Berlins Darkest Years: The Third Reich and WW2 

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Step into Berlin’s turbulent past with one of the most comprehensive WWII tours the city has to offer. Unlike most Third Reich tours that stick to Wilhelmstraße, where little remains, this 3,5-hour journey takes you both on and off the beaten path, showing you tangible reminders of history while uncovering hidden stories often left untold.

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We begin at the Reichstag building, the symbol of the Nazi rise to power. Learn how the infamous Reichstag fire helped the Nazis cement their control and how this very site became the stage for one of the most iconic Soviet victories in WWII. We'll discuss where the famous Soviet flag-raising photo was taken and continue to the nearby Soviet War Memorial, which features original Soviet tanks, artillery, and the final resting place for 2,000 Soviet soldiers. Here, we’ll delve into the Nazi vision for Berlin, including the grandiose plans for a reimagined capital, “Germania,” and explore how Berliners used the nearby Tiergarten during and after the war for survival.

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We’ll then walk to the Brandenburg Gate, famously used as the backdrop for Nazi torch parades. But was the crowd as large as it appeared? We’ll discuss the reality behind the propaganda. From here, we visit the Memorial to the Murdered Homosexuals and the powerful Holocaust Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), dedicated to the millions of Jews who perished under the Nazi regime.

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Continuing to the site of Hitler’s Bunker, you’ll hear the truth about the Führer’s final days and how he met his end in this very spot. Nearby on Wilhelmstraße, we stop at the Georg Elser Memorial, honoring the man who nearly assassinated Hitler in 1939—missing by just 13 minutes. You’ll also learn about the Propaganda Ministry, once headed by Joseph Goebbels, still standing nearby.

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Next, we explore where Hitler’s New Reich Chancellery once stood. Today, a Chinese restaurant sits on this historic ground, and we’ll investigate the urban legend about whether marble from the Chancellery was repurposed for Mohrenstraße Station. Then, we visit one of Berlin’s few remaining Nazi buildings—the monumental Air Force Ministry (Hermann Göring’s headquarters).​

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Our tour moves on to the Topography of Terror, the former SS and Gestapo headquarters, where heinous plans were executed. You'll see what remains and learn about the atrocities committed here. We’ll also stop at the Martin Gropius Bau, marked with bullet holes from the final battles of WWII.

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We then explore the haunting ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof, once Berlin’s largest train station and one of the key sites for deporting Jews to concentration camps. Why did the Nazis choose such a busy station? You’ll also discover the story of the hotel that refused Hitler as a guest—and its fate afterwards. Nearby is the imposing Anhalter Bunker, a massive above-ground WWII structure still bearing shrapnel scars from the war.

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We’ll then take the S-Bahn to Berlin's Old Jewish Quarter, where history breathes in every corner. Hear how the New Synagogue survived the horrors of Kristallnacht, and learn about the courageous acts of St. Hedwig’s Hospital and the fate of the world's first female rabbi. Walk along Große Hamburger Straße, with its chilling missing house memorial and bullet-riddled Sophienkirche. This street is also home to many Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), small brass plaques honoring Nazi victims, and we’ll discuss the stories behind them. You’ll visit the site of one of the main Holocaust deportation centers, as well as the remnants of Berlin’s oldest Jewish cemetery, destroyed by the Nazis but still a chilling place of reflection, complete with a WWII mass grave.

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Finally, we arrive at the Schwarzenberg Hof and Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind, where Weidt, known as “Berlin’s Oskar Schindler,” protected blind Jewish workers during the Holocaust. You’ll visit his original factory rooms and, time allowing, see the secret hideaway behind a bookshelf where Weidt sheltered a family. Learn how they were tragically betrayed.

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The tour concludes at the powerful Rosenstraße Memorial, commemorating the only mass public protest by Germans in the Third Reich. The wives of Jewish men gathered here to demand their husbands' release from deportation—a rare and moving act of defiance that successfully halted the Nazis.