Munich & Nuremberg WW2 History School Trip

Day 1

Flight to Munich. Document Centre and Osteria Bavaria

Flight to Munich: On arrival you are met by your guide and transfer to your accommodation for check in.

National Socialism Document Centre: In the afternoon you can visit the new National Socialism Document Centre which records Munich’s role in the rise of the Nazi’s and the impact that this and the War had on the city.

Osteria Bavaria: This evening you could dine at the Osteria Italiano. This was previously known as the Osteria Bavaria and was Hitler’s favourite restaurant. Apart from the name, it has changed little since the 1930’s and the affable owner will show you to Hitler’s usual table if you ask.

Day 2

Munich Walking Tour and White Rose Tour

Munich Walking Tour: This morning you do a walking tour where you learn about the rise of the Nazi party and see scars left on the city from these dark days. It was here in Munich that the Nazi ideology developed. You learn how Hitler tried to overthrow the Bavarian government in 1923 with the failed Beerhall Putsch. You see the Feldherrnhalle in Odeonsplatz where the Nazis made a memorial to the failed putsch, and also the remains of the Ehrentempel – the Honour Temples – that he built for the Nazis who lost their lives in the Putsch. At Munich’s famous Hofbrauhaus you visit the first-floor banqueting room where Hitler gave many of his speeches during his rise to power.

White Rose Memorial: In the afternoon you visit the White Rose Memorial Museum at the Ludwig Maximillian University. On 18 February 1943, brother and sister Sophie and Hans Scholl were arrested while distributing the sixth White Rose leaflet in the University’s atrium. Their arrest marked the end for the White Rose resistance and they, along with several other members, were tried and executed. You continue to the Justizpalast to see Courtroom 253 where the actual trial took place at the Peoples Court, presided over by the notorious judge Roland Friesler, known as Hitler’s executioner.

Day 3

The Obersalzburg, The Berghof and the Eagles Nest

Berchtesgaden: This morning you drive from Munich to Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps, close to the Austrian border. The narrow streets in the pretty pedestrian zone are lined with pastel-coloured houses in the traditional alpine style, with restaurants, cafés and souvenir shops. Bavarian traditions and customs are preserved here and there is often typical Bavarian music and dancing in the town centre.

The Berghof: You visit the site of the Berghof, Hitler’s mountain retreat where he spent much time towards the end of the War and where he was so often filmed with Eva Braun. The Obersalzburg Document Centre which is close by gives a narrative of the events that took place here.

The Eagles Nest: One of the highlights of visiting Berchtesgaden is the chance to take a trip to the Kehlsteinhaus restaurant and viewpoint, known in English as the Eagles Nest. This was once one of Hitler’s favourite retreats, gifted to him by Martin Boorman and the Nazi Party for his 50th birthday, and it has a superb panoramic view over the Alpine foothills.

Day 4

Dachau Concentration Camp. Travel to Nuremberg

Dachau Concentration Camp: This morning you visit the concentration camp at Dachau. This was the first such camp established by the Nazis after Hitler became Chancellor in 1933. Originally it held German Communists and other opponents of the Nazi regime, but it was subsequently expanded to hold Jewish prisoners, particularly after Kristallnacht, many of whom were deported to other camps in the East. Tens of thousands of prisoners were murdered here until the camp was liberated by the Americans in April 1945. As such, it was the first Nazi concentration camp to open and the last to be closed. The original barracks were demolished long ago but two have been reconstructed and the original crematoriums and ovens still remain at the far end of the camp, near the religious memorials.

Travel to Nuremberg: In the afternoon you travel to Nuremburg and before dinner can spend time explore the quaint old town with its traditional half-timbered buildings.

Day 5

Nazi Party Parade Grounds and Nuremberg War Trials

Nazi Parade Grounds:  This morning you visit the Zeppelinfeld, the huge parade ground used by the Nazis for their triumphalist marches and rallies of the 1930’s. The site has not changed significantly since the end of the War and is now periodically used for car racing and music festivals. As well as the main parade ground and grandstand, you can visit the Congress Hall and the informative Document Centre with its permanent exhibition detailing the rise of the Nazi Party and the history of the rallies that took place here.

Nuremberg War Trials: In the afternoon you return to the city and visit the Courtroom 600 where the Nuremberg War Trials took place in 1946. The building still functions as a court and the opening times are subject to court scheduling. There is an informative museum and document centre which also has small observation windows where the press & visitors’ gallery once stood during the International Military Tribunal, that look down into the courtroom and can give a glimpse into Courtroom 600 on days of ongoing trials. Assuming no trials are in session, the courtroom can be visited. Renovation work has changed the appearance only slightly since 1946 and the locations where the defendants and judges were seated can all be identified.

Flight Home:  In the evening you transfer to the airport for your homeward flight.