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Original poster

DD Berlin/Auschwitz school trip

104 replies

january123 · 05/05/2023 18:46

Bit of a dilemma. DD (15) has been offered the opportunity as part of History GCSE to go to Berlin and then onto Auschwitz.

It's £900 + spending money for a full itinerary of 5 days which includes entry to all relevant museums/galleries/sights. It's not money we have laying around and DD isn't overly interested in going. However DH and I feel she would get a great deal personally out of the experience as well as supporting her learning.

I've never been to Auschwitz but imagine it must have a profound effect on visitors and think it would do the same for DD.

So to the point, should we encourage her to go or save our money?!

OP posts:
Charley50 · 05/05/2023 18:50

That is a lot of money for that trip! You said DD is not that interested at the moment. I probably would not push her to go.

ArnoldBee · 05/05/2023 18:52

You could always take her to the national Holocaust museum at Laxton.

Iminthemoneylife · 05/05/2023 19:01

I’ve been to Auschwitz. It was harrowing. It’s not some where to go unless you want to.

£900 is a lot of money to spend on someone who doesn’t want to do go.

Milkand2sugarsplease · 05/05/2023 19:01

I wholeheartedly believe people need to see Auschwitz but £900 is extortionate for that trip. It
We've taken 6th formers for a less than a third of that price.

maybeanybodyelse · 05/05/2023 19:02

If she isn’t pushed I would absolutely not spend the money on it, no.

WomanBitingATowel · 05/05/2023 19:04

If she’s not interested, I definitely wouldn’t sacrifice things yourselves to send her on this trip. And no, not necessarily — some people do trudge around concentration camps taking sad duckface selfies or gossiping about whether Daniel really shagged Chloe in the back row of the bus to the airport. It’s not necessarily some kind of transformative experience.

Swansandcustard · 05/05/2023 19:04

Considering there are other camps still in existence, nearer Berlin, equally horrific, why are they going to 2 countries? Is this a teacher wanting to go?

JacobsCrackersCheeseFogg · 05/05/2023 19:05

That's a lot of money!

I think if she's not bothered about going then don't bother paying up. I think it might have a bigger impact when she's older, anyway.

greenacrylicpaint · 05/05/2023 19:05

it's a reasonable amount for this sort of trip.

it's an inspiring trip and I would want for my children to go.

if you can afford it - go for it.

Justmuddlingalong · 05/05/2023 19:08

If she's not overly fussed, I wouldn't push her to attend, regardless of finances.

bunnyrabbitsandbutterflies · 05/05/2023 19:09

I did this trip when I was 15 and studying GCSE History. I would 100% encourage my children the same. Yes it's harrowing. Not half as harrowing as it was for the survivors.
It will open her eyes in a way in which a book will not. People need to see what went on.

If you have the money, please consider it.

thecatsthecats · 05/05/2023 19:09

Berlin is very far from Auschwitz, hence the costs.

I don't know that it's a great combo to be honest - I found that Berlin exhibitions about WW2 were so relentlessly factual that I knew most of the content myself. The main museum was a long walk through of the time line I had to make in class. Checkpoint Charlie etc was more interesting.

They'd be better off doing a Poland trip - the Warsaw ghetto, or the Schindler museum in Kraków, plus Auschwitz.

You could probably do the latter as a family for less than the History trip.

Fudgewomble · 05/05/2023 19:10

I would definitely sign my child up for it, it sounds reasonably priced for that length of time and itinerary (even if the child wasn’t mega keen) - but it sounds like you can’t afford it. In which case: save your money. There is an excellent holocaust gallery at the imperial war museum in London.

hettiethehare · 05/05/2023 19:13

I think it is on the pricey side, but I would get her to go if you can afford it. I went to Auschwitz at a similar age (maybe a year older) as part of a school style trip when we were in Poland and I will never forget it - harrowing yes, but powerful and deeply important.

I remember speaking to the trip leader at some point and he said that he had deliberated about including the visit on the trip at all (it wasn't a history trip) and whether to make it compulsory, but decided as an educator that it was too important not to.

Original poster
january123 · 05/05/2023 19:13

Thank you for your replies. Interesting that it is considered a lot of money.
The itinerary includes

walking tour of Berlin followed by a visit to the Reichstag dome and terrace
Guided tour of the Stasi museum followed by a visit to East side Gallery
Guided tour of the Jewish museum
Visit the Hamburger Bahnhof followed by a visit to the Neus Museum
coach for transfer to Krakow
Meet coach and transfer to Auschwitz-Birkenau
Group to return to Krakow and spend the remainder of the day exploring
visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine

OP posts:
SirenSays · 05/05/2023 19:15

I wouldnt send her if she doesnt want to go
When my school did this they put on a big presentation for all the children that didn't go.

Cherryblossoms85 · 05/05/2023 19:15

I saw the ghetto in Krakow. Was quite a significant thing for me and certainly worthwhile. I'm not sure I see the argument for going to Auschwitz, feels disrespectful to me but I guess that doesn't make much sense.

greenlychee · 05/05/2023 19:16

why don't you all go as a family. you could probably get you all over there for a few days for not much more or the same as the cost!

greenlychee · 05/05/2023 19:16

(If you're getting your own flights and doing cheap self catering apartment)

peachespeachespeaches · 05/05/2023 19:17

I would.

I've spent time in Poland near to where Auschwitz is and it has soaked through the country. The town and village I was in was absolutely pillaged and is still very scarred (literally and metaphorically) by the holocaust.

You have to go to see and feel it, and it's important.

adviceplease93 · 05/05/2023 19:25

It seems expensive if your DD doesn't want to go! I went to Krakow and Auschwitz in year 11 as an RE trip - I'd definitely recommend it as it has certainly stayed with me but I was really interested in going in the first place. We definitely didn't pay anywhere near that price (but we did only go to Krakow - also did the salt mines which were brill!).

MrsAvocet · 05/05/2023 19:31

My DD did a similar trip in year 12 - a few days in Krawkow including a visit to Auschwitz and then about 4 days in Berlin. I can't remember the cost but it was fairly expensive because of the flights. I think it's one of the best trips any of my children have been on though. DD definitely found the whole trip very moving and educational.
However, it was all directly relevant to her A level history course and she was extremely keen to go. If she hadn't wanted to, I don't think I would have pushed her, though I think the entire A level class did go so it would have been a bit awkward to have stayed behind . I think at GCSE though there will probably be a lot who don't go. Many won't be that interested in history and it is a lot of money for something that they won't particularly benefit from if they're not fully engaged. I wouldn't force the issue if your DD doesn't particularly want to go, especially if she is not planning to take history further.

pornyshroudofturin · 05/05/2023 19:32

Worth it for the Stasi museum alone- it’s one of the most incredible (and chilling) places I’ve ever been

Usernamaste · 05/05/2023 19:32

I did a guided tour of Polish concentration camps and ghettos last year. It was an incredible experience and worth every penny of the extremely high price. However, I had read extensively and obsessively about WW2 for 30 years beforehand, and visited every holocaust museum possible, so it was fascinating to have the opportunity to see the sites first hand. I wouldn’t have got my money’s worth if I hadn’t been so well-informed beforehand, although it would still have been an interesting (and harrowing) experience.
I think it may be slightly wasted on a disinterested teenager with very little life experience.

Usernamaste · 05/05/2023 19:34

Oh, and the salt mine in Krakow was a bit underwhelming. I got very claustrophobic and felt a bit panicked by being so far underground.