History school trips to Berlin: The Third Reich to the End of the Cold War

Below, you’ll find an example of one of our most popular itinerary choices, but we can tailor-make yours from scratch to meet your exact requirements...

Berlin - 3 days guided package from £269pp*

Travelling in October 2012. Price includes return flights (all taxes & charges included), airport transfers to & from accommodation, 2 nights' half-board accommodation at Meininger Hotel Berlin Prenzlauer Berg, services of a Guide Lecturer, services of NST Berlin Representative to assist with check-in & provide 24hr assistance, extensive group travel insurance, and a generous free place ratio of 1 in 10.

And then add our most popular itinerary package below for £21pp*

Our most popular Berlin ‘End of Empire to Reunification’ visits for History school trips

Here are some of our most popular visits in Berlin for History groups studying the End of the Empire to Reunification. We can tailor-make an itinerary to your exact needs. Call 0845 688 8988 to create your itinerary from scratch today.

Key Visits

NST Guided Walking Tours

Throughout a full day or split across two half days, our guides can cover a number of key historical sites, providing your group with full commentary that will put them in the context of your curriculum.

Introductory walking tour - On arrival in Berlin, our guide introduces you to West Berlin with the following sites (covered on foot and using public transport):

• Zoo Station, including Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
• Kurfurstendamm
• Bernauer Strasse to view the Wall Memorial.
• Historical walking tour of Berlin centre

Following the Introductory Walking Tour, this tour covers the key city centre sites in depth:

• The Reichstag
• Brandenburg Gate
• Holocaust Memorial
• Hitler’s Bunker
• Potsdamer Platz
• Reich Air Ministry buildings
• Topography of Terror
• Checkpoint Charlie Museum
• Unter den Linden
• Bebelplatz (site of the book burning)
• Neue Wache

Fall of Communism - Central Berlin

Tour includes sites in and around Alexanderplatz concentrating on the events of September - November 1989.

Fall of Communism - East Berlin

On foot and public transport, tour the former East Berlin including the Zionskirche, Gethsemanekirche and the Bornholmer Bridge.

Kurfurstendamm & Zoo Station

A memorial church built at the end of the 19th Century. Destroyed in 1943, a modern church has been built alongside the ruins.

Brandenburg Gate area

Includes Reichstag (the rooftop viewing dome offers super views of the city), Brandenburg Gate, Victory Column and Soviet War Memorial.

Berlin Bunker Tour

A fascinating tour into the secret history below the city’s streets. The standard tour visits a series of tunnels and bunkers below Gesundbrunnen U-bahn station that give fascinating insights into the Nazi period, the battle in 1945 and East Berlin during the Cold War.

Olympic Stadium

Built for the 1936 Olympics and one of the best remaining examples of Nazi architecture. Access to the adjacent Bell tower off ers an excellent vantage point to view the interior of the stadium and a panoramic view of Berlin (closed Nov-Feb).

Reich Air Ministry buildings

Opened in 1936, this is an excellent example of National Socialist style architecture and is now the home of the Ministry of Finance. The 8 metre Socialist Realist mural on one corner of the building is a reminder of its time as The House of the Ministries, one of the most important government buildings in East Germany.

German Resistance Memorial Centre

Situated in the Bendlerblock, the former Wehrmacht building from which the July Bomb Plot was organised and where Stauff enberg and several of his co-conspirators were executed, the museum covers all aspects of opposition and resistance to National Socialism within Germany. A striking memorial to those executed on the night of 20th July stands in the courtyard where the event took place.

Topography of Terror

An exhibition contained within the former cellars of Gestapo HQ illustrating terrors and crimes of the Nazi era.

DDR Museum

Situated in the city centre, this small interactive museum offers fascinating insights into daily life in the DDR. Take a virtual drive round an East German housing estate in the Trabi simulator.

Wallmuseum-Haus at Checkpoint Charlie

Featuring exhibitions about the legendary border crossing point, including demonstrations of how individuals smuggled themselves across the border and interactive exhibits.

Berlin Wall

Though the majority of the Wall was demolished, what remains is a piece of modern history.

The Stasi Museum, Normannenstrasse

At the site of the Stasi Headquarters, groups can gain a vivid insight into the huge power that this organisation wielded over citizens of the GDR. Visit the exhibition which includes the offices of key staff and learn more about the events that led to the opening of the border.

Hohenschonhausen Memorial

This former political prison for people detained by the Stasi is now a museum which covers not only the Stasi period but its origins as a Soviet Special Prison from 1946-51 and provides groups with a very authentic picture of prison conditions in the GDR.

Leipzig

After Berlin, nowhere in Germany was more central to the events of 1989 than Leipzig, the GDR’s second city. The demonstration on 9th October 1989 and the regime's reaction to it was one of the major turning points of that momentous year. Visit the Nikolaikirche where the Monday evening meetings were held and from where the weekly protest marches set off. Visit the Runde Ecke, the former Stasi HQ and see the permanent exhibition ‘Power and Banality’. A full day coach excursion from Berlin

Other recommended History visits available include:

• Potsdam
• Schloss Sanssouci
• Leisure activities available include:
• Shopping on the Ku’damm
• TV Tower, Alexanderplatz
• Postdamer Platz - Shopping, Imax cinema, restaurants
• Bowling

Living History: Meet with an Ex-Political Prisoner

A rare, memorable opportunity to discuss experiences first hand with people who were there takes place at the Hohenschonhausen Memorial. We can arrange for a guided tour to be taken by an expolitical prisoner, providing a great opportunity to ask questions about how they came to be imprisoned here and what life was like both in the prison and outside.

Example of an Ex-Political Prisoner: Hans-Eberhard Zahn was arrested in 1953 because of “Endangering universal peace” and “Activity as a foreign agent”. He was a long time in remand, and then sentenced to seven years in prison. Most of that time he spent in Bautzen and the secret labour camp in Berlin-Hohenschonhausen.

Below, you'll find some of our most popular accommodation options for school groups.

This is just a sample of our full range, so for full details of all properties available, please call 0845 688 8988 to speak to one of our Educational Travel Advisors today.

No hotels have been assigned to this tour

We can pre-book your meals at our great group prices to help your itinerary run smoothly.

NST City Representative

Our Berlin City Representative, Tayjana, or a member of her team will meet you on arrival, assist with hotel check-in, advise on points of interest and public transport and provide 24 hour emergency assistance

NST Guide Lecturers

An increasing number of schools book a Guided Study Tour each year due to the recommendation of NST’s customers. Why not add an NST Guide Lecturer to your tour package.

Your Guide Lecturer will:

• Be selected from a specialist team to meet your exact visit requirements
• Be a highly experienced and knowledgeable educationalist
• Have a long and proven track record of delivering excellent results
• Have an understanding of the needs of students and information delivery
• Understand the pressures and requirements of Group Leaders

Benefits of NST Guide Lecturers:

• A Strong Teaching Background - All of our guides are ex-teachers with specific History expertise. Their educational background and detailed knowledge of the current curriculum will help them meet your specific needs. As former teachers they also understand the demands and requirements of organising educational visits.
• Helping You to Prepare Your Ideal Itinerary - Our guides will contact you before your tour to discuss your learning objectives. They will then advise on the appropriate visits to build an itinerary that matches your specified objectives and enables your group to get the most out of every day.
• More Time for One-to-One Teaching - With an NST Guide Lecturer leading the group, you gain the opportunity to provide individual tuition and enjoy the visits with your students.
• First Evening Talk - Your Guide Lecturer will provide an informal discussion on your first evening, setting the scene for the next few days. Helping students focus on the days to come and covering many general questions up front, this talk will allow more time for specific questions at each site.

Our team of experienced Guide Lecturers include:

• Garry Clarkson - Previously Head of Humanities, Garry has over 10 years’ experience in teaching about the Holocaust and has taken part in a teacher training seminar at Yad Vashem during 2006. Currently a freelance educational consultant, he is working on a number of projects concerning the Holocaust including being an educator on the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project.
• Dave Stewart - A graduate from the University of Glasgow with an MA in History & Philosophy, Dave spent two years as an exchange student at the University of Mainz, studying German History and is a fluent German speaker. He also has a Guiding Diploma from the Scottish Tourist Board.
• Nigel Bushnell - A York University History graduate, Nigel has been a History teacher in inner London for twenty years and is heavily involved in examining History at both GCSE and A level. He has a particular interest in German History - especially the Nazi Period and post-war Germany and is a published author.
• Stephen Hartley - Stephen has a PhD in Modern History gained from King’s College, London, from the Department of War studies. He has been teaching and lecturing to a wide range of age groups for over 20 years and has led numerous school tours during this time. Stephen has travelled to over 80 countries and has published a book on Irish History for MacMillan’s War Studies Series.