Summer in Berlin 2024 was an extra special experience, thanks to the generous donation by Rosalie Russell and Judith Alexander. This support allowed us to delve even deeper into one of our students’ favorite topics: pre-war Berlin and the Weimar era. Not only did we make our planned visit to the Neue Nationalgalerie to look at paintings by Expressionist and Dada artists, we were also able to attend a performance of Heinrich Mann’s Der Untertan at the Gorki Theater. This play’s criticism of power structures and nationalism felt very contemporary and really resonated with the group as we applied itsthemes to a discussion on politics in the US. A highlight of the program was the chance to see Dada artist Kurt Schwitter's Ursonate at the Deutsches Theater. Students found the performance wonderfully weird and subversive; whether they loved it or were unsure what to think about it, it sparked an hourlong conversation after the show ended. We continued with the theme of Weimar culture and examined issues of sexuality, gender and identity in our section on Magnus Hirschfeld and the gay right’s movement in Berlin. Students read excerpts from Isherwood’s Christoper and His Kind and Darryl Pinckney’s Black Deutschland, and they listened to a podcast about Hirschfeld’s institution, the challenges it faced and the progress it made, progress that was eventually obliterated by the Nazis. We visited the Memorial to the First Gay Emancipation Movement on a lovely summer’s evening, and then sat on the Ufer afterward to continue our conversation over drinks and ice cream. The students created beautifully vibrant Instagram posts with their analyses and impressions of the texts, podcast and memorial. To conclude this module we attended a performance of Cabaret, which is based on Isherwood’s writings and touches on themes of gender, sexuality and Weimar culture. Students were on their feet at the conclusion of the show! We thank our donors and the Kade Foundation for helping to greatly enrich the Summer in Berlin program, and for giving us access to so many extra experiences!
From Wien to Berlin:
Our students reflect on the Spring in Vienna and Summer in Berlin study abroad programs.
See what they have to say: student testimonials.