School History Trips to Berlin, Germany | Educational Trips from Rayburn Tours

The Rise of the Nazi Party – its Policies and Effects

Topography of Terror

This museum is situated on what was the site of the Secret State Police, the SS and the Reich Security Main Office during the Nazi regime of 1933 to 1945. Recently renovated, the museum now includes an extended indoor documentation centre, audio and film footage to provide a chilling yet detailed commentary of the atrocities that occurred during Nazi Germany.

Sachsenhausen

35km to the north of Berlin in Oranienburg stands the entrance gate to Sachsenhausen, where the infamous words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ greeted prisoners from 1936 to 1945. During this time over 200,000 people were imprisoned there. The building of this camp marked the beginning of the change in Germany from democracy to Nazi dictatorship, and students will see the impact of Nazi policies on political enemies and other outspoken figures. In 1961 Sachsenhausen was turned into a national memorial.

The Cold War – a Meeting of Eastern and Western Ideologies

Checkpoint Charlie

The Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum is located a few metres from where the legendary checkpoint stood. The exhibitions cover the history of the Berlin Wall and demonstrate how people were smuggled across the border. Visitors can also watch a film about the Cold War era and the Third Reich.

Hohenschönhausen Memorial (Stasi Prison)

In the former GDR, this camp stood as the central remand prison for the Ministry of State Security. With the Cold War ongoing and with mistrust and suspicion all around, it is estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 people went through the camp, imprisoned for their political or non-conformist beliefs. There was a high death rate amongst the inmates due to the unhygienic conditions and the malnutrition that characterised life in the camp. Your students will have the opportunity to be guided around the centre by former political prisoners, who will not only explain the history of the prison but also describe their life there as well as the physical and mental torture that was once administered. This is an interesting visit highlighting differences between the superpowers during the Cold War.

Insider Walking Tour

Offering a true insight into the history of this city, the English speaking guides who lead the Insider Walking Tour deliver a thorough, humorous and informative guided tour of Berlin. Preceding by foot (or there is the option of using your own coach), tours can last up to four hours and can be tailored to cover the locations which match your learning objectives.

DDR Museum

The DDR Museum concentrates on everyday life in the GDR. Visitors are encouraged to get hands-on with the realities of living in the GDR during the time of the Cold War through sitting in a trabant, dressing up, doing a communist dance and participating in many other interactive activities.

Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse

Established in 1998 by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Berlin Wall Memorial comprises the Chapel of Reconciliation, a documentation centre, an outdoor exhibition, an exhibition at the S-Bahn station Nordbahnhof, and a Visitors' Centre. It was constructed ‘in memory of the city’s division from 13 August 1961 to 9 November 1989 and of the victims of communist tyranny’.

All our Berlin Tours are accompanied, free of charge, by our iWitness Study Resources.

With the evidence of so many different historical eras readily accessible to groups whilst on tour, Berlin iWitness coherently combines them all to give each group the information relevant to their particular tour and learning objectives.

Our Berlin iWitness includes:

• Teacher Resources
• Student Fieldbook
• Eyewitness Accounts
• Walking Tours
• Google Earth files

The Berlin Teacher Resources contain curriculum information, study topic worksheets and visit information to provide support when teaching any of the following periods in Berlin’s history:

• The German Empire
• The Weimar Republic
• The Third Reich
• The Holocaust
• The Cold War
• Reunification

Studying The Holocaust?

As one of the more difficult areas of the curriculum to teach,our Holocaust iWitness Resources encourage students to see the person behind the statistic, to study how key events affected them, their family, and their community as they reflect on the devastating effects of political decisions.The Holocaust iWitness programme is also made available to groups visiting Berlin upon request.

Visit our dedicated iWitness pages to find out more!

Story of Berlin Museum

This museum’s multi-media format allows visitors to see, hear and smell 800 years of Berlin’s history. It provides a great picture of how the city has developed through the use of a number of interactive displays that bring Berlin’s story to life. This is a great visit which enables your students to see an overview of the history and context of Berlin in relation to German politics as a whole. Entry to the museum also includes a guided tour of a nuclear bunker, situated underneath the museum.

The Reichstag

This is a key landmark throughout Berlin’s modern history. Kaiser Wilhelm laying the corner stone, the proclamation of the Weimar Republic by Philipp Scheidemann, the fire in 1933 giving rise to the Enabling Act, more recently its proximity to the Berlin Wall and now the seat of the German Parliament. Groups can participate in a guided tour to the famous glass dome for fantastic views over the city.

Berlin Bunker Tour

Let expert guides lead you through underground Berlin. A number of different tours are offered, enabling you to choose the one which best suits your areas of study, whether it’s exploring an original WWII bunker preserved as it was during the war, retracing the escape tunnels which once helped people flee the east or the Cold War bunkers prepared in anticipation of nuclear war. Each provides a fascinating insight into Berlin from below.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
(Holocaust Memorial)

The 2,711 concrete stelae exude a disquieting atmosphere as a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The underground information centre at the memorial displays the names of all known Jewish Holocaust victims and offers true stories which allow your students to trace the impact of Nazi policy from the early 1930s through to its end in 1945.

House of the Wannsee Conference

On 20th January 1942, a meeting took place in the Wannsee Villa to plan the implementation of what the Nazis called ‘The Final Solution’. This was the planned deportation and extermination of all Jewish people in Europe. This meeting has become known as the Wannsee Conference and a visit here is crucial for students studying features of totalitarian dictatorship in Nazi Germany. The museum not only gives an insight into Nazi politics and methods, ghettos, death camps and life in concentration camps, but also demonstrates the bureaucracy involved in planning the mass murder of thousands of innocent Europeans.

The Jewish Museum

After its closure in 1938 by the Nazi regime, the Jewish Museum re-opened as a separate department of the Berlin Museum in 1978, and as an independent institution in 2001. The evocative structure is designed to give students a ‘trapped’ feeling within its cold, concrete interior with few glimpses of the outside world. Inside, art, texts, media terminals, personal photographic collections, ceremonial objects and furniture take students on a journey through two millennia of German and Jewish history, demonstrating what it was like to live in Berlin during this period.

See 'The Holocuast - Berlin' page for more information on visits perfect for students studying the Holocaust.

All of our tours are bespoke, therefore the itinerary below is simply an example; the duration, educational visits, leisure excursions and accommodation centre used will be selected to match the requirements of your group. Please contact us to discuss your bespoke itinerary.

Day 1

The group arrived in the morning and, after lunch, met their tour guide for their Insider Walking Tour.

Day 2

After breakfast, they travelled by coach to Sachsenhausen Memorial and then continued to the Olympic Stadium. They then visited the House of the Wannsee Conference before unwinding in the evening at the bowling alley.

Day 3

Using Berlin’s great public transport, they visited the Topography of Terror, took a guided tour of the German Resistance Museum, and explored the Story of Berlin Museum and Checkpoint Charlie Museum.

Day 4

Following their guided tour of the Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen, they enjoyed last minute souvenir shopping before departing back to the UK.

A&O Hostel Friedrichshain

In the heart of the student district in Berlin Friedrichshain, this hostel makes an ideal base for student groups. Situated close to the S-Bahn station Ostkreuz, you’ll benefit from great public transport links during your stay. All rooms are en suite and there is also a restaurant, garden and volleyball court.