One of my favorite aspects of being a student in Europe is that we are constantly surrounded by a ton of history, from the distant past all the way up to recent developments. For our studies, we often have the opportunity to visit locations of historical relevance. Case in point — one class this semester examines Germany during the Cold War, and it recently included an excursion to the Kossa Military Museum, a GDR-era bunker site just a couple hours away.
The bunker was located in a dense forest. With the drizzling weather and misty surroundings, it felt like I was back in the Pacific Northwest. The site itself didn’t seem too impressive at first…it really doesn’t look like there is much going on here, eh?
Then we started walking past ominous vehicles…
And eventually we came upon this bunker entry, set low in the ground.
As part of the study project, we were able to do a tour inside the actual bunker, which was…
a) Musty
b) Freezing cold
and
c) Full of fascinating relicts from the Cold War-era
After a couple hours of our below-ground tour, I was feeling just a little hemmed in and definitely eager to return to the above-ground world.
The bunker visit was only half of our excursion, which continued in Leipzig at the Museum in der Runden Ecke. We also saw the St. Thomas Church and this statue of a moderately well-known gentleman…one Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach.
Many monuments were to be found throughout Leipzig — including one which featured Natalie, puzzling over how to read the complete sentence written on it.
Markers of past military presences in Leipzig — USA & Soviet.
The tracks in that last photo are a monument marking the 1953 East German Uprising. Like several other important monuments I’ve seen in Germany, it is very subtle. The plaque and “tank” tracks are located in the middle of a touristy square in Leipzig, and they don’t feature any further interpretation for visitors. Although the monument may be unnoticed by some visitors, it’s a quietly powerful reminder of the recent past.
Love the Tank Tread memorial. Subtle yet powerful.
The bunker museum looks very authentic wonder how many other bunkers are out in the forest?