The Battle for Berlin was the decisive action that brought an end to the war in Europe. The tour will focus on the fierce and bitter action from the point when the Red Army approached the Oder River to the eventual fall of Berlin. Our first two nights will be on the edge of the destroyed city of Kustrin with the remaining nights spent in Berlin, a city that has arguably been through more change than any other in Europe over the last 50 years. Whilst both cities were virtually flattened during the Second World War, despite its division during the Cold War, Berlin has now become a vibrant, bustling and culturally rich metropolis. Eight times bigger than Paris, the city is home to endless galleries and museums, and displays a wide range of architecture, which can be explored to enrich your experience of this magnificent city. Importantly for this trip, in particular, the city doesn’t hold back in memorialising and documenting its turbulent past, leaving plenty to be discovered.

After crossing the Oder it took the Red Army just over three months to advance 100km and take the city. ‘Fortress Berlin’, as Goebbels named it, was to be defended at all costs. The first line of defence at the Seelow Heights, some 90km east of Berlin, took Zhukov’s armies four days, with heavy losses, to break through. However once cleared it left the Red Army free to encircle the city and prepare the coup de grâce.

Berlin was defended by roughly 45,000 regular troops supplemented by the Police, the Hitler Youth and Volkssturm (essentially the German version of the Home Guard). The fighting began with a ferocious artillery barrage, adding to the already devastating destruction of the city. Although defended stoically, the continuous waves of Soviet attacks, the Germans’ limited resources and the brutal house to house fighting meant there was only going to be one outcome and the city finally surrendered on 2nd May 1945, nine days after the Russians had entered. The War in Europe was as good as over.

Day 1: Arrival
Fly London to Berlin and drive to Frankfurt an der Oder to check-in to our hotel for two nights. Introductory talk. (D).

Day 2: Russians approach the Oder
Driving into Poland we explore the fascinating Ostwall bunker complex, mainly constructed pre-war and which due to lack of manpower was unable to provide significant resistance to the advancing Russians. Here we will explore the underground tunnels, walk 700m of extant ‘dragon’s teeth’ and visit the museum. Returning to Kostrzyn we discuss its desperate and ultimately futile defence amidst the eerie ruins of the Altstadt and the remains of its extant fortifications. (B,D).

Day 3: Battle of Seelow Heights
Today we discover Marshal Zhukov’s command bunker and follow the Russian advance on the Seelow Heights, the last defensive line outside Berlin. Here an impressive museum documents the battle in detail, exhibiting several examples of Russian armour and artillery and offers great views of the battleground itself. Continue to Berlin to check-in to our hotel for four nights. (B,L,D).

Day 4: Battle for Berlin
A full day exploring the city by U-Bahn and on foot: the German Resistance Museum set in the Bendler Block where Operation Valkyrie was plotted and where Colonel Stauffenburg was shot; the Tiergarten with its Soviet Memorial; cross the Moltke Bridge, traverse the Koenigsplatz and view the impressive Reichstag building; the Brandenburg Gate; the Holocaust Memorial; and the site of the Fuhrer bunker. This evening is free for you to find your own restaurant. (B).

Day 5: Surrender
Another day exploring the city by U-Bahn and on foot: Plotzensee prison where so many who resisted against the regime were imprisoned and subsequently executed; the extant defences at the Humboldthain Flak tower and bunker ; Treptow Park, which commemorates the soldiers of the Red Army; and the fascinating Russo-German museum on the site of Germany’s surrender at Karlshorst. (B,D).

Day 6: Potsdam
A brief visit to Grunewald station, a major site for the deportation of Berlin Jews. Visit Wannsee Conference Villa where the ‘Final Solution’ was planned; the Cecilienhof Palace, host to the Potsdam Conference in 1945, where the ‘Big Three’ met to decide the fate of Germany and the post-war boundaries for the rest of war-torn Europe*. Our day ends at the immense 1936 Olympic complex including the stadium, the Bell Tower boasting fine views over the city and the haunting Langemarckhalle: these are arguably the best examples of National Socialist architecture in Berlin. We make a brief stop at the iconic Templehof Airport, one of the most imposing Nazi era buildings in existence, before returning to the hotel. (B,D).

Day 7: Command
On our last day we travel to Wunsdorf, home to the OKW and OKH and post-war Soviet forces, where we venture underground to explore the vast complex of tunnels of the Zeppelin bunker and above ground see the curious missile shaped Winkel air-raid shelters. Continue to Brandenburg airport for our return flights home (or extend your stay in Germany). (B).

* Please note that the Cecilienhof Palace is closed for renovations and we will visit it if open