Private tour in Berlin Lee E
5.0
(3) reviews
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Lee E.
5.0
Guide rating
8
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12 hrs
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Welcome to Europe's greatest city! Some people read about Berlin's history. I watched it happen — and I've been here so long, the city has stopped feeling like my adopted home and started feeling like my accomplice. Bertolt Brecht said it best: "You are never born a Berliner, you become one." By that measure, I'm about as Berliner as it gets. I was here before the Wall came down — and I was here the day it did. I've watched this city transform from the front lines of the Cold War into the cultural capital of Europe, and I've made it my life's work to share that story with travelers who want more than a selfie at the Brandenburg Gate. My credentials are a little unusual. Rick Steves personally trained me as a guide and travel writer — I led tours for his company and spent years researching his Germany guidebook. I still contribute regularly to the Fodor's series, covering Eastern and Northern Germany. Before all that, I spent eight years running the German Railroad's Eurail Aid Office, untangling the chaos of European rail travel for thousands of visitors. I hold an MA in Contemporary European History, studied Art History in Florence, Jewish Studies in Munich, and attended Charles University in Prague. I'm a certified guide at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial, served as a Board Member of the Berlin Historical Association, and the founder and first President of the Berlin Guide Federation — because I care enough about this craft to have built an organization around improving it. Several embassies trust me to quietly guide their VIP guests through the city. I'll leave it at that. But here's what none of that paperwork tells you: I'm genuinely fun to spend a day with. History doesn't have to be a lecture. Berlin's story is wild, strange, tragic, and triumphant — and I know how to tell it. Every tour I run is tailored to you: your interests, your pace, your questions. I don't do cookie-cutter. Time is precious, and I treat it that way. A few practical notes: I am not a driver, but I can join you in your vehicle or arrange a car and driver separately. Berlin gets hectic in summer — please reach out before you book so we can make sure we're a great fit.
Have a question or want to customize this tour? Message Lee E.
Built in the forests north of Berlin 1936 as the model camp, in terms of design and administration, and HQ of the entire concentration camp system, Sachsenhausen played a pivotal role in Holocaust history. The camp originally served to reeducate political prisoners and to house long term hostage prisoners; European royalty, politicians, Stalin's stepson, relatives of Churchill, and would be assassins of Hitler. Prisoners became the property of the Nazi state; a resource to be bought and sold as slave labor until death. Nazi pioneered the use of gas vans and chambers on the edges of the camp, originally to eliminate Soviet prisoners of war. In 9 years, more than 200, 000 prisoners passed through the gates of the camp. and more than 30, 000 never left the camp alive. The Soviets in East Germany continued to use the camp into the 1950s.
A visit to a concentration camp-like Sachsenhausen is a deeply personal experience and you shouldn't make the decision to visit lightly. Before booking, please contact me. We can organize an itinerary that is best for you and your interests. During your guided tour, you'll learn the history and the horrors of camp life On this tour we typically cover - The troop camp and Casino - Tower A and registration yard - The Jewish Barracks - The Counterfeiters - The Gestapo prison - Work and daily routine and the boot testing track - The kitchen block exhibition of camp history and artifacts (opened 2010) - Station Z gas chamber, furnaces, the killing trench, and barracks - The industrial yard and 'boot factory' where Auschwitz's victims' possessions were sorted - The hospital and pathology blocks I am more than willing to customize this tour according to your preferences, please contact me for a customized tour
Tell your guide which places matter to you, skip what doesn't, and tailor the experience for your group's needs. Not finding what you want? Message your guide to build something unique.
We use the train or the S-Bahn to reach Oranienburg. The memorial is a short bus ride away.
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Airport: ,Cruise: ,ByGuide: this is a private tour, we can start at any time and at any place in Berlin: usually in front of your hotel.
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If your tour is valued over $200 USD and booked at least 45 days before the tour date, you can book with a deposit!
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