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7 day Journey Through Shadows and Light: A Jewish Heritage Exploration of Berlin & Dresden

Suitable for Family, Group, Senior

OVERVIEW

This powerful and immersive itinerary invites travelers on a journey through some of the most significant—and complex—chapters of Jewish history in Germany. From the vibrant streets of Berlin to the solemn grounds of Sachsenhausen, from the artistic resilience of Dresden to the haunting legacy of Theresienstadt, each stop along the way illuminates both the grandeur and the gravest challenges faced by Jewish communities across centuries.

More than a tour, this is a meaningful journey of remembrance, learning, and hope. With guided visits to historic synagogues, memorials, museums, and sites where profound tragedies took place. Engaging speakers, thoughtful reflection, and opportunities for cultural and spiritual connection make this journey not only educational, but deeply personal and transformative. Whether walking through the Berlin Wall’s ghostly remains, standing in silence at Platform 17, or joining in Shabbat with a contemporary German Jewish community, participants will leave with hearts full, eyes open, and stories that will resonate long after the journey ends.

Highlights*

Kabbalat Shabbat & Shabbat Dinner in Berlin: Beginning the journey with a shared cultural and spiritual experience within a local synagogue provides a powerful introduction to the resilience and continuity of Jewish life in Berlin. The combination of prayer, community, and a traditional meal fosters a sense of connection and sets a meaningful tone for the exploration of history and memory to come.
Walking the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe: Navigating the stark and unsettling grid of concrete slabs offers a visceral and deeply personal encounter with the scale of the Holocaust. This silent memorial encourages individual reflection on the immense loss and the importance of remembrance, making it a powerful and unforgettable moment.
Guided Tour of the Jewish Museum of Berlin: Daniel Libeskind’s architectural masterpiece provides a unique and profound exploration of Jewish history and culture in Germany. The guided tour enhances the experience, offering insights into the museum’s design and the stories woven within its striking spaces, leaving a lasting impression of both loss and legacy.
Visit to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and Platform 17 Memorial: This day offers a stark and sobering immersion into the systematic cruelty of the Nazi regime. Walking through the former concentration camp and standing at the silent deportation platform creates a powerful connection to the victims and underscores the importance of confronting historical atrocities.
Witnessing the Rebuilt Frauenkirche in Dresden: Standing inside this meticulously reconstructed Lutheran church, which was once a mountain of rubble after WWII bombings, serves as a powerful symbol of peace, reconciliation, and the resilience of the human spirit. Its soaring dome and the story of its rebirth offer a poignant contrast to the narratives of destruction explored earlier in the trip.

*Some experiences are subject to minimum group size

Day by Day Suggested Program

Day 1: Individual arrivals in Berlin

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Check into hotel and prepare for Shabbat

Kabbalat Shabbat & Shabbat Dinner at a Local Synagogue Begin your time in Berlin with the warmth of community, as you join a vibrant and resilient congregation for Kabbalat Shabbat. Hear prayers echo through a sanctuary that stands as a symbol of revival, followed by a traditional Shabbat meal infused with stories, spirit, and song.

Overnight: Berlin, Germany

Day 2: Historical Berlin on Foot

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Breakfast at hotel

Walking Tour Highlights:

Brandenburg Gate Walk beneath the towering neoclassical arch that once divided East and West. A symbol of unity and freedom, the Gate now watches over a city reborn.

Unter den Linden Stroll this grand boulevard lined with linden trees and echoes of history, connecting Berlin’s royal past to its modern pulse.

Reichstag Stand before the iconic German parliament building, its glass dome a beacon of transparency rising above a nation once cloaked in shadows.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe Navigate the haunting grid of 2,711 concrete slabs—a stark and powerful reminder of lives lost and the importance of remembrance.

Hitler’s Bunker Visit the unassuming plot where the Third Reich ended—now a space of reflection on the dangers of unchecked power and ideology.

Georg Elser Silhouette Pause at the silhouette memorial to a lone resistor who nearly changed history with his failed attempt to assassinate Hitler.

New Reich Chancellery Site Trace the foundations of a regime built on terror—now erased from the landscape but not from memory.

Berlin Wall & Topography of Terror Museum Stand before fragments of the Cold War’s most infamous divide and explore the chilling records of the SS and Gestapo’s brutal legacy.

Checkpoint Charlie Step into the tension of a divided world at this Cold War crossing, once the stage for spies, standoffs, and escape attempts.

Afternoon and Evening at Leisure

Optional Tours (at additional cost):

Cold War Monument – A deeper dive into Berlin’s espionage-laden past.

East Side Gallery – Art meets activism on the largest remaining section of the Berlin Wall, transformed into an open-air gallery.

Street Sign Memorial – Names in the sky; a tribute to deported Jews remembered through haunting signage.

Hackesche Höfe & Graffiti Tour – Explore the artistic soul of Berlin through its hidden courtyards and vibrant street art.

Overnight: Berlin, Germany

Day 3: Memory and Memorials

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Breakfast at hotel

Jewish Museum of Berlin Experience one of Europe’s most striking museums, a zig-zag of light and voids designed by Daniel Libeskind. A guided tour offers a profound exploration of Jewish life, loss, and legacy in Germany.

Lunch at Museum Café

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Walk through the gates of this former camp, where cruelty was systematized, and learn how memory and justice continue to be preserved.

Platform 17 Memorial at Grunewald Station Stand at the silent platform where thousands of Berlin’s Jews were deported to ghettos and camps. The rusted tracks and engraved dates bear witness to a dark journey.

Return to the hotel for an evening at leisure.

Overnight: Berlin, Germany

Day 4: From Wannsee to Dresden

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Breakfast at hotel

Wannsee Villa Visit the tranquil lakeside mansion where, chillingly, the “Final Solution” was coordinated. A serene setting masks the horror of genocide planned within.

Box Lunch en route to Dresden (3-hour drive)

Drive through the German countryside as the landscape transitions from the modern metropolis of Berlin to the baroque beauty of Dresden—a city once called the “Florence on the Elbe,” rising from the ashes of war.

Walking Tour of Jewish Dresden

Begin with a quiet moment at the Gedenkort Synagoge, a powerful tribute to the once-majestic Semper Synagogue destroyed during Kristallnacht. A shimmering outline of the former sanctuary etched in the earth offers silent testimony to a vibrant community erased—and remembered.

Check into hotel for an evening at leisure

Overnight: Dresden, Germany

Day 5: Layers of Light and Loss in Dresden

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Breakfast at hotel

Guided Tour of Old Town Dresden

Zwinger Palace – Enter a world of rococo grandeur, where sweeping staircases, elegant fountains, and world-class galleries echo the opulence of Saxon kings.

Semperoper – Behold the jewel of German opera houses, whose reconstructed elegance is a triumph of cultural resilience and artistic brilliance.

Frauenkirche – Step inside this stunning Lutheran church, meticulously rebuilt stone by stone after WWII bombings. Its dome, once a mountain of rubble, now soars as a symbol of peace, reconciliation, and divine grace.

Afternoon and evening at leisure.

Optional: Performance at the Dresden State Opera (Semperoper) Experience the magic of music in one of the world’s most celebrated opera houses, where soaring voices and sweeping scores come alive in a setting that’s a work of art itself.

Overnight: Dresden, Germany

Day 6: Memory in the Fortress Walls

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Breakfast at hotel

Visit to Theresienstadt (Terezín) Cross into the Czech Republic to explore the haunting legacy of Theresienstadt—part ghetto, part transit camp, part illusion. Within its fortress walls, you’ll walk streets where Jewish artists, scholars, and children struggled to preserve their dignity, creativity, and hope under the gaze of Nazi propaganda. Memorials, museum exhibits, and the silent echoes of prayer offer a deeply moving encounter with both suffering and spirit.

Return to Dresden with time to rest, reflect, or explore more of the city’s art, architecture, or riverfront serenity at your own pace.

Summary Session & Farewell Dinner Gather one last time to share reflections, revelations, and the profound emotional arc of the journey. Over a farewell dinner, raise a glass to memory, resilience, and the power of bearing witness together.

Overnight: Dresden, Germany

Day 7: Farewell to Germany

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Breakfast at hotel

Departure Flights Back to the USA Leave Germany carrying more than souvenirs—return home with stories, insights, and a deeper understanding of the past that shapes our collective future. The journey ends, but its lessons endure.

Accommodation

Hilton Berlin

We’re in the Mitte district, next to Gendarmenmarkt cathedrals and the Rausch chocolate shop. Select rooms offer Reichstag dome views, and our hotel features an indoor pool, fitness center, sauna, and spa. Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, and the Berlin Wall are within three kilometers.

Gewandhaus Dresden Marriot

Living luxury isn’t gold, champagne or expensive clothing. Living luxury is dedicated to what is good, what is real. It is found in the little things which surprise and delight us. In furnishings created by regional craftsmen, in steaks served in the restaurant which are allowed to mature in the meat safe until they reach perfection, in the cakes made by the hotel’s own patissiers.

*Star rating standards vary from country to country.

This experience is fully customizable. We will create your personal dream experience!

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7 day Journey Through Shadows and Light: A Jewish Heritage Exploration of Berlin & Dresden

Day by Day Suggested Program

Hilton Berlin

Gewandhaus Dresden Marriot

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