Recognize Preconceptions in Movies – Nuremberg from the students point of view
Report about “Recognize Preconceptions in Movies” Erasmus project
(Nuremberg)
I spent a wonderful week in Nuremberg (Germany) with students from the Hans-Sachs-Gymnasium and with Finnish students as well. That was my first Erasmus experience.
I had a German host, he and his family were very helpful and friendly, I could try the local traditions, routines, and foods. We had a lot of tasks and cooperating works, a few of them were a bit boring, but all together were nice. We watched, analysed two films: “Sophie Scholl” and “Moonlight”, also we talked about preconceptions and how we can recognize them, not just in movies. We ate 3 times in the canteen and a few times we ate out. The foods were always tasty, and for me was interesting to get to know another nation’s food culture. I was amazed how well made the public transport network in Germany, the trains, the metros, the trams, and buses are all new and clean. In our free time we watched the Octoberfest and the old part of Nuremberg too, for me the whole city was a very cute and silent place compared to Budapest.
Overall, I saw a different culture from an unusual angle (that a tourist can’t see). My English skills improved a lot during the week, I’ve got a lot of good experience. Last but not least I’ve got a few new friends from Germany and Finland too.
Bence Varga
Nürnberg Erasmus
I spent the last week in Nürnberg, Germany, and would like to give you a short review of all the things that happened.
In my opinion Nürnberg was a really beautiful and peaceful place, and I truly did like the parts that I got to know. At first glance it could seem that there are hardly any people on the streets, which could make a few people instantly dislike the city, but to me it seemed even more liveable because of this.
I also got to know a lot of new people, most of whom were really friendly and kind. There were a few people who I could form a deeper connection with, but in general people were quite open, and helped every one of us feel included in the programs.
About the programs: in my opinion there were enjoyable ones, however at times it felt unorganized. It seemed at times that we were vereing from the topic, but in hindsight, I see that we always had the over all goal in sight. Even more so during the last few days, however.
Lastly, I would like to say a few words about the family I stayed with. Fortunately, I lived with a kind family, who did a lot of things for me, and helped me a lot to feel relaxed during the trip. My host was really sweet, friendly and I enjoyed every conversation I had with her, at any place or time. I cannot describe how thankful I am for all small acts of kindness my host did for me. My host’s family members were similarly lovely: her mother talked a lot with me, and told me a few very interesting stories, her father packed me lunch every day, which I was always very thankful for, her little sister was really kind, although shy at times and I really like the little gifts she made for me. They also had a really cute cat, which helped me feel so much better at the beginning, because I really do like cats, and having one near me always helps me to relax.
I would say that in general I really enjoyed this Erasmus and am planning on joining others in the future as well. I’m really looking forward to the week next year, when my host, Kiko is going to visit Hungary, and I already have a lot of places in mind that I will want to show her during her stay.
Dobos Júlia
Kirchner Tamás István’s Nürnberg Daily Log
Day 1 – We started our trip in Keleti Railway station at 6:40 on Sunday. We went to Vienna where we boarded a different train that took us all the way to Nürnberg Hbf. Here we got to meet our hosts. Me and my classmate were hosted by twins, so we went to the same house. We moved into our rooms. Later we went to meet up with the others and had a look around a park.
Day 2 – On the second day we sprung out of bed and went to school. There we got to know each other and met the Finnish students, while playing some games in the gym. We then had a talk about the weeks programme. We had lunch, then headed to see the old town. This part I liked, because the city was very beautiful. The churches were especially nice looking. After that we went home.
Day 3 – We went to an American library called DAI. and sat through a pretty good presentation about movies. After which we went to eat in the city, where I showed that I’m the glizzy gobbler and ate 6 nürnbergers, (which were amazing by the way). We then made our way to the cinema, where we watched a movie called Moonlight. It was surprisingly good. After the movie we went to fool around the city and later we went to the carnival which was held in a nearby city. Back home I ate another 6 nürnbergers.
Day 4 – On Wednesday everyone else went to München and I stayed at home, because I got a stomach bug from all them glizzies ☹. At home I ate some pasta :D.
Day 5 – Thursday was not the best day, we went to school in the morning, and sat in a double English class. After that we had a short break where I went to some shops, to help Germany’s struggling economy. Then We all went back to the school, where I had the pleasure of sitting through another 2 classes of geography. It was exhilarating. We than went to see The Nazi Party Rallye Grounds in Nürnberg. We had a nice, guided tour around the place, and the history was also quite interesting. Thankfully the weather was also very nice and not too cold. We ate at a local restaurant, and then headed back to the school to watch Sophie Scholl. We got done in the evening and went home.
Day 6 – We flushed out our presentations then had lunch and showcased our finished presentations. After this we had a huge break, so we showed back up at 18:00, to eat some pizza.
Day 7 – We went back to Nürnberg Hbf. and said our misty eyed goodbyes to our hosts.
Kirchner Tamás István
Nurnberg
I enjoyed my stay in Nurnberg, since the city was beautiful, most of the people were really kind and friendly and I also got my German language skills better. Me and Kinder’s hosts were twins, they were quite bad at English, so we couldn’t chat with them that much, but their parents spoke English well, and they translated for the hosts. The programs were not planned well, since after like the third day, I think they ran out of ideas, so they just threw some random, boring programs at us, but I can’t complain about the first 3 days they were good. Our hosts were not so social, so in our free times they just went home, and it was hard for us “tourists” to like plan programs with the others and stuff like that, but we managed to do that as well. My main problem next to the bad programs after the third day, was that the German students weren’t prepared or couldn’t handle the free time program planning, so we Hungarians and the Finnish students planned it most of the time in a new city to us. In the beginning the 3 countries students didn’t get along well, but after a few “get to know each other” games we got better along. My favorite day was when we went to Munich. I found Munich pretty and I felt home more there, since it was a much larger city than Nurnberg, just like Budapest. In conclusion I had fun in Nurnberg, and I don’t regret going there, but clearly there some mistakes in the programs and I think it could have been much better with a little more preparation.
Kemény Tamás
Nuremberg
The first day we had some cooperation games. Everyone quickly settled in. They formed a few groups from the project participans. We had to talk about movies in general. Then we started working on the projects. In the afternoon they took us around in the city.
Next day we went to a library where we attended a presentation. The lady who directed the program told us about the film works and proved what was said there with a short film clip. This program continued after lunch. They took us to a cinema, where after the screening we discussed and analyzed the film.
We didn’t stay in the city on Wednesday. We visited Munich by train. Here we visited two museums where we could learn more about German history.
On Thursday we sat in on the classes of our hosts and experienced how different the school and education there is. In the evening, we watched a movie together related to what we saw on Wednesday.
On the last day, we finished the projects with our groups and presented it to the other students and the teachers. In the late afternoon, they organized the closing evening, where we said goodbye to the people we met during the week.
Balogh Emese
Preconceptions in Film Erasmus project
This Student Exchange took part in Nuremberg, Germany with 22 Germans, 11 Finns, and 11 Hungarians. The topic was recognizing preconceptions in movies, especially the ones about Nazis, since we were in Germany.
We were all placed with German hosts who helped us throughout the whole project. They showed us the best parts of the city when we had the time, and we could also see some of the German culture since we were living with German families. My host was amazing, and I really liked the whole experience of living with a host family. In our free time we explored the city or just sat in parks. The programs were also nice, they showed us around their school, the city, and we also visited the Nazi party rally grounds. On the third day we went to Munich by train and saw the Documentation Centre of the History of National Socialism, and the university.
We also learned about film analyzation, about how to recognize the typical stereotypes that they put in movies, and the usual techniques they use. We watched 2 movies, ‘Moonlight’, and ‘Sophie Scholl’ and then analyzed them. It was interesting to talk about because I also got to know more about Germany during World War II and what it was like under the Nazis.
Overall, I liked this Erasmus project, maybe it could have been more organized, but I liked the topic and I’m excited for when we get to host in Budapest.
Gyöngyösi Hanna
Nürnberg experiences October 9th-15th
On Sunday (October 9th) after an eight-hour train ride, we arrived at the main train station in Nuremberg, Germany. Our hosts picked us up at the station –my exchange student, Charlie, was hosting me and two other girls from the Hungarian group. First, we went home then she gave us a little tour around the neighborhood. Around 5 pm we met up with some of the other participants at a local cafe and then took a walk in a park nearby. Our first official program was a getting-to-know-each-other activity at the school along with some snacks.
The next few days we had the opportunity to learn about each other’s cultural differences and national stereotypes. The project’s topic was preconceptions in movies. We watched two films together: Moonlight (2016) and Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005). Before watching Moonlight we participated in a „lecture” with a professional. We tried to analyze the movie after talking about the famous Hollywood film industry and its benefits/disadvantages.
I loved getting to know both the German and the Finnish students. Although I wouldn’t say I had a lot in common with everyone, I could get along pretty easily with them. During the day we were doing the week’s tasks together, after the obligatory programs we often went out to explore the nightlife of the city.
We all went to see the touristy spots of Nuremberg: the old town, the St. Lawrence church, and the Nazi Party Rallye Grounds for example. I personally enjoyed the ’Hauptmarkt’ the most. It’s a nice little market near the city center with a variety of stalls. I tried the traditional German pretzel there.
If I had to highlight one point of the trip, I would definitely say the day we went to Munich. We went to the Ludwig-Maximilian University and got a guided tour at the Scholl Siblings memorial place, and learned about the White Rose Resistance Group. We also went to the Munich Documentation Center of the History of National Socialism. After the long day, we ate in an Italian restaurant and headed back to Nuremberg by train.
After all, I enjoyed our one-week stay very much. My host family was super friendly and tried their best to make the three of us feel welcome. I’m very excited about our next project meeting in Budapest.
Janka Lénárt
RECOGNIZE PRECONCEPTIONS IN MOVIES
I was really looking forward for this project. It was a little bit different than what i expected. Everyone was very nice, but was a little sorry that we didn’t eat traditional German food. On Sunday, when we arrived we met our hosts and had a program in the evening, so we went to a cafe. Afterwards, we had an small party to get to know each other. The next day we had an openning ceremony and we played in the gym. For me the most interesting programm of the day was the sightseeing in the old town. I loved the small and colorful houses. The German students organized that we went to an autumn greeting festival. Tuesday was all about film analysis. It was really interesing. After that we watched a movie where we applied what we learned. This evening the Germans organized an evening program for us, just for the students, to get to know each other better. We went to Munich on Wednesday. We saw the White Rose Memorial exhibition and the Centre of the National Socialism. Then we went to a very nice Italian restaurant, where everyone could choose their own food. I ate pasta. Everyone was tired on the way home so we didn’t do anything that night. Thursday was an interesting day as in the morning we went to their classes with our hosts, we had a double English lesson and a double geography lesson. On the other hand, we went for a walk in a park and around a lake, which was very beautiful and the historical background was also very interesting. In the evening we watched a film about the White Rose Memorial, which we had already visited in Munich. On the last day we made a presentation about showing that the country is not defined by national stereotypes. I learned a lot of interesting things about Finns that I didn’t even know. In the evening there was a last program with fingerfood and we talked a lot with students from different countries. I really enjoyed this week, I got to know a lot of new things and made a lot of new friends, and I talked to many of them about seeing each other again, so the project was very useful.
Magyarosi Réka
Nuremberg Exchange
During the Mobility, we were provided with various tasks every day, which we were informed about after our arrival. The Project was about prejudices between countries and their appearance in films.
On the first day, we got to know the city of Nümberg and its sights, which the organizers tried to make more exciting by a task sheet. Although the walking route was spectacular, it would have been better if we could have received the worksheet in English, thus making it a little easier for us to fill it out.
The rest of the days we spent our time watching movies, watching their iconic locations and buildings, and looking for cluesa about preconceptions in them, which we had to summarize/present on the last day of the program, with a presentation or poster.
Regarding the division of the program, it would have been more beneficial for me if the programs were a little more closely scheduled. This means that we had a little too much free time between certain programs, so we could not think about a specific problem in a coherent manner, and due to the early closing of the shops, it would have been nice if we had had a free day in which we could have explored the local attractions at our own will.
Overall, I thought this project was useful, I think it was definitely beneficial for both German and Hungarian exchange students.
Bacsur Dániel
Erasmus- Nuremberg
I feel lucky that I got this opportunity to travel to Nuremberg and explore a part of the world that I couldn’t have a chance to get to know before. It was truly an experience. I had fun and learned new things.
I have never lived with a host family before, but it turned out to be pleasant. Me and my host student, Lena had an instant bond. The parents couldn’t speak English, but Lena translated for us, and everything was fine.
I enjoyed the programs. Mostly the ones where we explored the city. I especially enjoyed the day when we learned the basics of film analysis and watched a movie in the cinema. The trip to Munich was nice I enjoyed the museum the most.
We also planned a few programs only with the students. The German students showed us different places. For example, one evening we went to a carnival in the neighboring town. It was one of my favorite programs.
I got to know different, interesting, nice people. We exchanged knowledge and learned new things especially about each other’s home countries.
I also want to mention how surprised I was that the train ride wasn’t exhausting at all as I would have thought.
All in all, this was an amazing experience, and I am thankful that I got to take part in it.
Deák Mila
My Week in Germany
On Sunday we met in the train station with the Hungarian team. We had a 8 hours long journy and than finally arrived to Nürnberg. I was staying in the same host house with my two other Hungarian girls. After we went home and met with our host and her Father we went to a cute cafe and ate a good pizza. I was really excited about the night, because we finally could meet with the other Germany hosts and the Finnis people. We ate some snacks in the school and got to know each other better. After a while we went home and slept.
The next day we went to the school and had some tasks about the the stereotypes. It was really exciting to hear about the stereotyps about us and it was also really funny to tell what we think about each coutries. We had lunch in the school. In the afternoon we wisited the old town, the tour was also really interesting. We could see the castle, important buildings and statues. In the evening we went to a small festival and we had a good time.
On Tuesday we went to another place where we could hear a really good and interesting speech from Andrea Kuhn. She told us a lot of thing about how can we understand the movies more and more. After the presentation we had some freetime in the city so we could eat a delicious lunch and explore the city. When we finished our meal we went to the film hous and watched a really good movie. And we could analys the film how we learned in the morning. In the evening we had a good time with the hosts and everyone else.
On Wednesday we went to Munich by train. The way was a bit long, but the people made it fun. We weseted teo museums which was really interesting and I really loved it. We went back to Nürnberg late so we just went home.
On Thusrday we went to some classes in English and also some classes in german. It was interesting how the school works in another country. In the afternoon we walked around the like like and visited the places where the the nazis were. It was a bit traumatic. In the evening we eatched the movie witch is called Sophie scholl.
Friday was our last day sadly so we wanted to enjoy every moment. We shared our experiencis and made a ppt about the stereotypes. We presented our presentison front of everyone and tha we had a free afternoon.
And we arrived fine to Budapest on Saturday.
Nagy Fruzsi
From the teachers’ point of view
Viola and I set off early in the morning with 11 Poli students, heading to Nürnberg by train. Upon arrival, we were greeted on the platform by the German project leaders, Karen and Marietta, as well as parents from the host families our students would be staying with. The first day concluded with a visit to the school, and a first opportunity for students to mingle and get to know one another. After that, students headed their separate ways to the homes of their host families.
The next day began with some sporting activities, team games in the school gym aimed at helping students to bond. Then, the details of the project were outlined – a broader explanation of the themes to be discussed, what the students could expect and what would be expected of them. They were tasked with developing a presentation, to be delivered at the end of the week. After lunch, there was a tour of the old town of Nuremberg with a history teacher from the school, and students were able to gain some background and discover a little about the city.
Tuesday was focused on film analysis, and the morning began with a lecture at the German-American institute, given by Andrea Kuhn, a local academic and director of the Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival. The afternoon involved a trip to the cinema to watch the award-winning film “Moonlight” (also prefaced with a talk from Ms. Kuhn), and afterwards students were invited to share their opinions and observations.
On Wednesday the group headed to Munich, where they visited an exhibition on the German “White Rose” resistance movement during WWII, with particular focus on students of the university – this would be revisited on the following day with a film. In the afternoon the project participants visited the Munich Documentation Centre of the History of National Socialism, a museum outlining all aspects of life in Nazi Germany. The visit to Munich concluded with the group eating together at a restaurant.
Thursday morning began with students being given the chance to observe English (or German) lessons in the school, before going to the library to work on their presentations for the next day. In the afternoon the group visited the Reichsparteitagsgelände, the site of the Nuremberg rallies, and again, a talk was given by a history teacher. After returning to the school, students watched and analysed a film about the White Rose movement discussed during the previous days activities.
The final day was one of reflection and showing the results of the weeks work. Presentations on national stereotypes were completed and then delivered, and certificates of participation were distributed. The day ended with an informal evening where the students could eat pizza and spend time with each other in a more relaxed environment. After that, everybody returned to their host families for a final time, before meeting early the next day for the journey home.
Overall the project was full, with plenty of work for the students around challenging topics. Our hosts were helpful and gracious, and it was a thoroughly positive experience.
Tom Dent
