Live Tours are carried out by our hosts, who are outdoors, on location and connected live to you via video call at all times.
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French
- Duration60 Minutes
This tour begins in the heart of the former Jewish quarter of Berlin on Große Hamburger Str. At the site of the oldest Jewish cemetery of Berlin, we will `meet’ the world famous 18th century philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn and see the current Jewish high school named for him. Nearby is a rare remaining Baroque church where in the early 1700s the Jewish and Christian communities agreed to live peacefully side-by-side, giving this neighborhood the nickname “Tolerance Quarter.” There are traces of a missing house and a Jewish home for the elderly that was used in Nazi times as a pre-deportation prison.
Along the way we see Stolpersteine / Stumbling Blocks – a Europe-wide effort to remember those murdered in the Holocaust with brass plates in front of where they once lived. We’ll pass the home of the world’s first female rabbi, Regina Jonas, on the way to the magnificent golden-domed New Synagogue (1866). Albert Einstein played a violin concert here and today it is both museum and synagogue with an egalitarian service. The spectacular dome, re-built after the fall of the wall, is an important symbol for the Jewish community today. Next door, it’s tempting to have a virtual snack at the Israeli “Hummus and Friends” giving us a good chance to discuss the contemporary pluralistic community.
Features
Extras
Video
Location
Reviews (4)
Add Review
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hosted By Carolyn
I am a Canadian living in Berlin and have been a guide for Jewish Berlin since 1995. For me, guiding is way more than just “showing the sites” -- it is making history and personal stories real for my guests. For years I have worked with Holocaust survivors and their families and they have passed on their amazing stories of courage and fortitude. These have become part of the fabric of the tours I give.
I am also an author and have written two books with Holocaust survivors. One is called Twice Persecuted and is about Johanna Krause from Dresden who was persecuted both under the Nazis and again in East German times under the Communists. The other is called The Unwritten Diary of Israel Unger and tells the story of a young boy hiding from the Nazis in Tarnow, Poland. I have traveled throughout Jewish Europe and bring this context to my Berlin tours as well. You will feel my passion for Jewish Berlin in every step we take together.
Susan Lessin
17 September 2021 at 20:08There were 14 friends on Carolyn’s virtual walking tour of Jewish Berlin on September 12, 2021. We all thought that the tour was excellent and extremely informative. Her intimate and personable walking tour highlighted the many important buildings, memorials, and plazas of the Jewish area. She also told multiple interesting stories of resilience. Carolyn Gammon is enthusiastic, knowledgeable, engaging, and friendly. She has an extensive knowledge about the history of Jews in Germany and Berlin. Carolyn is very approachable and answered our many questions. She also told us about what life is like in present day Berlin. The Zoom format worked very well.
Helpful ReviewWe would recommend Carolyn without hesitation for a wonderful virtual walking tour of Jewish Berlin!
Susan, Northern California
Tristis Ward
18 January 2021 at 01:57Wonderful! This was a very engaging tour. It was informative and very well presented. We were able to interact with our host very easily, and she even threw in a song at the end. I was able to follow quite well where we were on the streets. She showed us details that I didn’t expect to see and also managed to capture the area as a whole in both its historical and architectural/cultural context. I certainly do recommend this tour.
Tristis Ward
Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada
Amazing virtual zoom friend tour guided by Carolyn in Berlin. An accomplished writer she shared a world of knowledge with much personality leading us on critical Holocaust issues & history. Highly recommended!
Leanne J. Fitch
Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada
The selection of sites and rich narrative made the history of the Jewish community in Berlin very real to me. As I listened to the stories of resilience and the concrete steps taken to come to terms with the holocaust, I kept thinking of the relevance of this path to our seeking of truth and reconciliation in Canada.
Maureen Toner
Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada
This was an excellent tour with Carolyn. I could listen to her talk all day. She is wise, interesting and clearly has a passion for what she does. I learned so much in the short time we were together. Looking forward to the next one.
Arlene Glencross
Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada
I was lucky enough to have a virtual tour with Carolyn. She was very professional, interesting and took her time as she walked us through the Jewish sights. As she was speaking she talked about the Ripples internment camp in New Brunswick where my Grandfather worked as a guard.
Helpful ReviewI would highly recommend this tour and would certainly join Carolyn on another tour. Money well spent!
Dianna Murray
Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada
Jennifer
15 November 2020 at 22:22Dan and Jennifer:
Our tour with Carolyn was extraordinary! The Zoom format worked amazingly well, providing us a unique and intimate view of Jewish history that many tourists will never experience. Carolyn’s extensive knowledge and storytelling ability are first-rate. We highly recommend this tour with Carolyn to all armchair travelers.
Gary and Sheryl add:
Helpful Review 2My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed Carolyn’s virtual tour of Jewish Berlin. She made us feel that we were walking with her as she showed us places and memorials that are not known to most visitors to the city.
Israel
14 November 2020 at 18:55My companion and I took the Jewish Berlin tour with Carolyn Gammon. I have been to Berlin several times and am familiar with the history of the Holocaust. My companion is not as well versed as I on the Nazi period and has never been to Berlin. The tour was beyond all expectation. I am so impressed with Carolyn’s knowledge not only of the history of the Holocaust but the general history of Berlin and Germany. Carolyn gave us a personalized tour. Carolyn was well prepared and has a very pleasing personality. We both learned from and enjoyed the tour.
Helpful Review 3