My family and I had a fantastic tour yesterday with Jeremy Minsberg, “The Berlin Expert.” He truly is an expert, and he made our time with him so enjoyable. We spent 4.5 hours with him, touring a variety of WWII and Cold War sites and the time flew by. We all said afterwards, that we had learned a lot of new things, as well as experiencing in person, places that we previously had heard about. It was an incredibly special time. Jeremy is very personable, easy to be with and articulate. We highly recommend that anyone visiting Berlin, arrange a tour with him! We could not have been happier!
Posted by
PVD
5 posts
Thanks for sharing. I had a similar experience with Holger Zimmer. So If Jeremy Minsberg isn't available, give Holger a try.
Posted by
Southeast US, soon to be Kentucky
4362 posts
Jeremy is great and gets excellent reviews here. But I like to offer one more alternative that I think is truly exceptional. If you want Berlin history from someone who lived it... think about Robert Sommer. He grew up in East Germany and was the 15-year-old punk rocker son of a high-ranking East German bureaucrat when the Berlin Wall fell. He was a squatter after reunification and fought with Nazis and the police. Then he realized that life wasn't working out so well for him and got a PhD in history, literally writing the book on forced sexual labor in concentration camps. But he's still a remarkably approachable guy.
What was it like growing up in East Berlin? What happened to him the night the Berlin Wall fell? What was the first thing he bought in West Berlin? What was the capitalist product he held out the longest on trying? What did he fear the most in punk rocker-Nazi fights?
I know I come across as somewhere between a fanboy and a shill, but I'm on this forum to help people get the best experience on their trip. For the intellectually curious person who wants more than the victor's history of Berlin, I don't see how any guide could supply that better than Robert.