Berlin. With food always at the top of the boys’ agenda, they delighted in the unmistakable flavours of German cuisine. Not surprisingly, a particular favourite was the traditional German street food – frankfurters!