This page provides an overview of the tours and lectures arranged by the Berlin Historical Association in 2018.
8 December 2018 - Visit to Potsdam and the Christmas Market
For nearly three centuries, the scenic town of Potsdam just outside Berlin was the residence of the Prussian kings, princes, and German emperors of the House of Hohenzollern who created a fairy-tale landscape of palaces, gardens, and churches that ranks among the most beautiful in Europe. In the middle of the 18th century the infamous 'Soldier King', Frederick William I, (renowned for the giant men he collected for his showcase military regiments), built an unique ensemble of brick houses to accommodate Potsdam's new community of Dutch artisans. Although the Dutch didn’t stay, their traditions come to life during the holiday season. The Christmas Market in the Dutch quarter is a unique Berlin/Brandenburg experience. Our day begins in Potsdam with a short tour of the newly renovated city centre while we await the arrival of Sinterklaas, the Dutch Father Christmas, who arrives at Potsdam Harbour at 13:30. After following Sinterklaas into the Dutch quarter you can spend the rest of the day exploring the market, feasting on matjes herring and other Dutch culinary treats.
11 November 2018 - Ceremony of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and St George's Church
The Armistice to end the First World War came into effect at 1100 hrs on 11 November 1918. Every year since then this date has been dedicated to the commemoration of all those British and Commonwealth personnel (as well as those of other allied nations) who gave their lives, both in that war and in subsequent wars. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. As has been customary in Berlin since 1945 there will be a Ceremony of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on the Heerstrasse, followed by a church service at St George’s Church, Preussenallee.
20 October 2018 - Exhibition of WW1 Prisoner of War Camp Ruhleben
One of the most famous internment camps of its time, the so called ‘Engländerlager’, was situated in the area of the former horse-trotting race track of Ruhleben. There, up to 5,000 British (as well as German-British) men were detained from 1914 until 1918, or even later. Some of them had lived in Germany or the German Empire for years, and many had families there; others found themselves, by chance, on German soil when the war broke out and, along with citizens of other „hostile“ nations, they were rounded up and interned under what were, initially, fairly primitive conditions. The exhibition of Ruhleben Camp, at the Spandau Zitadelle, describes this piece of history of World War I, and shows how the prisoners organised, administered, disciplined, educated and entertained themselves during their internment.
3 October 2018 - Nikolaikirche
The Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas' Church) is arguably the oldest church in Berlin. However, it is now no longer a church but rather a museum. Nevertheless, the Nikolaikirche has been a landmark of the Berlin city centre for over 800 years. The Nikolaikirche was more than just a religious centre and burial place for important Berlin families; it was also the city council church and an historically significant location. During the Second World War, in 1944, a bombing raid completely destroyed the Nikolaikirche. Thereafter it remained in ruins until reconstruction began in 1984; and in 1987 it was re-purposed as a museum. Shortly after German reunification, the first freely-elected Berlin-wide city parliament convened here in 1991. Following comprehensive renovation, it was re-opened to visitors in 2010 not just as a museum but also as a venue for concerts.
22 September 2018 - Glockenturm at the Olympic Stadium
The Glockenturm stands like a watchtower guarding the Olympic Stadium and the Maifeld. Within the base of the Glockenturm is an exhibition depicting the early beginnings of the German gymnastic movement; the use of the Olympic grounds from 1919 to 1936; the various stages of construction, including a 3D animated film; the use of the grounds from their beginning until the present day; the Langemarck Halle dedicated to the German soldiers who fought in the WWI battle at Langemarck. From the top of the Glockenturm one can enjoy the magnificent views of Berlin and beyond.
11 August 2018 - Energy Museum Berlin
The Energy Museum Berlin was founded in 2001 by a group of volunteers whose aim was to show the development of electricity production in Berlin and its relationship to the „Elektropolis“ Berlin. This fascinating museum is divided into discrete individual areas covering electricity generation, distribution, safety, measurement of supply and consumption, control and communication, prevention of accidents, public street-lighting as well as the many uses and demands for electricity that have been invented since the end of the 19th century.
28 July 2018 - Alexanderplatz and the Scheunenviertel
Lovingly referred to by Berliners simply as 'Alex', the Alexanderplatz is a large public space at the edge of Medieval Berlin. Although the square was originally conceived as a cattle market, outside of the city walls, the Alexanderplatz quickly became one of the most important centres of the growing city. No other public space in Berlin has seen the winds of change more than the Alexanderplatz. Due to its importance in trade, it is no surprise that the Alexanderplatz and its adjoining neighbourhood, the Scheunenviertel (Barn Quarter), was once a centre of Berlin’s flourishing Jewish culture and home to many of Berlin’s Jews.
20 June 2018 - Annual General Meeting and talk by guest speaker Dr John Provan
20 June 2018 - Annual General Meeting and talk by guest speaker Dr John
16 June 2018 - Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre
The Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre opened in 2006 on the site of what was once a Forced Labour Camp at Schöneweide. The exact number of forced labourers is hard to determine, but around 26 million people from all parts of Europe had to work within the German Reich and the occupied territories during the Second World War in order to maintain, inter alia, the German armaments industry.
19 May 2018 - Walking tour of Hausvogteiplatz and surrounding area
From its humble origins at the edge of Medieval Berlin, Friedrichstadt emerged as a vital extension to the ever-expanding city of Berlin. Although many focus on the Gendarmenmarkt as Berlin’s most beautiful public space, it is the Hausvogteiplatz that is more emblematic of the last two hundred years of Berlin’s history. Hausvogteiplatz is more famous as the centre of Berlin’s fashion industry and focal point of the former Garment District. By 1923, clothing manufacture dominated the economy of Berlin, becoming the second most profitable industry in the city. The Nazis destroyed this predominantly Jewish industry and by 1938 there were virtually no Jews left on the square.
14 April 2018 - German-Russian Museum Karlshorst
The Second World War ended in Europe with an act of unconditional surrender in what is now the German-Russian Museum Karlshorst. From 1945 to 1949 the building was the headquarters of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany. After being used by the Soviet military for various purposes, an historic memorial site - “The Museum of the Soviet Armed Forces in Germany” - opened in the building in 1967. Later re-named the “Museum of the Unconditional Surrender of Fascist Germany in the Great Patriotic War”, it existed until 1994. On 10 May 1995, to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, the German Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst opened. In 2013 a newly conceived permanent exhibition under development since 2009 was presented to the public.
17 March 2018 - Tour of Forum Willy Brandt Berlin
The Forum Willy Brandt Berlin commemorates one of the leading German politicians of the 20th Century, and during our guided tour we will learn about the rise of Willy Brandt from modest beginnings to one of the world’s most respected statesmen, and just how instrumental he was in the development of post-war Germany and Europe.
24 February 2018 - Berlin Story Museum Bunker
The Berlin Story Museum is located in a former air-raid bunker just south of the Anhalter Bahnhof. Our visit will take us (with an audio guide) through a number of exhibits, including photographs, films, sculptures and other objects, covering events such as Napoleon’s occupation of Berlin in 1806, the revolution of 1848 as well as the more recent history of the 20th century. The exhibits are complemented by short biographies of Berlin personalities from Schinkel to Bismarck and others. At the end of the visit we will be able to a view a 25-minute film entitled “The Making of Berlin”.
13 January 2018 - Tour of the Botanical Garden Museum and Greenhouses
The Botanical Gardens Museum is more than just a supplement to the Botanical Gardens themselves. Indeed, there is no other botanical museum of this kind in Central Europe. Plants that one can only observe for a few weeks or, in some cases, for a single day in the garden, can be observed undisturbed the whole year in the museum. In the greenhouses, each with its differently replicated climate, we will see diverse flora from around the world. Faithfully restored to the original, the Main Tropical Greenhouse (Great Pavilion), is an architectural masterpiece in Art Nouveau style.
13 January 2018 - Tour of the Botanical Garden Museum and Greenhouses
The Botanical Gardens Museum is more than just a supplement to the Botanical Gardens themselves. Indeed, there is no other botanical museum of this kind in Central Europe. Plants that one can only observe for a few weeks or, in some cases, for a single day in the garden, can be observed undisturbed the whole year in the museum. In the greenhouses, each with its differently replicated climate, we will see diverse flora from around the world. Faithfully restored to the original, the Main Tropical Greenhouse (Great Pavilion), is an architectural masterpiece in Art Nouveau style.