Third Reich Walking Tour: My most popular tour.  How did Adolf Hitler and the Nazis come to power? How did their authoritarian system of propaganda, repression and terror work? How did antisemitism, the cornerstone of Nazi ideology, lead to the Holocaust?  Why did Germany fail to defeat the Soviet Union, and how did that failure bring about the destruction of  Berlin and  the division of Germany?   What role did D-Day play in Germany's defeat? How did the air war impact Berlin and Germany? How did some individuals and groups resist the Nazis?  Why did they all fail? What were the final days of Hitler like?  And did he really escape the Bunker?  Most importantly, what warnings does the history of Nazi Germany hold for our own time, with liberal democracy  under threat from new forms of political extremism? These are the questions we  discuss on this tour.  Sites include the  Wilhelmstraße (former government quarter),  the Topography of Terror (former site of the SS and Gestapo headquarters), the Federal Finance Ministry (former Nazi air force headquarters), the former Nazi Propaganda Ministry, the Memorial to Georg Elser (the first of many would-be assassins of Adolf Hitler), the former site of the Führerbunker, the memorials to the Jewish, homosexual, and Sinti & Roma victims of the Nazis, the Brandenburg Gate, the Soviet War Memorial in the Tiergarten, and the Reichstag Building.  Duration: 2.5 hours. Cost: 150 Euros. 

A Stroll through Prussian Berlin: For many, the Prussian state remains known for its militarism, but Prussia was also a kingdom that promoted religious tolerance, education and culture. Nowhere else can you experience Prussia's  magnificent cultural heritage than in Berlin's historic distict "Mitte."   Learn why Prussia strove to elevate the knowledge and taste of its population, why it pursued  progressive policies of education,  immigration and religious tolerance, how the Nazis betrayed that legacy, and how the Prussian heritage is remembered in Berlin today. Sites include: Museum Island, the Boulevard Unter den Linden, the New Guard Station, the Humboldt University, the State Opera House, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, the former Royal Library and the State Library,  the former Opera Square (site of the Nazi book burning),  the Gendarmes' Market   (French and German "Cathedrals" and the Concert House).  Duration:  2.5 hours. Cost: 150 Euros.

Queer Berlin.  Many remain unaware that Berlin was the center of the first gay rights movement. Long before the 1969 Stonewall Riot in New York City,  gay activists in Berlin were demanding an end to discrimination, In the 1920`s,  queer people in Berlin enjoyed a level of freedom and acceptance unthninkable in most other cities until decades later. But it all came to an end with the Nazis, and it took several decades afterwards for queer people in East and West Berlin to reassert their dignity and achieve their full civil rights. Sadly, however,  they now find themselves under threat once more from a new rising tide of intolerance. Learning about the history of queer Berlin can help us think about to better promote sexual tolerance and freedom in our own time.  Sites include: Memorial to Magnus Hirschfeld (pioneer gay rights activist) and his Institute of Sexual Science,  Memorial to the Homosexual Victims in the Tiergarten, the Nollendorf Platz Memorial (the first memorial for gay victims of the Nazis in Germany), the "Rainbow Quarter" in the district of Schöneberg, the center of quuer life in the 1920's and early 1930's (still offering many queer bars, clubs, shops, and social services),  the former site of  the legendary trans-club "El Dorado" (theme of the Netflix documentaryof the same name) and the neighborhood where the British author Christopher Isherwood lived. (His book "Goodbye to Berlin" chronicled how gay life flourished in Berlin before being destroyed by the Nazis, and later inspired the musical "Cabaret." ) Duration: 3.0 hours. Price:  200 Euros. (Patricipants must purchase a "Berlin AB" day pass for the BVG mass-transport system.) 

Prenzlauer Berg: History, Hype, and Beer. No part of Berlin is loved and hated as much as the former East Berlin district Prenzlauer Berg. For some it's the ideal place to live; for others it symbolizes how "Cool Berlin" has been ruined by gentrification.  A mostly middle-class district built in the 19th century, Prenzlauer Berg is known for its  townhouses with their  grand stucco facades.  Most of them  miraculously survived the Second World War, but were then left to decay for decades afterwards. In the 1970's and 80's, Prenzlauer Berg became a refuge for many  artists, writers, musicians, queer people and others who didn't conform to socialist society . Their lives changed radically, however, when the Berlin Wall fell and the West German investors arrived. On the one hand, the buildings were restored to their former grandeur; on the other hand, many families who had lived here for generations were forced out. Today, walking through Prenzlauer Berg is an excellent opportunity to get a feeling for what the city looked like before the war, to learn how modern Berlin was planned and built in the 19th century, as well as to discuss the dramatic upheavals many East Germans experienced after communism was replaced by capitalism.  Last not least, Prenzlauer Berg was once the center of the beer industry in Berlin. The geological structure of the area ("Prenzlau Hill"),  allowed for the construction of deep underground fermentation and cooling chambers, which was not possible in the marshy ground of old Berlin. The breweries also sold their products on site in their own beer gardens. Today, the large brewery buildings, impressive works of industrial architecture, have  been converted to new commerical and residential uses, but many beer gardens are still here, including Berlin's oldest, the "Prater" (founded in 1837). As part of the standard tour, we begin with a glass of beer at the Pfferrberg beer garden, and we finish with another one (or two), at the Prater.  Sites include: Pfefferberg Brewery Beer Garden, Watertower "Fat Hermann" (oldest water tower in Berlin, located on a hill with a real vineyard), the Synagogue in the Rykestraße (biggest synagogue in Germany), Käthe-Kollwitz-Platz, (located around this square are some of the most expensive apartments in Berlin as well some of the trendiest restaurants, bars, cafes, and markets), the Kulturbrauerei ("Cultural Brewery", once the biggest lager-beer brewery in the world, now a complex with a cinema, shops, galleries, clubs, and a free museum of daily life in East Germany), the Oderberger Straße, (arguably Berlin's hippest street) and the Gethsemane Church (focal point of democratic activism during the "Peaceful Revolution" of 1989/90). The tour ends at the Prater beer garden. Duration: 4 hours (with beer garden stops). Cost: 200 Euros (beer garden costs paid separately).  Shorter Tour: 2.5 hours (no visits to beer gardens). Cost: 150 Euros. 

Full-day Berlin Tour.  This tour offers an overview of the highlights in former east and west Berlin, along with tips for further exploration on your own. suggestions for museum visits, going out in the evening, and cultural events.  The specific sites visited depend on your own interests and wishes. Duration: 6 hours. Cost: 400 Euros. (Participants must purchase a "Berlin AB" day pass for the BVG mass-transport system.) 

World War Two for Hard-Core History Fans:  What did Nazi Germany hope to achieve by beginning the Second World War in Europe?  How did the German military achieve its stunning victories, and how did it suffer its devastating  defeats? Was the German Wehrmacht really a superior military force? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Allied forces and the Red Army? How did they bring about the final defeat of Nazi Germany? Moreover, how did the course of the war determine the post-war territorial and political order in Berlin, Germany and Europe, and how does the Second World War still impact us today? Sites include: The Soviet War Memorials in Tiergarten Park and Treptower Park, the former Air Transportation Ministry (Luftwaffe Headquarters),  Topography of Terror (former site of SS and Gestapo headquarters), Bendler Block (center of military resistance to Hitler ("Valkyrie"), former site  of Hitler's Bunker, German-Russian Museum Karlshorst (site of Nazi Germany's final surrender). Duration: 8 hours (lunch and coffee breaks included). Cost: 400 Euros (Participants must purchase a "Berlin AB" day pass for the BVG mass-transport system.)  A shorter version of this tour without the Soviet Memorial in Treptower Park and the German-Russian Museum in  Karlshorst is also possible: Duration: 2.5 hours. Cost: 150 Euros.

Bus Tours.

Highlights of Historic Berlin. Sites include: Brandenburg Gate (photo-stop), the boulevard Unter den Linden, Museum Island (photo-stop), Gendarmes' Market,  Alexanderplatz, Karl-Marx-Avenue, East Side Gallery (longest remaining part of the Berlin Wall with photo-stop), Checkpoint Charlie (photo-stop). Potsdamer Platz, Tiergarten park with Victory Column,  Reichstag Building and the government quarter, and much more! Duration: 3 hours. Price: 200 Euros.

Berlin in Depth. Sites include: Brandenburg Gate (photo-stop), the boulevard Unter den Linden, Museum Island (photo-stop), Alexanderplatz, Karl-Marx-Avenue, East Side Gallery (longest remaining part of the Berlin Wall with photo-stop),  Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park (photo-stop), Checkpoint Charlie (photo-stop). Potsdamer Platz, Victory Column,  Reichstag Building and government quarter,  KDW department store, Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church, Charlottenburg Palace , Olympic Stadium (photo-stop), and much more! Duration: 6 hours (including one-hour lunch break). Price: 400 Euros. (Participants must purchase a "Berlin AB" day pass for the BVG mass-transport system.) 

Day Trip to Dresden.