Tour Into the Shadows of the Third Reich
Berlin’s Hidden WWII Sites
From €549
5 Hours
ENG & DE
Private Tour
Most of what you'll see on this tour isn't secret. You probably know that Germany surrendered in Berlin, ending the war in Europe. You may know the Nazis planned to rebuild the city as a colossal capital called Germania. But where are these places?
This tour brings you to them. Have you ever wanted to stand in the room where Germany signed its unconditional surrender? Or see the flak towers buried beneath a public park?
Led by a specialist historian, this private tour takes you to seven of Berlin's most significant WWII sites — the hidden ones most visitors never reach. Not one.
Tour Highlights:
Humboldthain Flak Towers — An enormous concrete air-defence tower, built on Hitler's order in 1940.
Moabit Freight Station — Around 30,000 Jews were deported from these tracks between 1942 and 1944.
Plötzensee Prison — The Nazi regime's main execution site for its opponents.
The Schwerbelastungskörper — A 12,650-tonne concrete cylinder built to test whether Berlin's ground could carry Hitler's planned triumphal arch for Germania.
SA Prison Papestraße — A basement turned into a prison in the first months of Nazi rule, in 1933, before the camp system existed. The original prisoner graffiti is still on the walls — the most authentic early terror site in Berlin.
Tempelhof Airport — Designed as the gateway to Germania and still one of the largest buildings on earth. In 1948, it became the lifeline to keep West Berlin alive.
Museum Berlin-Karlshorst — The room where Germany signed its unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The furniture, the flags, the layout — preserved exactly as they were that night.
What You Will Discover
How the machinery of the Nazi state actually worked— air defence, deportation, execution, architecture, terror— at the places where it happened, not behind museum glass.
Why do these sites belong together? A flak tower, a freight yard, an execution room and a surrender room aren't isolated curiosities; they're one connected history, and a specialist can show you the threads.
How the war in Europe ended — in a specific room, on a specific night — told in the room where it happened.
A picture of Nazi Berlin that reaches past the famous sites— and the orientation to understand what you're actually looking at when you reach these places.
Can't Find a Date That Works?
Tour Itinerary
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![Humboldthain Flak Tower in Berlin, a surviving Second World War anti-aircraft defence tower and one of the city’s hidden WWII sites.]()
Humboldthain Flak Tower
An enormous 1940 air-defence towers, now buried beneath the hills of a public park. We cover the exterior and the terrain, and the story of the Berliners who sheltered here and the forced labourers who died building them.
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![Memorial at Moabit Freight Station in Berlin, the deportation site where thousands of Jews were transported to concentration and extermination camps during the Holocaust.]()
Moabit Freight Station
Between 1942 and 1944, around 30,000 Jews were deported from these tracks to the east. The station is gone; a grove of 24 pine trees now marks where the trains once loaded. The absence is the memorial.
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![Inside Plötzensee Prison in Berlin, where members of the German Resistance and political prisoners were executed during the Nazi era.]()
Plötzensee Prison
The regime's main execution site for its political opponents. Over 2,800 people were killed here. The execution room, with its preserved iron hooks, is one of the most sober spaces in the city.
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![The Schwerbelastungskörper in Berlin, a massive Nazi engineering test structure built to assess ground stability for Hitler’s planned world capital, Germania.]()
Schwerbelastungskörper
A 12,650-tonne concrete cylinder Speer built in 1941 to test whether Berlin's ground could bear Hitler's planned triumphal arch for Germania. The only surviving relic of that project.
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![The former SA Prison Papestraße in Berlin, an early Nazi detention centre used to imprison and torture political opponents in 1933.]()
SA Prison Papestraße
A basement turned into a prison in 1933, before the camp system existed. Around 500 were held here; some 30 died. The original prisoner graffiti is still on the walls — Berlin's most authentic early terror site.
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![Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, an iconic historic site linked to Nazi Germany, the Second World War and the Berlin Airlift.]()
Tempelhof Airport
Designed as the gateway to Germania, still among the largest buildings on earth. A 1933 camp, a wartime Luftwaffe hub, then the lifeline of the 1948 Berlin Airlift — aircraft landing every 90 seconds.
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![The surrender hall at the German-Russian Museum Karlshorst, where Germany signed its unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, ending World War II in Europe. CC BY-SA 3.0]()
Museum Berlin-Karlshorst
The room where Germany signed its unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, preserved as it was that night. The tour ends here, in the actual space where the war in Europe came to its end.
Why Choose Us?
Berlin's only specialist WWII tour operator. This is the period we know in depth — not one tour among many, but the whole focus of what we do.
A guide who connects the sites. The value is the specialist who can connect a flak tower, a deportation yard, an execution prison and a surrender room to one historical narrative.
Featured on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. The kind of expertise documentary makers come to — now walking you through Berlin in person.
Private only — your group, your guide, your pace. No strangers, no fixed script. The historian adapts the depth at each site to what your group actually wants to go into.
Planning Your Tour
Meeting Point
Hotel pick-up and drop-off included. We collect you from your accommodation and bring you back at the end — the seven sites are spread right across Berlin, so we handle all the travel between them.
Prefer to meet us? Join at S+U Gesundbrunnen, in front of the McDonald's at the station entrance. Your guide will be holding a sign that reads "Hidden WWII Sites."
Address: Brunnenstraße 108A, 13355 Berlin
What’s Included
Private expert historian
Hotel pick-up & drop-off
Private vehicle between all sites
Entry to relevant memorials and museums (Karlshorst entry is free)
'Then & Now' photographs & maps
Wifi in the vehicle
Bottle of water
What to Bring
Comfortable walking shoes (terrain varies — a hill at Humboldthain, stairs at the Papestraße basement)
Weather-appropriate clothing
Water
Your questions about Berlin's hidden WWII sites
Cancellation
Free up to 48 hours before the tour
Pricing
Private tour from €549 (up to 7 guests)
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes — Hidden WWII Sites runs as a private tour only. It's your group, your guide, and the pace is yours, with the historian adapting the depth at each site to what you want to go into. Pricing starts at €549 for up to six guests; just book your date and group size, or enquire.
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Yes — anyone can join. These sites are obscure, but they're no less compelling for it, and you don't need to know much about WWII to get a lot from the day. In fact, the off-the-beaten-path nature is often the draw: if you're someone who'd rather see the lesser-known, less mainstream side of the city than the standard circuit, this tour is for you. The guide builds the context at each stop, so you're never left behind. That said, if you'd like to combine the famous sites with the hidden ones, our Hitler's Berlin or Holocaust & Nazi Resistance tours pair well with this one — just ask.
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No — the guide builds the context at each stop. That said, these sites are more specialist than our walking tours, and guests who've read some history, watched documentaries, or visited other WWII sites tend to get the most from the day.
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We recommend ages 14 and up, with parental judgement. The tour covers executions, deportations, and political torture — handled with accuracy and without sensationalism, but the material is sustained and serious. The day also involves travelling between sites by vehicle, so children need to be able to ride seated and unassisted.
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Yes. We collect you from your accommodation and bring you back at the end, with a private vehicle covering all travel between the seven sites, which are spread right across the city. If you'd rather meet us, the start point is S+U Gesundbrunnen, in front of the McDonald's at the station entrance.
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Not on this tour — we cover the exterior, the surrounding terrain, and the history. The interior is accessed separately through Berliner Unterwelten's guided programme (April to October); if you'd like to see inside, we can advise on booking both, as they complement rather than duplicate each other.
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The private vehicle removes most of the walking between sites, but the sites themselves vary — Humboldthain involves a hill, and the Papestraße prison is a basement with stairs. Tempelhof and Karlshorst are largely accessible. Any walking aids will need to fit in the vehicle, so let us know what you're bringing. Tell us your requirements at booking and we'll advise on the best approach — additional needs can usually be accommodated, just ask.
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Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the tour.
Still Have Questions? Ask Us Here!
Contact us.
info@onthefront.com
+49 (0)152 0468 9477
(Available on WhatsApp)
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