Jewish Heritage Tour to Germany and Denmark

A 9-day Holocaust Journey of Remembrance to Germany & Denmark.
In memory of those lost, and in honor of those who lived and resisted.

This journey is not just a tour—it is an invitation to witness the layers of history, the quiet courage, and the haunting tragedies that shaped the Holocaust and its aftermath. Over nine days, we will explore the places where the darkest chapters of human history unfolded, and where, against the odds, acts of resistance and heroism shone through in Denmark and Sweden.

Day 1 Thursday, May 28 Berlin

We begin not in Auschwitz, nor in the ashes of Europe’s ghettos — but in the Bavarian Quarter of Berlin. In this quiet neighborhood, the slow unraveling of a society becomes visible. Signs on lampposts display actual Nazi laws that steadily restricted Jewish life: Jews forbidden from owning pets, attending concerts, or sitting on park benches. Marian Turski, a Holocaust survivor, kept reminding us that the Holocaust did not “fall from the sky,” but took root through many small humiliations and exclusions accepted by ordinary Germans.

Next, transfer to Lake Wannsee, where the January 1942 Wannsee Conference was chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, a chief architect of the “Final Solution.” Fifteen Nazi officials from the SS, Nazi Party, and ministries met here — not to decide whether to kill the Jews, but to coordinate the machinery of genocide across Europe. A short walk takes us to the villa of Max Liebermann, one of Germany’s most celebrated Jewish painters, shunned and erased by the Nazis in the 1930s, now restored to honor his memory. Continue to Track 17 at Grunewald Station, a quiet platform from which Berlin’s Jews were deported until March 1945. Late afternoon, return to the hotel — once in the heart of Jewish Berlin. Welcome Dinner. Hotel Telegraphenamt.

Day 2 Friday, May 29 Berlin

This morning, explore the neighborhood around Oranienburger Strasse. Before the Shoah, this area was vibrant with Jewish life. See the Neue Synagogue; destroyed by the Nazis, its gilded dome still gleams as a symbol of hope. Continue via Hackescher Markt and Hofe to the Old Jewish Cemetery, Otto Weidt’s Workshop, and the Rosenstrasse Memorial for the brave women who protested in 1943.

Travel past the Brandenburg Gate to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Topography of Terror, former headquarters of the Gestapo, SS, and Reich Security. On the way back, visit the Empty Library at Bebelplatz, memorializing the burning of thousands of books in May 1933. In the evening, optional Shabbat service and Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner with the community at the Neue Synagogue, steps from our hotel. Hotel Telegraphenamt.

Day 3 Saturday, May 30 Berlin

Shabbat in Berlin. Once impossible — but we are here! Today, visit the Jewish Museum Berlin, an architectural midrash on Jewish life by Daniel Libeskind. It is not only a Holocaust museum but a testament to Jewish creativity, complexity, fragility, and endurance. The voids are as much a part of the story as the exhibits. Hotel Telegraphenamt.

Day 4 Sunday, May 31 Berlin – Ravensbruck – Schwerin – Lübeck

Depart Berlin for Ravensbrück, the largest concentration camp for women. Few survived to tell its story. After liberation, it lay in East Germany and did not receive the attention of other camps until later. Only then did the world learn of the experiments, forced labor, and hunger suffered by women and their children.

Continue to Schwerin, where a fairy-tale castle now serves as the seat of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Parliament — a symbol of democracy. Arrive in Lübeck, a Hanseatic League city and home to Nobel laureates Willy Brandt, Günter Grass, and Thomas Mann. Brandt, who famously knelt at the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, was born here; Mann, exiled for speaking against tyranny; Grass, who settled here, challenged Germany’s reckoning with its past. After check-in, enjoy a walk in the Old Town to a restaurant for dinner. Radisson Blu Senator Hotel.

Day 5 Monday, June 1 Lübeck – Flensburg – Froslev – Faaborg – Odense

Drive north to Flensburg, on the Danish border, site of the last gasp of Nazism. After Hitler’s suicide, Admiral Dönitz led a “phantom government” here, ruling a nation and ideology already in ruins. After free time at the harbor, cross into Denmark. First stop at Frøslev detention camp, built for Danish resistance fighters. Though the Nazis wanted to turn it into a deportation camp, most prisoners were spared this fate. Continue to Fynshav and ferry across the South Funen Archipelago to the island of Fyn and the town of Faaborg, once known as the Jewish town of Fyn. The synagogue building still stands, now a private home, and the Jewish cemetery, with 165 graves, had its last burial in 1974 but remains tended. End the day in Odense at the Nord Atlantic House, celebrating the culture of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. Dinner here before checking in. Comwell Hotel, Odense.

Day 6 Tuesday, June 2 Odense – Dragør – Copenhagen

This morning, explore Hans Christian Andersen’s Odense — stop at the site of the former Jewish school he attended, and his modest childhood home also serving as his father shoemaker’s workshop. End at the new museum devoted to his life and themes. Andersen’s tales of outsiders inspired Jewish children during the Shoah. Later, drive to Copenhagen. During the drive, you will enjoy a lecture on Denmark’s role during the war and occupation. Unlike most occupied countries, the Danish Jews were not forced to wear the yellow star, nor were synagogues closed until 1943. That summer, tension grew; martial law was declared, and the Nazis planned mass arrests. The decisions to deport the Jews were, however, leaked from the German HQ. On Erev Rosh Hashanah, October 1, 1943, words spread in whispers, phone calls, and knocks at doors. Families fled, leaving everything. Neighbors sheltered them; priests hid Torah scrolls; doctors disguised families as contagious patients; fishermen ferried them to Sweden. This afternoon, arrive in Dragør and see one of the original fishing boats used in the rescue. Imagine the fear and courage of those October nights. 71 Nyhavn Hotel.

Day 7 Wednesday, June 3 Copenhagen – Nivå – Gilleleje – Helsingborg – Malmö – Copenhagen

Drive north along the Øresund coast, where Sweden is constantly in sight. At Nivågård Rignovn, fleeing Jewish families could find shelter while awaiting night crossings. Further North, in Gilleleje, villagers hid Jews in barns, homes, and the parish church attic. Here, tragedy struck when the Gestapo captured dozens, leading to their deportation.

Continue to Elsinore and then take a ferry to Sweden. Nearby, visit the Ramlösa Reception Center, where Danish Jews arrived in 1943 for safety, medical care, and a welcome. Sweden also rescued Jews from across Europe, including survivors brought by the “White Buses” in 1945. Many are buried in Malmö’s Jewish Cemetery, their graves a silent testimony. Return to Copenhagen via the Øresund Bridge, built decades later and connecting Sweden and Denmark. 71 Nyhavn Hotel.

Day 8 Thursday, June 4 Copenhagen

Visit the historic Copenhagen Synagogue, a spiritual anchor for nearly two centuries. Just steps away, Trinitatis Church — where, during the Nazi occupation, a parish priest hid Torah scrolls. Continue to Christiansborg Palace and the small Jewish Museum of Denmark, designed by Daniel Libeskind. Unlike his Berlin Museum of loss, Copenhagen’s is about hope and mitzvot — righteous deeds — reflecting Denmark’s rescue of nearly all its Jews and their welcome home in 1945. End at the Memorial Park honoring resistance fighters who gave their lives for freedom and for standing up for neighbors in trouble. Their courage reminds us that justice often demands the highest price. Farewell Dinner. 71 Nyhavn Hotel.

Day 9 Friday June 5 Copenhagen – Home flights

As we prepare to fly home, on Denmark’s Constitution Day, when the country is celebrating democracy and dignity. On this journey, we have seen the best and worst of humanity. We have walked through places where decisions were made to murder us—and where others made decisions to save us. We leave with the weight of memory and the light of moral clarity. We leave with the stories of the silenced and the courage of the righteous. Let us never forget.