WW II – Facts & Myths

photo above: Museum of Allied P.O.W. Camps
Day 1 Arrival
Day 2 Following Schindler’s Jews • Oscar Schindler’s Factory (guided tour) • Wieliczka Salt Mine • overnight in Krakow
Morning: Following Schindler’s Jews
During this tour we learn about the beginnig of WW II (a Nazi attack on Poland was claimed an official beginning of WW II), about the Nazi capital in Krakow and the history of Holocaust. We explore Kazimierz, the former Jewish district with its synagogues from the 15ht-17th centuries, a unique witness of 900 year of history of Jews in Europe. It is the place where the film “The Schindler’s List” was made by Spielberg in 1993. We also follow the traces of Holocaust in Krakow: we visit the site of the former Jewish ghetto from WWII and the Museum in the Oscar Schindler’s Factory.
Afternoon: Wieliczka Salt Mine
Time for relax! We visit one of the largest and oldest salt mines in Europe and an absolutely unique and surprising place. We discover the treasures of the underground mine: huge underground caves, tunnels, chapels, including the most spectacular Holy Chapel of Saint Kinga, with decorations and statues carved out of the salt.
Day 3 Krakow Old Town • Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum • overnight in Wroclaw
Morning: During our short walk of the Old Town we discover all its treasures: Wawel Hill with the Royal Castle and Cathedral – the site of coronations and burials of kings, the Main Market Square – the largest medieval square in Europe – and the St. Mary’s Church from which the famous bugle is played.
Afternoon: A guided tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.
We visit Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, the site of the largest concentration and extermination camp built by the Nazis during WWII. It became a symbol of the Holocaust, Nazi crimes and forced labor. During the tour we see the former prison blocks and barracks, the crematorium at Auschwitz and the camp site at Birkenau with infamous the Gate of Death, wooden barracks and the Memorial. After the tour we continue to Wroclaw.
Day 4 Hitler’s Project Riese • Ksiaz Castle • Wroclaw Old Town walk • overnight in Wroclaw
Morning: Lower Silesia tour: Secrets of Third Reich
During WW II the Lower Silesia region was located at the very east end of Third Reich, out of a range of Allied bombers. It was to be a shelter for Hitler’s secret projects of the highest strategic importance. We head to the Sowie Mountains to visit the Underground Complex of Osowka, a part of Hitler’s secret project under the codename Riese (The Giant), the mysterious last project of the Third Reich. We also see another part of Riese Project – the castle in Ksiaz, one of the largest in Poland hiding 400 rooms and lodgings.
Afternoon: Wroclaw Old Town walk (2 h)
We discover the highlights of Wroclaw: the Old Town Square with its magnificent 14th century Gothic Town Hall, University and Ostrow Island, which hides a complex of sacral buildings including the Gothic Cathedral of St John. We also retrace the famous Wroclaw dwarfs and the history of opposition against the communist regime.
Day 5 The Great Escape & Museum of Allied P.O.W. Camps • Berlin • overnight in Berlin
Morning: We visit a place related to one of the most famous episodes during World War II – the spectacular escape of 80 prisoners from Stalag Luft III, one of the Nazi P.O.W camps in Zagan. Only three of them reached their home in Great Britain. It was depicted in the movie “The Great Escape”. After the tour we continue to Berlin.
Afternoon: The Potsdam Conference, 1945
We visit Cecilienhof Palace, where in summer 1945 The Big Three (Winston Churchill, Harry Truman and Josef Stalin) met to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. It resulted with establishing the new post war order in Europe and its future division by the Iron Curtain.
Day 6 Berlin tour • overnight in Berlin
We discover the highlights of the fascinating city of Berlin: we follow the Unter Linden Street to learn about the history of Berlin, we see the famous Brandenburg Gate, Museum Islands, remains of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie, a symbol of the Cold War. We also see the places significant for the history of Third Reich and WW II : the Parliaments, site of Hitler’s Bunker and the Holocaust Memorial.
Afternoon: At leisure.
Day 7 Departure