Berlin during the Second World War: Private Half-Day Walking Tour

Discover Berlin’s monuments, museums, and memorials dedicated to commemorating the dark, difficult and turbulent years of the Second World War. With an expert private guide, you will explore Germany’s capital city through the lens of its role in the Holocaust and Hitler’s war, uncovering many horrors and unsung feats of heroism.

On your private tour, you will:

• Begin your tour at the Reichstag where you will learn the history of this building, and see the bullet holes and graffiti left by Soviet soldiers from 1945;
• Explore the historic centre “Mitte” famous for the Brandenburg Gate, the Soviet War Memorial Tiergarten, Pariser Platz, and the Unter den Linden boulevard and learn about the Stolpersteine ‘the stumbling stones’;
• See where the Nazi's book burning took place at Bebelplatz - an ironically beautiful square flanked by historic buildings including Berlin State Opera, Humboldt University buildings, and St. Hedwig’s Cathedral;  
• Visit many of Berlin’s memorials, dedicated to those murdered and persecuted in World War II: the Neue Wache Memorial dedicated to all Victims of War & Dictatorship, and take time to pay your respects at the incredibly moving Holocaust Memorial;  
•  See Hitler’s last Bunker, part of a large subterranean complex of air raid shelters, and the New Reich Chancellery - Hitler’s Office, as well as the memorial to Georg Elser who had attempted to assassinate Hitler, but failed as the bomb went off after he had left the room; 
• Walk by the imposing political and governmental buildings and learn of their role in the War such as the historic Bundesrat;
• Arrive at the remains of the infamous Berlin Wall that divided the city - and the world - between East and West, and Checkpoint Charlie where you’ll hear all about the privations and danger faced by those living during the Cold War Era; 
• Take a guided walk through the "Berlin 1933-1945 between Propaganda & Terror" exhibition; 
• End the tour in front of the "Topography of Terror Museum" where you can continue exploring at your own pace. 

Today Berlin is a thriving urban metropolis, famous for its alternative culture, art, music, theatre, and multi-ethnic food scenes. But its past is more tumultuous than most, and the city is full of monuments, murals, museums, and memorials dedicated to commemorating the horrors of the Holocaust, and the darkest days of Soviet rule behind the Iron Curtain. 

Your guide will talk you through the history of Berlin and its role as Hitler’s Headquarters during the Second World War. You’ll see many historic monuments from the grandeur of the 19th Century Brandenburg Gate, to the small but incredibly moving brass plaques known as the Stolpersteine (stumbling blocks) that name every single person taken by the Nazis. 

You’ll have the opportunity to pay your respects at the very moving, haunting Holocaust Memorial as well as pass by the locations of Hitler’s bunker and office. 

Explore the beautiful Tiergarten Park, and hear the stories of desperate Berliners who used the park as farmland and for firewood after the war. Learn about the final moments of World War II in Europe. See the bullet holes, shrapnel and Soviet graffiti that cover the Reichstag building. 

This tour explores the German culture of memory while talking about those who lost their lives and were persecuted. A visit to Berlin is a reminder to never forget.

Tour duration
3 hours

Type of tour
Walking tour: no transportation is included

Attractions along this route:

The Reichstag
Constructed to house the Parliament of Germany, this imposing building has had a turbulent past.

Soviet War Memorial
The War Memorial, erected by the Soviet Union, is one of three memorials to fallen Russian soldiers in the city.

Brandenburg Gate
This 18th-century neoclassical triumphal arch is one of the best-known German landmarks: the grand entrance to the capital of Prussia.

Holocaust Memorial
The Holocaust Memorial is a stark, effective reminder of a dark chapter in the history of the world.

Checkpoint Charlie
The most famous East and West Berlin crossing point, Checkpoint Charlie unravels years of Cold War tensions.

Museumsinsel
With its collection of remarkable museums, this island earned a spot on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Neue Wache
Originally constructed as a guard house, this neoclassical paradigm now serves as a war memorial.

Bebelplatz
A symbolic square in central Mitte, Bebelplatz is known for the infamous Nazi book burning ceremonies.

Berlin Cathedral
Located on Museum Island, it is a main work of Historicist architecture of the "Kaiserzeit."

Gendarmenmarkt
An aesthetically remarkable square, host to the statue of Germany's famous poet Friedrich Schiller.