Hello everyone, my name is Cole. Since our last post, the EU Study Abroad Program has been hard at work at Georgia Tech Lorraine. We’ve spent the past few weeks attending classes and finishing up our exams. All of us are very eager to start the next chapter of our program in Brussels. While we have immensely enjoyed our time in Metz, we are also enthusiastic about our future travels.

This week, our program had the amazing opportunity to visit several World War I memorials around the city of Verdun. Recalling our history classes, the Battle of Verdun was one of the most important and crucial conflicts of the Great War. For almost a year, French and German troops fought in a stalemate, with an enormous amount of casualties on both sides.

Armies were confined to their trenches. Many men would be sacrificed in order to gain only a few feet of land. Despite the carnage, brutal fighting continued on both sides, fueled by nationalist sentiments. The French in particular wanted to regain the Alsace-Lorraine region that had been lost to the Germans in the Franco-Prussian War. In fact, this is the region that our program has been located for the past 4 weeks.

The first monument we visited today was the Montserrat Monument. This structure was built to commemorate the achievements and sacrifices of American soldiers during the First World War. In the center of the monument is a map of the surrounding area, which displays the combined efforts of the American and French troops.

While we were visiting, a tour guide showed us the positions of the opposing armies, and explained how the Americans and the French were able to outmaneuver the Germans. This monument is one of many around France that shows gratitude to the American involvement in both would wars, and they demonstrate the long lasting friendship and alliance between the two countries.

After this location, we traveled to the Mémorial De La Bataille De Verdun. This is a cemetery and place of remembrance for thousands of soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of Verdun. While this was a very sad and somber location to visit, it is crucial for us to remember the history that created the world today.

We were able to watch a short film that explained the harsh and brutal conditions during the battle of Verdun. Afterwards, we climbed to the top of the central tower, and looked out upon the expansive cemetery.

Bonjour! My name is Audrey Clark and this past weekend, the study abroad program visited the Franco – Prussian War museum in Gravelotte. This museum provided information on the history between Germany and France. The Prussian army was led by Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck used France as an issue to rally the fragmented German states to unify around. The Prussians won the Franco – Prussian war and gained territory in France. The territory of Alsace-Lorraine, underwent German occupation in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War, then in 1919 after WWI the territory was reunited with France, then to Germany again during WWII in the 1940s, and finally back to France in 1945 at the end of WWII. This German influence is evident in the architecture and culture of the regions. In our home of Metz in Lorraine, we see German influence in the train station since that was the imperial district for the Germans.

On Saturday, we visited Strasbourg which is the capital of the Alsace region. The German architectural influence was ever present throughout this city. Strasbourg is also home to one of the European Union Parliamentary buildings. This was a very exciting building to tour especially since the EU parliamentary elections concluded on Sunday. This election featured higher voter turnout than the previous year. There was an increase in the representation of populist and nationalist parties from 20% to 25%. This might not have a significant impact in the parliament since they have trouble organizing. The most important takeaway from these election was the message they sent to state’s individual governments. In France and Italy, the far right parties gained traction. A week before the election there was a pro-right rally held in Milan by Italian nationalist Salvini and featured notable nationalist from around Europe such as Geert Wilders (Netherlands) and Marine Le Pen (French). These nationalist leaders are eurosceptics which means that they wish to decrease the power of the European Union and increase the power of the Nations. It will be interesting to see the political landscape of Europe evolve on this trip.

On Sunday, we visited the house of Robert Schuman in Scy-Chazelles. This was a very humble, serene, and beautiful home. Robert Schuman was truly a citizen of the world. His father was born a french citizen in Lorraine but became German due to the annexation after the Franco – Prussian war. He then left to live in Luxembourg where Robert Schuman was born. It is said that when Robert Schuman mowed the lawn he crossed the border between Luxembourg and Germany. This unique childhood exposure to three different european countries shaped his idea of what is was to be European and neither french nor german nor luxembourgish. He was a very religious man and after his mother’s death he almost entered priesthood. Instead, with encouragement from his friends, he followed his passion for law and politics. He was Prime Minister of France twice, Foreign Minister, and Minister of Finance. His most important contribution was as Foreign Minister on May 9, 1950 when he proposed the “Schuman Plan”, this called for a European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 that was the precursor the European Economic Community in 1956 and the European Union in 1993. May 9th, is celebrated as Europe day in honor of this historic speech. Throughout his life in politics he always stayed humble and rode public transportation to stay connected to the citizens he served. In 1960, the European Parliament awarded him the official title, “Father of Europe.” He then passed away in 1963 at his home in Scy-Chazelles. We had the honor of visiting his grave across the street from his home.

On May 13th, 22 GT students began the Nunn School’s EU Study Abroad Program in Metz, France where we are based for the first month. Professor Birchfield, who directs the program, is in residence at the GTL campus, so students have all the resources, classrooms and dorms that GT’s European campus has to offer. I attended the program in 2017 as an undergraduate student the first year that the program was in Metz. Now, I am very excited to be attending as the Graduate Program Assistant. The program is designed to provide students with an in-depth and highly interactive introduction to the European Union, human rights and security issues in Europe, and EU-US relations.  As a region heavily involved in the Franco-Prussian War (or The War of 1870), World War I, and World War II, there is no better place to begin learning about all these topics than Metz!

Once we were settled in, we started the study abroad with a historical walking tour of Metz. My favorite place to visit in the city is the Metz Cathedral. During the wars in Metz, the stained glass windows were covered in order to preserve them; however, some of them were destroyed regardless. To replace them, the city chose to get new windows made by modern artists. As a result, the cathedral has a wonderful mixture of very classical stained glass windows and more abstract ones. Knowing the history of why that is makes it all the more interesting.

The next day, we all attended the official GTL orientation before beginning our first day of class. One of the professors at GTL went over some cultural experiences that GTL makes available to Georgia Tech students, including a free concert in the cathedral, weekly drawing classes, and a trip to a local farm to pick fruits, vegetables, and flowers. After orientation was through, we held a brief class to discuss more of the historical significance of the Lorraine region in the initial forming of the European Community (which later became the EU). That night, GTL invited all students to go on a bus tour of the city where we got a chance to see areas that we had not been able to on the walking tour, such as the German Quarter that was built when the Germans occupied Metz in the period between the War of 1870 and World War I.

The following days were full of classes. To understand the formation and transformation of the European Union and its institutions, it is important to first learn about the “founding fathers of the EU”, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and the treaties that followed it. I am in the fortunate position of getting a refresher of this history in class, as this is my second time on the program. My experience on the program in 2017 influenced me to focus on the Western European region in much of my subsequent research, so it is exciting to be back with much more knowledge than I had in 2017 on the significance of the EU.

Friday night, we went to the FC Metz game- the last home game of the season for Metz’s soccer team. This was the first international sporting event that I have attended, and a great way to end the first week of class!

On Saturday, the EU Program and other students taking the GTL 2000 class went to Trier, Germany- the oldest town in Germany. We had both a walking and bus tour, which allowed us to see many of the Roman ruins still scattered around the town. Two of my favorite sites on this trip were an old coliseum and Constantine’s throne room. The throne room was massive. According to the tour guide, those that entered the throne room could never turn their backs on Constantine, so they had to walk from the back of the room to the door backwards. The throne room has now been converted to a church for the people of Trier.

Finally, on Sunday, we went to the Centre Pompidou in Metz. It is very nice that Metz is the home to the only sister museum to the Centre Pompidou in Paris. As students on the program, we are given free entry to the museum, which has rotating modern art exhibits to explore. Currently there are two exhibits on display: Lee Ufan’s Inhabiting Time and The Adventure of Colour. My favorite was The Adventure of Colour; below are photos of two of my favorite pieces from the exhibit

Next week we will have class, a trip to Gravelotte, and a trip to Strasbourg to look forward to!

Today we had a really early start to a full day. We rolled out of the hotel at 6:15am to catch our train to Normandy! We grabbed a quick breakfast at the train station and then we were on our way. After a 2.5hr ride, we arrived at a rainy Bayeaux. We made our first stop at the Bayeux Museum to see the Bayeux tapestry. We each got an audio guide that walked us through the story told on this 70m tapestry. We learned about the story of the conquest of England by the Normans through 58 numbered scenes that end with the Battle of Hastings. After walking along the tapestry, we got to explore the rest of the museum and learn about the methods and tools used to create this tapestry. It was incredible to see all the skills they used to make this masterpiece by hand. The museum ended with a quick movie that brought the story of the tapestry to life as a wrap up.

We all got a quick lunch break then we were on a bus to the coast. We were dropped off in front of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial where we were given a few hours to explore the area at our own pace. In the museum, there were movies telling the story of D-day and of all the young men who died that day. There were personal testimonies from soldiers and their families about what it was like to fight in the war or to lose a loved one. This museum did an incredible job honoring those who risked everything on June 6, 1944. 

After visiting the museum, I walked to the memorial and cemetery. It’s sobering to look out over the cemetery and to see rows and rows of headstones of those buried there. I also took some time to walk along the Wall of the Missing. This wall contains the list of all the soldiers who were never found. Some of the names have rosettes next to them, marking that the remains of that soldier have now been identified. Those names are rare. That area was a little more secluded from the rest of the cemetery but I think it is just as important to read those names as well as those on the headstones. All these soldiers deserve to remembered. 

After walking through the cemetery, we found a path down to the beaches. On the way, we met up with the rest of the group on top of one of the bunkers that’s been preserved to discuss our experiences going through the memorial. After talking for a bit, we only had a little bit of time before we had to catch the bus into town. So, we went down to the beach to get closer to the waves and at least stick our feet in the water. After getting our fill of the salt water and sand, we were on our way back into town for our last group dinner. 

Just like our first group dinner in Metz, we had crepes. The perfect bookends for our summer. During our last big meal together, we talked about the summer and some of favorite visits and briefings. We went through all of the cities we visited together and laughed about some of our crazy travel experiences. It was great to have one more meal together with such an amazing group of people. But, it wasn’t goodbye quite yet. We still had our train back to Paris and one more free day before going our separate ways for the rest of the summer. I’m confident that we’ll all make the most out of our last day in Paris and keep in touch when we’re back on campus in August. This summer has been everything I hoped it would be and more and I wish anyone planning on doing this program the best. It’ll be one of the best summers of your life!