Hitler Year and War

Start your visit on the Bebelplatz (near Unter den Linden) where the Autodafé memorial is located, a glass plate placed among the paving stones of the square, reminiscent of the place where, in 1933, the Nazis burned books by Jewish authors or those considered depraved. Then head for the Reichstag, on Republic Square (Platz der Republik), the seat of Parliament that was partially burned down on 27 February 1933 by far-right militants. It has since been rebuilt and it is possible to visit its magnificent glass dome for free. Then go to the Brandenburg Gate, where Karl Friedrich Schinkel's famous quadrige, led by the Victory, initially turned towards the city, is located as a sign of peace. Hitler had it moved outwards to signify his conquests. Next to the Brandenburg Gate, under the Holocaust Memorial, was Hitler's bunker (where he allegedly committed suicide). Contrary to popular rumours, Hitler's bunker was blown up in 1947; the entrances were blocked with concrete reinforcement, so you can no longer see anything there and the site cannot be visited. Continue on rue du 17-Juin, towards the Siegessäule. This column, originally located on the Königsplatz, opposite the Reichstag - and symbolizing the various victories of the Prussian Empire - was moved to its present location in 1938 by Hitler. Its purpose was to install it on a very busy axis (between Unter den Linden and the Exhibition Centre) in order to assert Germany's triumph. Finally, push further west to the Olympiastadion and Waldbühne, built under Hitler and reflecting Nazi architecture and excess. It was in this stadium that the 1936 Olympic Games were held.

The visit begins on Unter den Linden, at the Neue Wache, a work of Schinkel, today a memorial for the victims of war and tyranny. Then go to Stresemannstraße, No. 110, where the permanent exhibition "Topography of Terrors" on repression in Germany is located in the former annex building of the Gestapo. Continue towards Potsdamer Platz, via the Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (memorial in honour of the murdered Jews of Europe) and visit the German Resistance Memorial (Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand) on Stauffenbergstraße, nos. 13-14 (next to the Kulturforum). There is also a monument to the failed attack on Hitler (in the courtyard) and a permanent exhibition on German resistance to the Nazi regime (on the 2nd floor). Finally, we go to the Remembrance Church (Kaiser-Wilhlem-Gedächtniskirche) on Breitscheidplatz (U-Bahn Zoologischer Garten or Kurfürstendamm). Built in memory of the founder of the German Empire, it was half destroyed by the 1943 bombings. It now serves as a memorial to the war. From there, head to Tegel Airport to visit the Plötzensee Memorial. It is located in the Hüttigpfad. It is a former prison where hundreds of political opponents and resistance fighters were tortured and executed between 1933 and 1945. On site, there are good explanatory brochures in several languages.

Get to Wannsee with the S 1. Visit the Haus der Wannsee Konferenz on Grossen Wannsee 56-58 (take bus # 114 to Haus der Konferenz at the exit of the S-Bahn). This was where the conference of 20 January 1942 on the final solution took place. Free admission. Prendez the S-Bahn S 7 to visit Potsdam, to visit the Mémorial 54 memorial, which is located at 54-55 de la Lindenstraße in the Potsdam-Museum. Once a prison for political opponents during the Nazi period, there is now a documentation centre on political justice in Potsdam. Take advantage of the former KGB prison on the Friedricht-Ebert-Straße 53 in Potsdam.

A visit to the Sachsenhausen Memorial in Oranienburg on the Rue des Nations is a harrowing experience (sensitive souls abstain). To get there, take the S 1 towards Oranienburg and walk a few minutes. This concentration camp dating back to 1936 will serve as a model for the other Nazi camps. It was in operation until 1945; more than 200 000 victims from across Europe were deported. Sachsenhausen then became a camp of internment under Soviet occupation.

On the Avenue du 17-Juin is the memorial in honour of the Soviet soldiers who died in the Second World War. Then take the S9 from Friedrichstraße towards Schönefeld and get off at Treptower Park to visit the Soviet memorial in honour of the Red Army soldiers who died in 1945 and to Stalin's glory (Sowjetisches Ehrenmal). Then head to the Lichtenberg district to visit the Berlin-Karlshorst Museum (Deutsch-Russisches Museum Berlin-Karlshorst). At the end of the Second World War, Red Army headquarters moved into this barracks. It was there that the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed on May 8, 1945.