Over the half-term break nine students from Warwick Academy’s IB Year 12 and 13 history classes went on a whirlwind trip to Berlin, German. Neville Carly, head of humanities and history teacher at Warwick recounted the trip of a lifetime.

“After a long flight we set out to stretch our legs with a guided walking tour of Berlin starting at Brandenburg Gate,” she said, “walking past the Jewish Memorial and ending up at Check Point Charlie. Our guide was very knowledgeable giving us insight to the changes that had taken place in Berlin over the years.”

Here are her diary extracts:

Day 2

We started by visiting the Topography of Terror Exhibition, which is situated on the site of the SS and Gestapo buildings. The exhibition was intensive, showing documented evidence of the horrors caused by the Nazis across Europe. The afternoon was spent visiting the East Side Gallery, an international memorial for freedom. It is the largest remaining section of the Berlin Wall and depicts some the art work painted during the Cold War. In the evening, we went to the Reichstag for tour of the dome and rooftop terrace designed by Norman Foster.

Day 3

We visited the Stasi Museum, which was the old headquarters for the East German Secret Police. We also visited the Stasi Prison, which was in operations for 40 years. The tour guide was a former East German citizen who tried to escape the country. In the evening, we visited the TV tower, which is the tallest building in Europe, we had a panoramic view of Berlin.

Day 4

We visited the memorial and museum of the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen and in the afternoon we visited the Wannsee Conference house where the final solution to exterminate the Jewish population was signed. After this, we visited the Interactive Story of Berlin Museum.

Zach Myers, Year 12 history student, said: “The best part of the trip was that it really managed to bring history to life. All of sudden everything that I have learnt about for the past four years became real.”