Why Berlin? For QE’s historians, there’s simply nowhere better to be

Year 10 linguists and historians teamed up to explore how Berlin emerged from a 20th-century history stained by Nazism and the Cold War to thrive as a modern capital.

Forty boys – 15 more than last year – headed to the German capital for the four-day trip, with German linguists this year joining GCSE History students.

The Deutschlandmuseum – an immersive museum of German history opened in 2023 – was added to the 2026 itinerary, together with a cruise down Berlin’s River Spree.

History and Politics teacher John Haswell said: “The entire landscape of Berlin is marked by its traumatic past. I hope visiting will have given the students a taste for further travel in Germany, but also helped them see how the ruptures of the 20th century continue to shape this dynamic city.

“Given our Year 10 historians have covered both Nazi Germany and the Cold War, there really isn’t a better place to visit.”

Day 1 began with a walking tour, which ended at the Reichstag – Germany’s historic legislative government building – where the group enjoyed stunning night views of the famous Brandenburg Gate landmark.

On the second day, it was time for a closer look at the Third Reich: the boys and their accompanying teachers visited: the Jewish Museum Berlin (the largest Jewish museum in Europe); Topography of Terror (a history museum on the site of the SS and Gestapo headquarters); and the German Resistance Memorial Centre.

Day 3 brought a whistle-stop tour of Cold War history. The party took in iconic sites such as the Berlin Wall, which from 1961 to 1989 divided East and West Berlin, also visiting the DDR Museum (covering the former East German republic).

On the final day, the group took a sunny walk along the East Side Gallery – the most famous section of the Berlin Wall, which is today one of the world’s longest outdoor art galleries.

Pupil Shuo Zhen Long said visiting different parts of the Berlin Wall had underlined for him its significance in the control that the East German government, supported by the USSR, had been able to exert over the city. He added that he enjoyed the guided tours “where we visited many historic and recently built buildings and learnt about the history of the areas surrounding them”.

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