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Berlin

January 26, 2015

Berlin is one of the most popular destinations in Europe for city tours. It attracts a growing number of Israeli tourists, many coming to revisit the locations that define the city’s Jewish heritage.

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Berlin - Neue Synagoge
Berlin - Neue SynagogeImage: picture-alliance/ZB

Travel operators in the German capital offer tours catering to Israeli visitors, conducted in Hebrew. We joined one such group exploring Berlin’s Jewish heritage. The tour begins at the platform of Grunewald station, from where more than 50,000 people were taken away to ghettos and extermination camps – an emotionally charged location for visitors.

Another stop is in what used to be a heavily Jewish neighborhood of central Berlin – and also home to Otto Weidt, who employed Jews in his brush-making workshop to save them from deportation and certain death. The premises are now a museum. Finally: the Jewish Museum has a permanent exhibit documenting 2,000 years of German-Jewish history.

Berlin - Jewish History Tour