Cold War Trip To Berlin

A school trip to Berlin with a focus on the Cold War will afford your students a far greater understanding of the history of a city in which so many of the 20th century’s key events were played out!

Walk along a remaining section of the Berlin Wall or visit Checkpoint Charlie and the Stasi Museum. The award-winning DDR Museum offers a hands-on experience of history – including the crimes of the State Security, the border defences at the Berlin Wall and the lives of the people under a communist dictatorship. At the Hohenschönhausen Stasi Memorial, guided tours are conducted mostly by former inmates who relate the tour to their own experience in the remand prison, providing insight into a broad spectrum of political persecution in the GDR.

If you're not sure you'll have the numbers to run a trip, why not join forces with your school's German department to make this trip cross-curricular?

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1

Morning

Flight to Berlin

Afternoon

Checkpoint Charlie and Stasi Museum

Evening

Evening meal

Day 2

Morning

Guided tour conducted by inmate of Hohenschonhausen Stasi Prison

Afternoon

DDR Museum and TV Tower

Evening

Evening meal

Day 3

Morning

Visit to the Tränenpalast

Afternoon

Flight back to the UK

2 nights' half-board accommodation
Airport tax and passenger duty at current rates
ATOL protected return flights from the UK
Detailed information pack
Free staff place ratio 1:10
Itinerary planning service
Vamoos travel app - giving you access to all your trip documents on your phone or tablet
VAT at current rates to tour operators

Curriculum

A Level

Challenges of German nationalism
Germany: democracy and dictatorship
Life in Nazi Germany
West Germany and the DDR
Origins of the Cold War
Berlin Wall
International relations and global conflict

GCSE

Conflict and tension: WW1
The inter-war years: 1918-39
International relations and global conflict
Germany: democracy and dictatorship
The impact of total war on German life
Opposition to Nazi rule
West Germany and the DDR
Berlin Wall

Key Stage 3

Challenges for Europe and the wider world, 1901

Accommodation

a&o Berlin Hauptbahnhof

This modern hostel is well located on a quiet street near the main train station in central Berlin.Students will generally be accommodated in multi-bedded rooms and staff in twins. All rooms are en-suite and have modern furnishings/ TV.Hostel facilities include a roof-top bar, games room and multiple conference rooms.

Aletto Kudamm

Newly opened in April 2012, the Aletto Kudamm offers 3* comfort and is only a few minutes walk away from the Zoological Garden, Kurfuerstendamm, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the famous KaDeWe.Students will generally be accommodated in multi-bedded rooms and staff in twins. All rooms are en-suite. Rooms are equipped with individually adjustable air-conditioning, Flatscreen TV with satellite television and radio stations, WiFi Internet access, shower-bath with WC, hairdryer and under-floor heating. Other facilities include a pool table, table football and other games. Weather permitting, there is a basketball court, 5-a-side football pitch, table tennis tables and boules area. The combination of a modern design, high quality facilities and excellent location make this an ideal hostel for school groups.

H2 Hotel Berlin Alexanderplatz

The modern H2 Hotel welcomes its guests to the heart of Berlin 24 hours a day.Groups will generally stay in triple or quad rooms, and group leaders in twins or singles. All rooms are air-conditioned, with flatscreen TVs, private bathrooms with underfloor heating, and free WiFi (available throughout the hotel).The hotel's "fresh island" and shop provide food for the whole day, from breakfast through to the evening meal. Outside of their very flexible mealtimes, coffees and fresh snacks are available too.

Jugendherberge Berlin Ostkreuz

Berlin Ostkreuz Youth Hostel offers modern, state-of-the-art amenities and is ideal for school groups. The youth hostel has 445 beds in total. All rooms have en-suite showers and toilets. Students will be accommodated in multi-bedded rooms (maximum 6 per room) and staff in twins or singles.The hostel boasts a welcoming lobby area, cosy bistro and dining rooms where guests can take their meals (breakfast, half or full-board), common rooms for leisure activities and 18 meeting rooms, plus a large assembly hall.

Meininger Berlin East-Side-Gallery

Located opposite the last remaining piece of the Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery, this hotel also boasts easy public transport links to all of the city's attractions. Students stay in multi-bedded rooms, with staff in twins or singles. Breakfast, packed lunches and evening meals are all available. As well as a bar and lobby area, there is also a game zone that your students will love!

Meininger Berlin Hauptbahnhof

If you're looking for a hotel in Berlin that offers super quick and easy access to all of the city's attractions, then the Meininger Berlin Hauptbahnhof is hard to beat, as it's located next to Berlin's central station! Students will stay in multi-bedded rooms, with staff in twins or singles. The hotel can provide breakfast, packed lunches and evening meals. Plus, as well as a bar and lobby area, the hotel boasts a fantastic game zone that will go down a treat with your group!

Educational Activities

Asisi Berlin Wall Experience

Immerse yourselves in 1980s Berlin – a city divided in two by two competing political ideologies.

Berlin Wall Documentation Centre

The Documentation Center on the history of the Berlin Wall provides historical information and educates the public.

Berlin Wall Memorial

This open-air exhibition on the infamous Bernauer Strasse illustrates how the Wall divided the city from 1961 until 1989.

Berlin Wall Museum

This interactive museum tells the story of the Berlin Wall and helps to bring to life what life was like

Brandenburg Gate Museum

Experience history like you are there.

Checkpoint Charlie Museum

During the lifetime of the Berlin Wall, this was the only way for non-Germans to cross from one half of the city to the other.

Cold War Berlin Walking tour

Retrace the often ghost-like trail of the Berlin Wall taking in guard towers and tank traps.

DDR Museum

Welcome to one of Europe's most interactive museums.

Guided Walking Tour - Third Reich and Cold War Berlin

This guided walking tour will give your students the opportunity to see the most important historic sights in relation to

Hohenschönhausen Stasi Memorial

Between 1945 and 1989 thousands of political prisoners were interned here by the Communist regime.

Memories of the Cold War - Meet a Former Political Prisoner

A rare and memorable opportunity to make history come to life.

Stasi Museum

Under the GDR, the Ministry of State Security, or Stasi, spied more meticulously on the East German population than any

Subterranean Berlin

This tour of underground Berlin takes you through World War Two air raid shelters and tunnels used to smuggle people out of East Germany.

Teufelsberg (Devil's Mountain)

A Cold War radio base, hidden away in the Grunewald Forest, which originally used by the Allies to spy on

Cultural Activities

Berlin Cathedral

One of the principal buildings of the nineteenth-century Berlin, the cathedral was completed at the turn of the century and

Berliner Fernsehturm (TV Tower)

Visible from almost any point in the city, the television tower was a flagship of East German architecture.

Supporting you every step of the way

Creating your perfect trip

Your quote will be put together by an experienced Tour Adviser who’ll be an expert in the subject area and will know the destination really well too. They’ll work with you to create a trip to suit your group’s needs and meet your learning objectives.

Launching your trip to parents and students

The next step is to get your trip approved and then get students signed up to it. Our ‘Trip Launch Pack’ will help you with this step. This is full of resources (all free to download) designed to make your life easier at this crucial point in the trip planning process.

After you’ve booked

Once you’ve booked, your dedicated Itinerary Coordinator will start work on the finer details. They’ll make sure your itinerary makes the most of your time and they’ll take on most of the admin tasks for your trip (freeing you up to do what you do best – teach).

Support while you’re away

From lost property to properly lost, we’ll always be on the end of the phone while you’re out on the trip. You’ll get a final info pack before you go, as well as access to all your trip documents via the Vamoos app.

After your trip

We’ll ask you for feedback, so we can improve our service. Let’s start planning your next trip too, so parents have plenty of time to pay (and so it’s less stressful for you). And don’t forget to head to our resources hub to continue the learning back in the classroom.