BACKOn Monday and Tuesday of Week 4 this term, the Year 11 History students had the opportunity to visit the Auckland Museum. This proved to be an enjoyable and educational experience. The museum contained many knowledge-rich resources that provided us with a variety of information to expand on our historical knowledge. We spent the majority of the time on the top floor of the museum, which was the section on various wars that New Zealand was a part of, including both World War One and World War Two, as well as the New Zealand Wars, the Anglo-Boer War, conflicts in Asia, and New Zealand’s involvements in United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Our focus on the trip was to select and gather a range of primary and secondary evidence that would be relevant and useful for our exam essay on the causes and consequences of Hitler becoming Führer of Germany in 1934. We gathered most of our sources from the WWII Hall of Memories, the Pou Maumahara (War Memorial Discovery Centre), and Scars on the Heart galleries. We were also able to gather evidence from the Holocaust room, which contained the accounts of Holocaust survivors who then immigrated to New Zealand, as well as from the museum as a memorial to the battles and campaigns New Zealand forces participated in as a whole, particularly during the Second World War.
Overall, it was a successful trip that helped the students of Year 11 History to extend their understanding of the topic.
Tiana Schwarz, Year 11
