Skip to main content

German Studies

Find out what sessions we are able to offer in the area of German studies

Video: German language taster session for beginners

Interactive Workshop: Monuments and Memorials in Transition

Professor Anna Saunders

Overview

These interactive workshops are designed for A-level or GCSE students of German and/or History (the activity includes German language resources, although these can be presented in translation, if necessary). The workshop usually consists of three stages (which can be adapted, according to requirements), which together last ca. 2-3 hours:

  • Presentation and discussion of contemporary memorial culture in Germany, focusing on remembrance of the Holocaust and of East Germany, including questions such as: Why do we remember? How do we remember? What difficulties are presented by different forms of remembrance?
  • Teamwork exercise, in which pupils work in teams – with guidance – to design a memorial to a given event/person in German history.
  • Teams present their designs to the group and discuss why they have made certain decisions regarding content, design and location. 

What we provide/deliver

  • Delivery of first session and facilitation of stages two and three. The preliminary session can be provided face-to-face or online, although the following sessions are considerably easier face-to-face.
  • PowerPoint slides with resources
  • Teamwork challenge sheets (these can be used during a facilitated workshop, or employed independently by teachers with pupils).

Topics covered / relevance to A-level syllabus

  • Discussion of key moments in recent German history, focusing predominantly on the Holocaust and the GDR
  • Discussion of the importance of cultures of remembrance in contemporary Germany
  • Reflection on local remembrance culture
  • Provides an insight into cutting-edge research and materials studied on undergraduate modules 

Workshops on East Germany

Professor Anna Saunders 

Overview

These sessions can be delivered to either GCSE or A-level cohorts on different aspects of East Germany, including the following topics:

  • The Berlin Wall: Past and Present
  • The Rise and Fall of the GDR
  • Life behind the Berlin Wall
  • The Stasi
  • Remembering the GDR
  • The Wende and Unification: Context and Challenges
  • Post-Wende Germany: Coming to Terms with Division and Unity

These seminar-style sessions can be tailored for students of German (i.e. with German-language resources) or for mixed groups, including students of history (i.e. with resources in German and English). Other topics relating to East Germany (including specific films/texts) may also be possible, subject to discussion.

What we provide/deliver:

  • Delivery of a session (between 45 and 90 minutes, depending on requirements)
  • PowerPoint slides with background materials
  • Worksheets with historical materials for further study

Workshop on Art and Architecture in Berlin

Professor Anna Saunders 

Overview

This workshop is primarily designed for A-level students, in order to help them gain an insight into the different layers of history in contemporary Berlin through the built environment and public art. The focus lies particularly on the way in which public buildings and associated works of art have been invested with different meanings throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and how Berlin – as Germany’s new capital – has found contrasting solutions to deal with its controversial built landscape.

What we provide/deliver

  • Delivery of a session (between 45 and 90 minutes, depending on requirements)
  • PowerPoint slides with background materials
  • Worksheets with materials for further study

Topics covered / relevance to A-level syllabus:

  • Detailed focus on the development of contemporary Berlin
  • Art and architecture
  • Focus on National Socialist and GDR history
  • Focus on German reunification and different ways of working through the past