„Jewish Life – Past and Present” – Culture Trip through Germany and Poland
This journey traces Jewish life and culture in Germany and Poland.
Both countries have Jewish life for more than a thousand years. Before the Nazi dictatorship and the Holocaust some of the most active and influential communities in the Jewish world called Germany and Poland their home. Today the communities are much smaller, but again vibrant.
Both historical and contemporary Jewish life and culture can be experienced not only through city walks, museum and memorial site visits, but also through visits to synagogues, conversations with members of Jewish communities and visits to Jewish restaurants and cultural events.
3 Nights in Berlin
2 Nights Warsaw
3 Nights Krakow including excursion to Auschwitz
2 Nights Berlin
Itinerary
Day 1
Morning
Individual arrival at the hotel in Berlin
Afterwards
Individual check-in
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
Meeting of all participants in the hotel lobby and warm welcome by your tour guide.
Afterwards
City tour of Berlin by coach
Evening
Welcome dinner
Day 2
Morning
Immerse yourself in the more than thousand year old history and culture of German Jewry during a guided tour of the Jewish Museum Berlin.
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
You visit the House of the Wannsee Conference and deal with the history of anti-Semitism and Jewish hatred, the tyranny of the Nazis and above all with the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question”, the implementation of which was discussed and decided upon during the so-called Wannsee Conference.
Afterwards
Visit some monuments commemorating the Jewish population of Berlin and the Holocaust.
Evening
Group dinner
Day 03
Morning
How does a country, a city, a society remember its own history and its own population? How is this told and how does it manifest itself in the image of a place?
These and other questions are explored on a “memorial walking tour,” during which you will visit various places of past and present Jewish life and the Holocaust Memorial.
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
You will visit a synagogue and hear about the history of the place during a guided tour.
During a subsequent conversation with the rabbi and/or members of the congregation, you can learn about modern Jewish life in Berlin.
Evening
Individual dinner
Afterwards
Visit to a cultural event
Day 4
Morning
Free time
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
Transfer to the train station
Afterwards
Train ride from Berlin to Warsaw
Evening
Arrival in Warsaw
Afterwards
Transfer to the hotel, check-in and short break
Afterwards
Group dinner
Day 5
Morning
You will visit the modern Polin Museum, which impressively and comprehensively presents the more than thousand year old history of Polish Jews.
An individual tour with audio guides gives you the opportunity to look around according to your individual interests.
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afterwards
Short walking tour through the partly rebuilt old town of Warsaw with city wall, market place and royal castle.
Afterwards
Free time
Evening
Individual dinner
Day 6
Morning
On a guided walking tour through the former Jewish ghetto and surrounding streets you will learn more about the history of the Warsaw Jews, especially about the time of the German occupation during the Second World War, the living conditions, the transports to the extermination camps as well as about the uprising and the liquidation of the ghetto.
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
Train ride from Warsaw to Krakow
Afternoon
Arrival in Krakow, transfer to your hotel, check-in and short break.
Afterwards
Short walking tour through the old town of Krakow takes you up the Wawel Hill with the Royal Castle and the Coronation Church, behind the Jagelonien University, one of the oldest in Europe and across to the Great Market Square with the impressive St. Mary’s Church and the famous Cloth Makers’ Halls.
Evening
Group dinner in a Jewish restaurant with klezmer music
Day 7
Morning
On a guided walking tour through the former Jewish district of Kazimierz you will get to know the varied history of the Krakow Jews and their influence on life in Poland.
You will visit synagogues, the old cemetery and also see places where the film “Schindler’s List” was shot.
During a subsequent visit to the Jewish Community Centre, you will hear about Jewish life during communism and in present-day Poland.
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
Free time
Suggestion
Visit Schindler’s factory with its multimedia exhibition on the German occupation of Krakow and the Second World War.
Evening
Individual dinner
Day 8
Morning
Today is dedicated to the Holocaust and begins with an introductory visit to the Krakow Ghetto and a drive past the former Plaszow labour camp.
Afterwards
Transfer to Oświęcim by coach
Afterwards
During a guided tour of the memorial site of the former Auschwitz concentration camp and the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, you will learn about the cruel history of the camps and the fate of the people imprisoned, forced to work and murdered there. You will see their legacies and various forms of remembrance today.
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
Return to Krakow
Evening
Group dinner
Day 9
Morning
Free time
Suggestion
Take a stroll through the old town and maybe buy some local souvenirs or visit the Gallery of Polish Art of the 19th Century or the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow, both located on the Rynek Glowny (Great Market Square) or take half a trip around the world in the “Manggha” Museum of Japanese Art and Technology.
Noon
Individual lunch break
Afternoon
Transfer to the train station
Afterwards
Train ride from Krakow to Berlin
Evening
Individual dinner on the train
Afterwards
Arrival in Berlin, transfer to your hotel and check-in
Day 10
All day
Free time
Suggestion
Visit the German Historical Museum, the Museum Island or one of Berlin’s many museums.
Or
Individual excursion to the Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum
Or
Individual excursion to Potsdam with its former royal gardens and castles (e.g. Cecilienhof: venue of the Potsdam Conference or Sans Souci: Summer Palace of Frederick the Great)
Noon
Individual lunch break
Evening
During a joint reflection round, review the impressions and experiences of the trip and discuss any open questions.
Afterwards
Farewell dinner
Day 11
During the day
Now it’s time to say goodbye and individual homeward journey
