The Leipzig, Dresden and Prague trip
The 2007 History trip to Leipzig, Dresden and Prague. Gregory Steckelmacher has written the following reflections on the recent History Trip. Please submit your responses. “Europe’s basically one giant guilt-trip about World War II,” to paraphrase Gabriel, the oft-used tour-guide of the History department on their expeditions into continental Europe. He had said this on a tram making its way through Dresden, referring to the TV screens fitted into the ceilings of each carriage, which continuously played a selection of government and commercial advertisements, and noticeably contained a wide array of ethnic minorities. That the German government still appeared to be trying to right the wrongs of its past appeared odd, but the necessity was demonstrated by the drunken man who had followed us around Leipzig, shouting “only a dead Indian is a good Indian”. Although he sheepishly ran off at the first mention of police on a mobile phone, it had only been around seven weeks prior to our visit when eight Indians were injured in an attack near Leipzig itself. In some ways the 18 years after the fall of communism seemed a long time. The huge shopping centres and shopping-centres-in-train-stations (a by-product of Sunday trading laws, I am told) were bustling and I couldn’t imagine them not being there. Alternatively, however, the scars of a bygone era were unmissable when traversing the residential areas of Leipzig. Huge concrete buildings tower over the roads, each filled with the same communist flats, mandatory for everyone (as Gabriel told us, you would never need to ask where the toilet was when visiting a friend, for it would be in the exact same place as in your own apartment). Dilapidated and in need of renovation, sitting on land that no-one wants to buy, they are brightened only by large decorative hangings positioned on their side. The situation is worse in Dresden, a city which had almost all of its 19th century architecture destroyed in a firestorm created by the Allies in 1945; it now looks as though it has been overrun by council-housing. And, indeed, where communism hasn’t literally built over the past, nothing has. Dresden is 63% green areas, and although I was sceptical when Gabriel first informed us, casually yet seemingly cynically, that there was nothing anymore at Dresden, I can not help but agree. The new shopping centres, museums, and even a football stadium, are there, but the architecture of Dresden’s past is sorely absent. A shopping centre is no identity for a town to cling to.
| Monument to the lost children of Lidice |
Prague itself appeared to have successfully retained most of its architectural history, something which might be seen in the staunch warning we got of pick-pockets whilst in the city, a sure sign of tourists flocking to view it in all its beauty. Our time there was spent touring the city’s wealth of landmarks, from Charles Bridge to Prague Castle, and from the Astronomical Clock to Wenceslas Square, where student Jan Palach set himself on fire as a political protest against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. However, it was outside Prague itself where I received my most poignant experience of the History trip – at the site of the old village of Lidice, which proved that the Nazis’ drive to exterminate their enemies was not a solely attack on the Jews of Europe. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by the Czech resistance force, it was ordered that the village be completely destroyed, and its men and most of its children (save those young enough to be “Germanized”) were killed. The people living in the village had no connection to those involved in the assassination other than the fact that its name was written on a piece of paper held by one of the assassins – the people there were truly innocent. And so, I found myself reconsidering, even if only for a small while, my beliefs on the Holocaust. Perhaps because I had been raised in a Jewish environment, I had always felt that the Holocaust was brought up too much, and that people had never really moved on from it. Yet, on the last few days of the trip, I was asking myself if that was entirely fair. Should the atrocities of the German regime be forgotten? Should Lidice and its 82 gassed children be forgotten? You would have to be most hardened to say so. But I soon found myself thinking once again that if we allow ourselves to be too concerned with events in the past, we stop making decisions based on the current situation, but rather because of what has happened already, subsequently producing choices which might not always be the most appropriate. Gregory Steckelmacher
Year 9 Exams
Some inspiring answers from Y9 historians in the Summer Exams
Q. Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?
A. ‘The Schlieffen Plan failed because firstly Schlieffen was never at the “plan” to witness what was happening. He made his soldiers play football in the middle of no man’s land, which was absolutely pointless.’
Q. What was the NAACP?
A. ‘National African American Child Protection.’
‘National Association of Angry Coloured People.’
‘National Association of Advanced Coloured People.’
‘National African American Child Protection.’
‘National Association of American Civil Protestants.’
Do you know of equally (or more) impressive contributions, in any subject?
Postmodernism and History
by Dr I. St John
The Death of Truth
To understand postmodernism it is well to begin with the word ‘truth.’ All of us are brought up to accord the ‘truth’ unquestioning respect. To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is an injunction early imbibed and retains self-evident claims upon us. For some, such as Plato, truth was the sublime essence of the universe, coalescing with Beauty and Goodness when understood aright. Now to understand what Postmodernism is about this most central of our beliefs must be jettisoned. It must be rooted out and cease to play any independent role in our perspectives on the present or the past. In so far as we deploy the word truth we must always associate it with another: power. And with power always comes oppression. From a word synonymous with virtue, ‘truth’ becomes a member of an unholy trinity – truth, power, and oppression. (more…)
Budapest & Vienna Trip
During the October half-term, twenty five students from the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ went on a historical trip to Budapest and Vienna. The trip was intended to study the impact of the Second World War on the particular areas as well as the Communist ruling afterwards, with particular attention to the Jewish heritage of the areas.
The stay in Budapest coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the anti-Communist revolution on October 23rd 2006. The occasion was used to express anger at the current Hungarian government, following Prime Minister Gyurcsány’s admission of a failing government. Unwittingly this meant that the group of young historians became caught up in the protest riots. Upon a forced exit of the station, they were met by a police barricade and canisters of tear gas exploding. Under the efficiently organised leadership of the school, all of the students were taken through a long diversion away from the main riots, and to the safety and comfort of the Marco Polo Youth Hostel.
Once recovered from the excitement of the riots, other historical points of interest on the trip included a visit to Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. This proved to be a moving experience for many, and also an interesting insight into how the Austrians remember the atrocities which went on in their country.
Cochrane: Britain’s Garibaldi
by Dr Sloan
All hail to the HERO – of ENGLAND the boast,
The honour – the glory – the pride of our coast;
Let the bells peal his name, and the cannons’ loud roar,
Sound the plaudits of COCHRANE, the friend of her shore.
Abrilliant, buccaneering sea captain in the war against Napoleon, a celebrated leader of the South American struggle for liberation and an outspoken advocate of democracy at home, Thomas, Lord Cochrane was once the hero of every English boy. As Donald Thomas put it, ‘His immediate contemporaries regarded him as a splendid national advertisement for superior British seamanship… He was the supreme example of the hero of a boys’ adventure story brought to life’. His subsequent fading from popular memory is as baffling as it was unjust. Quite simply, Cochrane was a hero whose name should be mentioned with Drake and Nelson and every other military hero to whom this country is indebted. (more…)
Middle School History Reading Initiative
In October 2006, as part of the Middle School History Reading Initiative, one of the Year 9 sets was asked to read Mildred Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This is a novel set in Mississippi in the 1930s. It tells the story of a black family, the children in particular, and the injustices of the race question in the South. The narrator is a teenage girl called Cassie. The following is the response of one boy who did not manage to finish the book.
I think that the Middle School History Reading Initiative is a good idea as it encourages us to learn about historical events. It offers a much more entertaining way of learning about history and many students will prefer novels to textbooks or the internet. However, it would be made better if more well-known books by more renowned authors were chosen. This would add more enjoyment to the reading and the books would most likely be easier to understand. This means that everyone will be able to enjoy learning about famous past events.
Reading is a very big deal. It is a good way for us to improve our range of vocabulary and our spelling which will help us to write better essays. I do not think that reading about children is particularly better than reading about adults. However, it is easier to understand how the child characters feel in books as we may have had similar experiences. History reading is usually, in my experience, harder to read. This is because there may be language that they used in the past but not anymore or we may not be able to understand some of the attitudes/behaviour expressed in the past if we have not experienced them ourselves. On the contrary, you could argue this is better as it will improve both our language and our understanding of what people were like in the past.
I do not think the matter of time is an issue in reading as I believe we can always find time to read. For example, we could read on the journeys to and from school and before we go to bed, etc. By doing this we could find at least an hour to read each day. The only thing restricting our reading is ourselves. I think the school is doing enough to encourage reading but the rest is up to us. I do not think the school should make reading compulsory as we should read because we want to – not because we are forced to. Though, I think that the school should recommend good historical novels to read and give us more books to read in class.
Subon Sivananthan 9Sb
Does anyone have a response to this piece?
A message from Dr Sloan
Don’t you think that the last Timeline’s article on Lord Cochrane is worthy of notice? It describes a great British hero, a man whose feats of daring in the sea war against Napoleon make even Lord Nelson look timid, and a man who helped to liberate South America – fighting audaciously and brilliantly, as ever – from Spanish rule. Truly a hero of two worlds, hence the comparison with the magnificent Garibaldi.
And yet he is unknown! Is he the greatest of Britain’s unknown heroes? Does anyone know of a Briton with a better claim to fame? Wanted: nominations for Britain’s greatest unknown hero.
RCS.
Timeline is Online
It gives the History Department great pleasure to announce that the 2006 volume of the Timeline Magazine is now available to download online.
A PDF version can be found at http://www.alexnewman.com/timeline2006N.pdf.
Review of ‘Ribbentrop’ Biography by Michael Bloch
by Oliver Marcuse
This biography provides an excellent insight into the life of one of the most prominent Nazi members. Quite apart from the book’s success in supplying immense amounts of detail concerning Ribbentrop, it is written in an informative, yet provocative style. It is this superb writing that allows the reader to become engrossed in the stories surrounding Ribbentrop. For example, Bloch describes early on, how Ribbentrop married Anna Henkell, in order to marry into a powerful wine making family. Although this may sound selfish and fairly simplistic, Bloch goes on to describe the passionate relationship between the two, which allowed Henkell to dominate her husband’s thoughts and political ideologies. Interestingly, it was she that was first entranced by Hitler at a party, and subsequently she who cultivated her husband’s drive to succeed politically. This is just one example of a more personal story that Bloch tells about Ribbentrop. (more…)
