The Tour

The Battle of Berlin Walking Tour covers an approximately 4 kilometer (2.5 mile) route through the center of Berlin. We will regularly be making stops, so it is rare to walk for more than 10 minutes at any one time.

Generally, the tour takes roughly 2.5 hours. With large groups it may take slightly longer. We will meet at the Schiller Statue in the center of Gendarmenmarkt and the tour ends at the Reichstag. Both are in central Berlin and very close to public transport. On the tour you’ll see the following:

• Gendarmenmarkt

• The Reich Aviation Ministry, including a memorial to the 1953 East Berlin Uprising

• The remains of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, now the Topography of Terror

• A portion of the original Berlin Wall

• Wilhelmstrasse - the former government district and center of the Nazi Reich

• The site of Hitler’s Reich Chancellery

• The site of the Führerbunker, including the alleged spot of Hitler’s cremation

• The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

• The Brandenburg Gate and Pariserplatz

• The Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial featuring Soviet T-34 tanks and artillery.

• The Reichstag building - the parliament of the German federal government.

Along the way I will be showing you pictures of how these landmarks looked before, during and after the Battle of Berlin. In many cases the change is astounding, while in others, the city has remained much the same. Many of the sites you’ll see can also be seen in the newsreel video to the left.

As well as discussing the fighting, tactics and strategy of the battle, we’ll also discuss its broader impact, especially in regards to civilians and those living in Berlin.

Finally, we’ll also explore Berlin’s unique status following the war, a status that eventually led to the building of the Berlin Wall - one of the most iconic symbols of the Cold War.