Dessau and Leipzig, Germany

Dessau and Leipzig were both great cities to visit. In both cities, I noticed there wasn’t as much public transportation as there was in Berlin. Part of this is because Berlin is a very, very large city. But, Leipzig still did rely on public transportation, just not to the degree Berlin did. In Leipzig, any people would drive to a certain point and walk into the city to go to work (the inner city). After their day was done, they would walk back to their car and drive home.

Another aspect of geography (cultural) is how important music was in Leipzig. We went to a couple different churches that Bach used to work in. Leipzig had a huge influence on music. It may have even helped provide the space for music to be what it is today—Bach and other musicians have influenced today’s music.




Bach Monument in front of church he used to conduct and play organ

My favorite academic experience in Leipzig was the Holocaust Memorial. The memorial consists of 140 chairs sitting in the middle of some random shops, restaurants, etc. The architect purposely put it here to represent how we haven’t come to terms with what happened and how the Holocaust and everything leading up to it was out of place and disorganized. The 140 chairs represent the 14,000 people that used to worship in the synagogue in that exact same spot. After the Night of Broken Glass happened, many Jews were soon expelled from Leipzig. This is crazy. I wonder how many Jews live in Leipzig or anywhere in Germany today I wonder if they would want to go back to the place they had once been rid from. Even if some choose to came back (the survivors), I’m sure they were and are probable still oppressed. People probably still have negative prejudices against the Jewish population. I think this is similar to slavery and the Jim Crow Laws in the United States—the United States still has a long way to go. I wonder if Jewish people are treated as equals today.


Holocaust Memorial

My favorite extra-curricular experience in Leipzig was when a group of us went back to St. Nicholas Church to listen to a church service. I was raised Lutheran, so it was cool to sit in on a service and hear the organ play.

 

For recommendations on where to eat in Leipzig, I would recommend going to a pizza and pasta place. They have many in the main part of the city! It’s cheapish and tastes good!