Jewish Berlin
Quick Overview
Description
Time
Choose your start time.
Duration
2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 hours
Meeting Point
The lobby of your hotel
Prices
2 hours
€249
3 hours
€299
4 hours
€389
6 hours
€559
8 hours
€699
Highlights
- Enjoy the advantages of getting picked up directly at your hotel by one of our experts in Jewish history and launching straight into your tour.
- Learn about life for the Jewish population of Berlin over the centuries, from the emancipation and assimilation of the 18th and 19th centuries, to the devastation wrought by Nazi rule, to the resurgence of Jewish life and culture in the city today.
- See key sights such as the New Synagogue, the site of the first synagogue in Berlin, the Otto Weidt Workshop for the Blind Museum and the Old Jewish Cemetery.
Whether you opt for a tour format of two, three, four, six or eight hours, your personal guide for the day will meet you at your place of accommodation, before setting out with you to uncover the different phases of the history of the Jewish community in Berlin.
From the 18th century – when Berlin became a hub of Jewish intellectual and cultural activity, with figures like philosopher Moses Mendelssohn advocating for full integration – to the dawn of Nazism, when Einstein was forced to quit his post at Humboldt University and emigrate to the US, Berlin’s Jewish community made major contributions in the fields of science, economics and the arts. Their achievements may have changed the way all of us live and think today, but they came against a backdrop of growing antisemitic hostility and discrimination, which came to a head in the 20th century, with devastating consequences.
Our unique tour will take you through the courtyards of Mitte, where working-class Jewish immigrants once dreamed of a better life. Close at hand and hard to miss is the magnificent New Synagogue with its glittering gold dome. You will be able to hear the incredible story behind this edifice, which reflects the fate of Berlin’s Jews before, during and after Nazi persecution.
You will also have the opportunity to visit Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind, one of the few safe havens where Jewish people found support and protection while Hitler was in power. Having led you to the Alter Jüdischer Friedhof (Old Jewish Cemetery), your specialist guide will explain how it was desecrated by the Nazis in 1943 in an effort to eradicate the memory of Jewish history in Berlin.
The tour will head to the site of the Rosenstraße protest, a rare act of civil resistance against Nazi policies. The “Block der Frauen” (Block of Women) stands as a memorial to the brave non-Jewish wives and relatives who protested against the deportation of their loved ones in 1943.
At the end of your tour, your Insider guide will be happy to point you in the direction of your next destination or advise you on how you might best spend your time in Berlin.
Example Itinerary
The following list of sites is intended to give you an idea of what you can expect to see on this tour. Please note that our exact route may vary on the day, depending on circumstances and your hotel pick-up point.
- The New Synagogue – a prominent Berlin landmark that stands out for its Moorish architecture and gilded dome
- The old Jewish quarter – the Scheunenviertel was the heart of Jewish life in the city.
- Site of Moses Mendelssohn’s house – a memorial to this talented and influential Jewish family
- Rosenstraße Protest Memorial – a sculpture of the women who stood up to the Nazi dictatorship
- Location of the Old Synagogue – destroyed during WWII, this former place of worship is now commemorated with a plaque.
- Hackesche Höfe and Heckmann Höfe – historical, bustling courtyards
- Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind – a museum dedicated to a German manufacturer who sought to protect his Jewish workers
- The Missing House Project – an art installation reflecting on the loss and absence caused by war
- The Old Jewish Cemetery – formerly desecrated, now returned to the Jewish community and restored
- The Jewish High School (Große Hamburger Straße), which the Nazis used as a deportation centre
- Memorial to Nobel Prize winner Nelly Sachs
- The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Insider Reviews
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