berlin and munich for a WWII buff

I suggest a walking tour. When I was in Berlin this month, I took the "Third Reich" tour from Original Berlin Walks. The guide covered the major Nazi sites in about four hours. She was a native German (not all guides are; some are American ex-pats) and gave us additional perspective about her family's involvement in the war (her grandfather had been in the SS).

I also visited Potsdam on my own and visited the Cecilienhof Palace, the site of the Potsdam Conference that took place just after the war. The palace itself is not very impressive, but you get to see the room where Truman, Stalin, and Churchill (or Attlee) nailed down the final arrangements for post-war borders in Europe that laid the seeds for the Cold War.

Keep something in mind. WWII is not memorialized in Germany, the same way, for example, the Civil War is in the American South. Most of the legacy of the war is what ISN'T there, not what remains. The only monuments you generally see are the rather small and sombre memorials that many towns erect that usually list the names of the local citizens who died in the war. Most of the structures built by Third Reich were demolished, and of those that remain, many are now used for other purposes (see, for example, Haus der Kunst in Munich). The Third Reich-themed tours I've read about generally guide you around "non-sites" that now contain no trace of the structure of historical importance, such as the now obliterated Reichskanslerei and Fürherbunker complexes in Berlin and the Braunes Haus, Ehrentempel and the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich. Near Munich, however, you can visit the remains of Dachau's concentration camp. Hitler's Berghof complex in Berchtesgaden is gone (everything down to the foundations were destroyed and removed), but you can still visit Kehlsteinhaus (referred to incorrectly as the "Eagle's Nest" in English).

Generally, if you're looking for this kind of stuff, you find more remaining structures in Nürnberg, Heidelberg, the Eifel region, the North Sea and Baltic coasts, and some remains of the Seigfried line in the state of Rhineland-Pfaltz. Munich and Berlin are more "here's where it happened, but nothing remains."

Oh, and I forgot the bride head at Remagen. That's still there and there's a museum on site.

Berlin is filled with history in many forms. Take a tour of the Reichstag - restored with the theme of "living history". Russian graffiti has been preserved, new artwork commemorating WWII installed. Another must-do for history buffs is the Deutsches Historisches Museum which includes a large collection about WWII. There's even a special 90 minute tour on this topic.

For Berlin, suggest going out to Track 17, visit Wannsee, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbruch, the Olympic Stadium, and then do some 3rd Reich walking tours. I have had good luck touring with Insider Tours. Have been on 4 different ones and will go on a 5th one this summer when I am in Berlin again. There are also bunker tours, tours of the Flak tower, etc.

If your are still "thinking" about where to visit, I would suggest including Nuremberg (Palace of Justice and Nazi Rally Grounds) and Berchtesgaden (Documentation Center and Eagle's Nest). With a focus on WWII sites, Nuremberg can be an approximate one-day stop between Munich and Berlin. We did that in May of last year, arriving from Salzburg at 1:00 p.m. one day and departing for Berlin around at 5:00 p.m. the next. If you stay near the Hauptbahnhof (say, on Konigstrasse, where there are a number of very good hotels - we stayed at Hotel Victoria, which I would recommend), you can easily catch the U-bahn to the Palace of Justice, or a tram to the Rally Grounds. We went to the former when we arrived, because it was pouring rain. The next morning, we went to the Rally Grounds and the documentation center. Nuremberg is very doable by yourself (the RS Germany guide gives excellent directions). You could spend one of your "Munich days" visiting Berchtesgaden. We took the tour offered by "Eagle's Nest Tours", which I would highly recommend. Munich is, of course, rich in sites (or "non-sites" as mentioned above by Tom) related to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party, and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial is located nearby. In Berlin, the 'Topography of Terror' is a must-see. Hitler's former bunker complex is a parking lot with a sign showing what the complex looked like. Several hallways in the Reichstag (book a 90-minute tour on-line) have the preserved writing of Russian soldiers (name, home town, date, and sometimes some personal messages for the Nazis). It's hard to imagine that this is the same building that was burned in 1933, and had an estimated 1 million exterior bullet/shrapnel scars from some of the fiercest fighting of the war; it has been magnificently renovated. The parliament chamber and the dome are spectacular. Bebelplatz is the site of the 1933 book burnings; there is a window in the pavement that allows you to look into an underground library. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, with the pillars above ground and the exhibition below, is located near the Brandenburg Gate. The Jewish Museum documents the history of the Jews in Germany as well as the Holocaust. I think that there is also one remaining Flak Tower/Communication Tower complex in Berlin (the one in the Tiergarten was demolished). As Ms. Jo mentioned, the Sachsenhausen and Ravensbruck Concentration Camp Memorials, as well as the villa where the Wannsee Conference was held, are also located near Berlin. Of course, this list is far from exhaustive but covers a lot of sites in Berlin that should be of interest to a WWII buff.

sasigler,

You've received lots of excellent suggestions so far! While there might not be a lot remaining, there's still plenty of WWII sites to see in Berlin and Munich (and other locations). In terms of "best sites" for him to see, I'd suggest having a look at Guidebooks and online to find out what looks most interesting. He will have to prioritize as there's no way he'll be able to see everything.

For some "World War II history" and "Nazi history" are synonymous, and while there's certainly a lot of overlap, they are not the same thing. To help focus your visit, you will want to make this distinction. For instance, a visit to Nuremberg has lots to teach about Nazi history, but not so much about the war itself. And in a further distinction, the focus in Nuremberg is not on the Holocaust, but other aspects of Nazism.

You will certainly want to budget as much time as possible for the German History Museum in Berlin.

I agree with the suggestions of walking tours. In Munich, I took a Third Reich Walking tour, and learned that many buildings with Nazi associations (like the place where Hitler joined the Nazi party) are still standing, albeit unmarked (at last partly for fear that they will become neo-Nazi rallying spots).

With due respect to Harold's comments, I agree that 'Nazi history' and 'WWII history' may not be 100% synonymous, but they are inextricably linked in the case of Germany. So, if you are talking about the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, then that is not 'WWII history' in the strictest sense. However, understanding the conditions that existed in post-WWI Germany, how Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power, and the events that led up to WWII are certainly part of the overall history of the conflict. One other point is that although the focus on Nuremberg may not be the Holocaust per se, the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 are linked to the Holocaust because they defined 'racial purity' from the Nazi point of view. Moreover, Nuremberg was the home of Julius Streicher, whose publication 'Der Stuermer' fanned the flames of anti-Semitism and was a key component of the Nazi propaganda machine. And, lastly, the Nuremberg Trials are certainly linked to the Holocaust in relation to the conviction and execution of Streicher and others for 'crimes against humanity'.

I'm not sure when you're planning to visit, but the new Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism is slated to open in April 2015.

Sasigler: I visited Berlin and Munich last fall. I very much enjoyed the German History Museum in Berlin; where, they had a series of exhibits that outlined the rise of the National Socialist party after WWI from a social, cultural, and economic perspective. I believe it clearly underscored those factors that led to WWII. I also visited the Topography of Terror museum which explained what the Nazis did after they came to power. Regrettably, I was not able to get out to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp which is near Berlin. I would devote a full day to these two museums--there is a lot to see and to think about. To Germany's credit, they do not hide from their history; however, they don't shout about it from the rooftops, either.

In Munich, I most definitely recommend spending the large part of one day at the Dachau concentration camp. The exhibits explain the rise of the concentration camp system and the various types of camps. If possible, get there early enough to sign up for an English tour. Our guide was excellent and extremely knowledgeable; and, a tour made the experience that much more meaningful.

Hi,

If your husband is well read on the subject of WW II military history and Nazi history, then I would suggest foregoing the tours, track down the sites on your own, good number are listed above, such as Plötzensee Memorial and the Resistance Museum, located close to the HI hostel, the Soviet memorials (also one in Berlin-Pankow). the war museum in Berlin-Karlshorst (the same building where the Soviets received the German surrender). There are remnants of the Flaktürme (towers for ack ack guns) near the Berlin Gesundbrunnen train station,

To see a military event museum and memorial, spend a day going out to Seelow, museum, cemetery, and battle field sites. Only the map standing outside has English with the German, do not know about the museum and English explanations. Not there when I saw it. It's day trip because you need to take the train from Berlin Hbf to Frankfurt an der Oder, then transfer to the S-Bahn.

You can do as Fred says and tour most of the sites on your own without a tour. However, keep in mind that some sites are only open WITH a tour. This is especially true for the Reichstag. You have to prebook a tour in advance to get inside. As you can imagine, there's no other way for security reasons.

I would suggest you look up "3rd Reich in Ruins" on the internet. Look at Munich. Many of the buildings used by the Nazis are still there.

My suggestion too: http://www.thirdreichruins.com/

Robert’s comments about sites are spot-on. To underline just a few of his suggestions: Nuremberg (Palace of Justice and Nazi Rally Grounds—we went to the documentation center then to the Tribune where we climbed to the top and spent some time imagining what happened on that spot—if you’re able walk the grounds so you can really sense the scale of the place), Berlin Topography of Terror (read every panel ), Berlin Reichstag (the only “tour” I’d suggest, but get an admission ticket on line for a tour well in advance of when you’ll be there—we had a ticket and still just about didn’t get in—arrive an hour in advance of your tour time), Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial (my wife and I spent a half-day at this site alone, but we read just about everything that was in English). I also second Robert’s comments about getting an understanding of post WW I Germany and the conditions that lead to the Nazi Party’s rise to power