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Fall of the Third Reich Tour

YOUR TOUR INCLUDES:

Day 1: 22 June (Munich)

Welcome to our Fall of the Third Reich tour, and a fascinating study of one of the world’s most evil empires. This evening the group will come together in Munich. We will enjoy a welcome drink in our hotel followed by dinner, an opportunity to get to know our travelling companions, Historian and Tour Manager better. (D)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Central Munich hotel - Welcome drink - Welcome dinner

Day 2: 23 June (Munich)

Munich was known as the birthplace of the Nazi Party, and we will spend the day exploring this famous city. In the morning we will enjoy an orientation tour around the city’s historic sites, learning more about Munich’s rich history. After free time for lunch, Mike Peters will take us on a walking tour of some of the key sites in Munich associated with the early days of the Nazis. We will see the Odeonsplatz, the central square in Munich, where a young Adolf Hitler was photographed in 1914 amongst a huge crowd that had assembled to celebrate the declaration of the First World War. We will also visit the scene of the street fighting that ended the 1923 ‘Beer Hall Putsch’, Hitler’s failed attempt to overthrow the German government. We will also visit the beer hall where the Putsch began, and the former headquarters of the Nazi Party in Munich. Tonight we will enjoy dinner at the Hofbräuhaus, the most famous beer hall in the world. It was here in 1920 that Adolf Hitler held several important public meetings, including one in which he outlined his 25-point plan that formed the basis for the Nazi Party. We will dine in the very room where Hitler held these public meetings. (B, D)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Guiding services of Mike Peters, an expert on the Third Reich - Munich orientation tour - Walking tour of Munich's Third Reich sites - Dinner at the Hofbräuhaus beer hall, in the room where Hitler held public meetings

Day 3: 24 June (Munich)

Today we will leave Munich and travel to Dachau, the first official concentration camp established by the Nazis. The camp was built in 1933 and over the next 12 years was mainly used to house political prisoners and prisoners of war. Despite not being an extermination camp, it is estimated that more than 40,000 inmates died in the camp, mostly from disease and malnutrition. During this sobering visit we will see the remains of the camp where prisoners were housed, the chambers where prisoners were disinfected and the crematorium where the bodies of inmates were disposed of. We will then return to Munich where our afternoon and evening is free. (B)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Full day escorted touring

Day 4: 25 June (Munich to Berchtesgaden)

This morning we farewell Munich and drive into the Bavarian Alps to the picturesque town of Berchtesgaden. From the 1920s Berchtesgaden was the holiday retreat of the key leaders of the Nazi Party and Hitler, Goering, Bormann and Speer all had houses here. The stunning mountain town was where many of the crucial decisions that shaped the direction of World War Two were made and we will spend two days exploring key sites that still remain in the area. On arrival at Berchtesgaden we will climb a narrow alpine road to the Eagle’s Nest, the mountaintop retreat that was a given to Hitler as a gift to celebrate his 50th birthday in 1939. Ironically, Hitler was afraid of heights and only visited the Eagle’s Nest about 20 times. The building is an engineering marvel, built in less than 13 months on a rocky mountain outcrop. A bronze lift travels 130 metres to reach the building, which is almost unchanged since the war. On arrival at the Eagle’s Nest we will enjoy a guided tour and lunch in the restaurant, the same room where Hitler hosted visiting dignitaries. In the afternoon we will return to Berchtesgaden where will check into our central hotel and enjoy a free evening to explore the town. (B, L)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Tour and lunch at the Eagle's Nest - Central Berchtesgaden hotel

Day 5: 26 June (Berchtesgaden)

Today we will explore the compound known as the Obersalzberg, where Hitler, Goering and other Nazi leaders had houses. This was one of the most exclusive retreats in the Nazi empire and was not open to the public during the war. Only the most senior members of the Nazi Party and visiting VIP guests were allowed access. The compound was badly damaged during the war and the remaining ruins were destroyed by order of the Bavarian government in 1952, however there are still a number of interesting sites associated with the Nazis to explore. We will begin with a visit to the Documentation Centre, an excellent museum that chronicles the Nazi association with the region. We will also visit the remains of key buildings from the former Nazi complex including a series of underground tunnels and bunkers, and the site of Hitler’s holiday house, the Berghof. Following this fascinating visit, we will return to Berchtesgaden in time for lunch and a free afternoon. (B)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Tour of the Obersalzberg complex

Day 6: 27 June (Berchtesgaden to Nuremberg)

This morning we farewell the Alps and drive onwards to our next destination, Nuremberg. The Nazis saw Nuremberg, with its rich Germanic history, as a city that represented all the ideals of the regime, and it was therefore selected as the site of the huge Nazi Party rallies of the 1930s. Hundreds of thousands of visitors would descend on the city for a week-long celebration of National Socialism, during which Hitler and other key leaders of the Party would deliver stirring speeches. To accommodate the crowds, Hitler instructed his key architect, Albert Speer, to build the huge Nazi Party Rally Grounds that came to symbolise the ideals of the Third Reich. After the war, Nuremberg was a fitting site for the War Crimes trials that condemned many of the Nazi leaders to death. On arrival in Nuremberg we will enjoy lunch, before touring the chambers where the War Crime trials were held in 1946. During these proceedings the full horror of the Holocaust was revealed to the world. In the afternoon we will check into our central hotel. Our evening is free. (B, L)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Tour of the Nuremberg War Crimes trials rooms - Lunch - Central Nuremberg hotel

Day 7: 28 June (Nuremberg)

Today we will visit key sites associated with the Nazi Party in Nuremberg. A highlight of the day will be a walking tour around the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, taking in the sites where Hitler and other senior Nazis were filmed leading the famous rallies of the 1930s in front of tens of thousands of adoring citizens. The buildings that remain are only a fraction of the dozens of pavilions, stadiums and arenas that were once here. We will also visit the museum on the site that details the history of the rallies. We will return to Nuremberg and enjoy a free afternoon exploring the city. (B)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Walking tour of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds

Day 8: 29 June (Nuremberg to Berlin)

This morning we farewell Nuremberg and drive to Berlin, the capital of both the Third Reich and modern Germany. On arrival we will check into our hotel and enjoy a sightseeing tour of the city’s key attractions including the Brandenburg Gate, the Tiergarten, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz and more. This evening we will enjoy dinner in our hotel. (B, D)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Sightseeing tour of Berlin - Central Berlin hotel - Dinner

Day 9: 30 June (Berlin)

This morning begins with a drive to Wannsee Villa, on the outskirts of Berlin. In January 1942 a conference was held by senior members of the SS at this lakeside retreat to determine how best to implement the ‘Final Solution’, the rounding up and transporting of Jews to extermination camps. Today the villa houses an excellent interpretive centre that details the conference and other aspects of the Holocaust. In the afternoon we will see the results of this terrible conference when we visit Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Opened in 1936, the camp was originally intended to house political prisoners, but by the early-1940s was also housing prisoners of war, homosexuals and Jews, as well as criminals including murderers and rapists. Even though the camp was not designated as an extermination camp, mass murders were carried out in Sachsenhausen throughout the war and in 1943 the commandant installed gas chambers which were used to kill Jewish prisoners. More than 30,000 prisoners died at Sachsenhausen. Following the war the camp was used by the Soviets to house political prisoners and Germans who had been captured during the war. The camp was finally closed in 1950, after a further 12,000 prisoners of the Soviets had perished. At the end of this sobering day we will return to our hotel for dinner. (B, D)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Full day escorted touring - Dinner

Day 10: 1 July (Berlin)

Our final day in the footsteps of the Nazis will take in many of the key sites in Berlin associated with the Third Reich. We will begin with a visit to the Topography of Terror Museum, which details life under the Nazis and the crimes committed during the war in occupied Europe. In the afternoon Mike Peters will take us on a walking tour of the historic centre of Berlin where we see key sites associated with the Third Reich including the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the Reichstag and the site of the Fueherbunker, where Hitler committed suicide in April 1945. This evening we will come together for a farewell dinner. (B, D)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Topography of Terror museum - Walking tour of Berlin Third Reich sites - Farewell dinner

Day 11: 2 July (Berlin)

Sadly our tour ends this morning after breakfast. (B)

STAR INCLUSIONS: Assistance with hotel check out


IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour in no way endorses or glorifies the crimes commited by the Nazis. This tour is only available to travellers who wish to study the rise and fall of the Nazi Party in the context of world history. Travellers who wish to join the tour for political reasons will be refused.

WHAT ARE STAR INCLUSIONS?: 'Star Inclusions' are the extra things we provide each day that make your tour really special. You don't pay extra for Star Inclusions - they are included in the tour cost, and many of them are exclusive to Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours.

Spend some more time in Munich or Berlin before or after your tour! Pre- and post-tour accommodation is available at discounted rates.

*Per person, twin share, land only. Single supplement: $1297. Ask about our airfare deals, which offer great discounts when booked in conjunction with our tours.