In the early twentieth century, Berlin had one of the largest Jewish populations of any city in Europe. Many Jews occupied prominent positions in government, made essential contributions in the fields of art and science, and owned small businesses in the German capital. During this period, Albert Einstein lectured at several Berlin universities and played violin concerts at the city’s New Synagogue. However, this thriving community, and others like it across Europe, were ruthlessly destroyed under National Socialism.
Learn about Berlin’s Jewish heritage and history, from the comfort of your own private vehicle, or on foot, during a fascinating three-hour tour with one of our expert, local guides.
Journey through the iconic concrete stelae of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, before making your way to the city’s old Jewish Quarter, where your guide will show you the old Jewish Cemetery on Grosse Hamburger Strasse – where several prominent members of Berlin’s Jewish community were buried. Learn about the heroic acts of Otto Weidt, who protected his employees from persecution and deportation. Pay tribute to victims of the Nazi regime at the numerous Stolperteine memorials scattered throughout the cobblestone streets, and bathe in the beauty of the New Synagogue, before exploring the corridors of a former Jewish Girls’ school.
Learn about the Rosenstrasse protests, where German women protested the incarceration of their Jewish husbands, and visit the thought-provoking “trains to life, trains to death” memorial, and other memorials that seek to highlight the atrocities of the Holocaust.
As always, your experience can be tailored to your preferences, so please let us know if you have any special requests or needs.
Your professional, local guide will pick you up from your hotel and introduce the tour.
At our first stop you have the chance to explore the workshop where blind German brush-maker Otto Weidt sheltered his Jewish workers from the deportation and persecution at the hands of the SS and Gestapo.
Next we marvel at the ornate golden domes of the New Synagogue – formerly the largest synagogue in Germany and targeted during the violent pogroms of November 1938.
Moving deeper into the old Jewish Quarter you will walk the corridors of the former Jewish Girl's School – forcibly closed under Nazism, it's students and teachers deported – now a centre for art, history and gastronomy.
Time will then be taken to search out these poignant memorials to victims of Nazism, inlaid in the sidewalks in front of buildings where those murdered by the regime used to live, work or study.
Next we learn about the horrors of the Nazi extermination camp system beneath the boughs of birch trees brought to Berlin from the grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Next we will explore the oldest Jewish Graveyard in the city and see the gravesite of Moses Mendelssohn.
After a short train ride we then pay tribute to the young and infant victims of Nazism at this poignant memorial at the Friedrichstraße Station – where children were transported to the safety of the west after the Nazi pogroms of 1938, and also deported by the regime eastwards after 1942, to the extermination centers of the occupied East.
Finally, plenty of time will be taken to journey through the iconic field of concrete blocks, and learn about the legacy of the crimes of Nazism in Germany today. The tour ends here.
Your guide will accompany you back to your hotel.
You will be picked up directly from your hotel or a prearranged meeting point.
At the end of the tour you will be dropped off at your hotel or, if you wish to remain in the city, your guide can give you recommendations for further exploration.
Cancellation policy:
- For groups of 1-6 people: free cancellation up to 48 hours in advance.
- For groups of 7+ people: free cancellation up to up to 7 days ahead. From 6 days in advance to 48 hours in advance, a 50% fee will apply.
- Cancellations less than 48 hours ahead or no-shows result in no refund.
Explore the heart of Berlin and see the German capital’s most iconic sites from the comfort of a private vehicle.
See Berlin’s essential sites in just two hours, from the comfort of your own private vehicle.
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