The Best WWII Itinerary in Berlin — From 1 to 5 Days
- Matti Geyer
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
By Matti — Berlin Tour Guide & WWII History Specialist
Are you traveling to Berlin and fascinated by World War II history? I’ve guided visitors from all over the world for more than 15 years, and as a partner of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, I’ve designed what I believe is the most complete and easy-to-follow WWII itinerary in Berlin — no matter how long you’re staying.
Whether you have one day or five, this itinerary gives you the perfect mix of guided tours, free exploration, and must-see historical sites. You’ll experience Berlin’s dark past through authentic locations, powerful memorials, and stories that bring history vividly to life.
👉 Also check out my complete list of WWII sites in Berlin and recommended WWII destinations across Europe for more ideas.
1 Day in Berlin – The Essential WWII Highlights
If you only have one day in Berlin and want a clear, memorable, and authentic look into the city’s WWII history, this is the perfect plan.
Start with a Guided Third Reich Walking Tour
There’s no better way to understand Berlin’s Nazi past than walking its streets with a local historian. My Third Reich Tour covers all major WWII landmarks and lesser-known sites that even locals often overlook.
We begin at the Reichstag Building, where the 1933 fire allowed Hitler to seize power, and where, twelve years later, Soviet troops raised their victory flag after the Battle of Berlin. The nearby Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarten still holds the graves of 2,000 soldiers and showcases original Soviet tanks and artillery.
From there, we move to the Brandenburg Gate, once used for torchlight parades and Nazi propaganda rallies. Today, it’s a symbol of peace — and a striking contrast to its 1930s imagery.
Next comes the Holocaust Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) and the smaller but equally important Memorial to the Murdered Homosexuals. Both invite silent reflection and remind us that Nazi persecution went far beyond the battlefield.
At the site of Hitler’s Bunker, you’ll learn about the dictator’s final days in April 1945 — what really happened, and how the city decided to deal with that legacy after the war.
On Wilhelmstraße, we explore the Nazi power center — from the Propaganda Ministry led by Joseph Goebbels to the surviving Air Ministry (Luftfahrtministerium), one of the few Nazi buildings still standing.
Then we visit the Topography of Terror, built on the ruins of the SS and Gestapo headquarters. The open-air exhibition, with photos, maps, and documents, shows how state terror was organized. The nearby Anhalter Bahnhof ruins, once a major deportation point for Berlin’s Jews, remain one of the city’s most poignant wartime relics.
The tour continues through the Old Jewish Quarter, with stories of courage and survival. You’ll visit Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind, where Weidt hid and protected Jewish workers, and end at the Rosenstraße Protest Memorial, the site of the only successful public protest in Nazi Germany — led by non-Jewish women demanding their Jewish husbands’ release.
Afternoon — Museums and Underground History
After the tour, spend your afternoon exploring at your own pace:
Topography of Terror Museum (free) – Plan at least 1 hour. The indoor exhibition is detailed, multilingual, and one of Berlin’s top-rated WWII museums.
Berlin Story Bunker – Located near Anhalter Bahnhof, this multimedia museum covers Hitler’s rise, war destruction, and the final days in his bunker.
Berliner Unterwelten Tours – Alternatively, join one of the Expert-led bunker tours beneath the city, exploring air-raid shelters and tunnels.
Anti-War Museum (Antikriegsmuseum) – A small but powerful museum showing an authentic Berlin air-raid shelter and pacifist exhibits from the 1920s to today.
This day gives you a strong foundation — from the rise of the Third Reich to its collapse in 1945 — all within central Berlin.
You Have 2 Days – The Wider War: West & Southwest Berlin
If you’ve got two days in Berlin, you can explore further afield. The following route covers powerful WWII memorials, resistance sites, and the 1936 Olympic grounds — plus a trip to Potsdam, where the war’s end was decided.
You can do this itinerary by car or public transport, but for comfort and insight, I recommend a private guided day tour (which I can organize for you).
Morning – Resistance and Ruins
Start your day at the Bendlerblock, the former army headquarters where Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators attempted to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944. The German Resistance Museum offers detailed exhibits on resistance movements — military, religious, and civilian — that fought back from within Nazi Germany. The courtyard, where the conspirators were executed, is one of Berlin’s most moving memorials.
A short ride away, the bombed-out Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church stands on Kurfürstendamm as Berlin’s iconic anti-war symbol. Inside the new blue-glass sanctuary, the atmosphere is calm and reflective, offering a moment to pause between historical stops.
Midday – The 1936 Olympic Stadium
Take the U2 to Olympiastadion or drive west. The 1936 Games were a global propaganda show for Hitler — but also the stage where Jesse Owens humiliated the Nazi ideology of racial superiority. You can tour the stadium freely; most official tours focus on sports, so if you want the deeper history of the Nazi Olympic project, either explore the information panels or book me for a private history-focused tour.
Afternoon – Grunewald, Wannsee and Potsdam
From Grunewald's Platform 17, thousands of Berlin Jews were deported to ghettos and concentration camps. The memorial’s steel plates list each transport, its date, and destination. It’s simple, powerful, and deeply haunting — a quiet forested spot that leaves a lasting impression. This is right next to Grunewald station on the S7.
Nearby, if you’re especially keen, you can visit the Dietrich Bonhoeffer House, home of the pastor who resisted Hitler and was executed at Flossenbürg concentration camp in 1945.
Only about 15 minutes’ drive from Grunewald, the House of the Wannsee Conference on the lakeshore is where top Nazi officials planned the “Final Solution” in January 1942. Today it’s a free museum, beautifully curated, taking around an hour to visit.
Cross the Glienicke Bridge (Bridge of Spies) into Potsdam, famous for Cold War spy exchanges. Continue to Cecilienhof Palace, where Churchill, Truman, and Stalin met in 1945 to negotiate post-war Europe. The preserved rooms, maps, and photos make history feel immediate.
Nearby, explore Babelsberg Park and its villas — including the Little White House and Hiroshima-Nagasaki Memorial — blending WWII remembrance with Potsdam’s royal beauty.
You Have 3 Days – Confronting the Camps
Day 3 is about facing one of the most difficult but essential sites: the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial in Oranienburg.
Morning to Afternoon
Sachsenhausen is located about 35 km north of Berlin (roughly 1 hour by S-Bahn from Friedrichstraße). This camp was a model for all subsequent concentration camps, where political prisoners, Jews, and POWs were enslaved, tortured, and murdered.
Allow at least 4 hours on site — the exhibitions, preserved barracks, and watchtowers are extensive. The audio guide is excellent, or I can guide you personally for deeper context.
Late Afternoon – Soviet Legacy
On your return to Berlin, visit the Soviet War Memorial at Treptower Park. Built in 1949, it’s the largest Soviet memorial outside Russia, featuring a massive statue of a Soviet soldier holding a rescued child. The scale and symbolism are breathtaking.
Round off the day nearby at Zenner Beer Garden, one of my favorite local spots, right on the river — a perfect place to decompress after a heavy but important day.
You Have 4 Days – The Prelude: Weimar Berlin
With four days, it’s time to understand the story before the Nazis — how the vibrant, democratic, and creative Weimar Republic gave way to dictatorship.
Morning – The Weimar Berlin Tour (2h–4h)
Join me on a walk through Berlin’s 1920s heart: from the Renaissance Theater and Theater des Westens to Delphi Kino and the buzzing Kurfürstendamm. This was the age of cabaret, art, and sexual freedom — a city of jazz, expressionism, and experimentation.
We’ll visit spots tied to Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, and Christopher Isherwood, as well as filming locations from Babylon Berlin. You’ll see cafés, cinemas, and cabarets that survived the war, and learn how this extraordinary culture was later crushed by the Nazis.
Longer versions of the tour explore the Communist uprisings at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, the bohemian life of Schöneberg, and the decadent nightclubs where Berlin’s freedom burned brightest.
Afternoon – Hidden WWII Gems
Jewish Cemetery Weißensee – one of Europe’s largest Jewish cemeteries, beautifully overgrown and peaceful. Some tombs were hiding places during the Holocaust. I guide here too, and it’s always a highlight for thoughtful visitors.
Museum Karlshorst – the actual site where Germany signed its surrender on May 8, 1945. The museum is lesser-known but fascinating, with tanks, documents, and the preserved surrender room - though not everything has been translated into English.
If you still have energy, visit the Holocaust Information Center under the memorial or the Jewish Museum Berlin near Checkpoint Charlie — a world-class museum of Jewish life before, during, and after the war.
You Have 5 Days – Battlefields and Ruins Beyond Berlin
If you’ve got five days in Berlin, it’s time to go beyond the city limits — to the battlefields and ruins that tell the story of the war’s final chapter.
Full-Day Trip (Best by Car or Private Guide)
First we head to Küstrin (Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland). Known as “Poland’s Pompeii”, Küstrin is a ghost city destroyed in 1945. The remains of streets, foundations, and a fortress show the devastation of the final battles. You can walk through entire city blocks left untouched since the war — a haunting, unforgettable experience.
Just over an hour’s drive from Berlin, Seelow Heights was the last major battle before the fall of Berlin. Visit the Seelow Heights Museum, with original tanks, weapons, and panoramic battlefield views from Marshal Zhukov’s lookout. It’s eerie and atmospheric, surrounded by quiet fields that once echoed with artillery.
Optional add-ons:
Goebbels’ Abandoned Villa at Bogensee – an eerie time capsule of Nazi architecture and propaganda aesthetics.
SA Prison on Papestraße – one of the earliest Nazi detention centers, used before concentration camps existed.
Final Thoughts
Whether you have one day or five, Berlin offers one of the most complete and powerful WWII experiences anywhere in Europe. Every site — from Stauffenberg’s courtyard to the ruins of Küstrin — reveals another layer of how this city endured and rebuilt itself.
Exploring these places is not just a history lesson; it’s a reflection on resilience, morality, and the importance of remembering.
If you want to go deeper, I offer private WWII tours, Weimar Berlin walks, and day trips to surrounding sites. Together, we can build an itinerary tailored to your interests and pace.
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