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Expert Private Downfall Berlin Tour (1939 – 1945)
Duration
3 hours
Overview
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Come explore the turbulent World War II history of the German capital on this one of a kind Downfall Berlin Tour. A unique tour for the military history buffs looking at Berlin during the Second World War. There is a heavy focus on the last two years after the tide had turned on the Eastern Front and the weight of the western Allies was starting to bear down upon the Nazi’s on the home-front.
Our guests will learn how the jubilation of the early “Blitzkrieg Victories” on Poland in 1939 and in France and the Low Countries in the summer of 1940 soon evaporated once the quick victory that Nazi Germany needed was not forthcoming.
There is a particular focus on the strategic air war and we will learn how that developed in terms of tactics, strategy and how it constituted the most controversial aspect of the Western Allies war campaign The first raids were insignificant but as the war progressed they got progressively larger and larger until the RAF Bomber Command and the American 8th Air Force had a weapon of immense power that they could apply to any German town and city, to devastating effect. We will go into some depth with regard to the strategic bombing of Berlin and what those on the ground done to combat and alleviate the onslaught.
The devastation of Berlin also did not just come from the Air but also from Terra-firm with the Soviet assault on Berlin starting in late April 1945 marking the last major battle in the European Theater of War. We will also retrace the boots of Koniev’s and Zukov’s Soviet soldiers as we walk through and visit what were the key sites related to the Battle of Berlin.
With the near complete destruction, and also the political removal of buildings post-war, some sites are now merely “ghost sites” but we will endeavor to discover as many tangible, physical things as possible. As well as shattering some common myths and misconceptions along the way
This is a Walking Tour Pickups are on foot