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Overview
Ashkenzi Jewish identity took root in central Germany beginning around the 10th century and flourished throughout the medieval period. Extraordinary scholarship, distinct traditions in education and community leadership as well as the cultural and religious practices that emerged during these centuries laid the foundation for later European Jewish life.
From medieval centers of learning to sites of remembrance and revival, our historically and culturally rich itinerary provides a unique lens through which to explore first-hand the vibrant contributions of Ashkenazi Jews to the Germany — and the world — of today. Discover an enduring legacy of one of Europe’s most influential communities through this fascinating exploration of medieval, modern, and contemporary German Jewish life.
We begin in Frankfurt, where we visit important sites, including the unique Judengasse Museum, which sits on the very site of the medieval Jewish quarter and unveils 300 years of history. Days trips and visits to Mainz, Worms Friedberg, Erfurt as well as an overnight stay in Leipzig put us in direct contact with rich legacies of scholarship, architecture, tradition, and historical treasures. In Leipzig, we also meet with members of today’s Jewish community for discussion and exchange. Our six-night stay in the dynamic city of Berlin provides first-hand understanding of the devastation of World War II, time for witnessing, and context for honoring the past as well as the present in this city that is now home to the fastest-growing Jewish population in Europe.
Throughout our travels, our accompanying scholar provides lectures, insights, and conversation as we consider German Jewry as pioneers in confronting issues of modernity, including secularization, denominations, Zionism, intermarriage as well as the unique story of German Jews under the Nazis, before and during the war.
Highlights
Standing in medieval Jewish sites, including a 13th-century mikva, an 11th-century synagogue, and the remains of a street that served as the center of Jewish life in Frankfurt for 300 years
The “Erfurt Treasure,” hundreds of 14th-century gold and silver coins and jewelry accidentally discovered in 1998
Exploring the award-winning Berlin Jewish Museum, dedicated to the rich and complex history of Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day
Visit to the Wannsee Conference House, where senior Nazi officials planned the Final Solution
Meet with a local rabbi in Leipzig and discuss Jewish life in Germany today
Itinerary
Monday, May 11 | Frankfurt
Arrive in Frankfurt and transfer on your own to the deluxe, five-star Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof hotel. Our program begins in the late afternoon, with welcome remarks by the scholar and the tour leader, followed by dinner together at the hotel.
Meals Included: Dinner
Accommodations: Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof, Frankfurt
Tuesday, May 12 | Frankfurt
Morning: We start off with a walking tour of Frankfurt’s Altstadt, or Old Town. While much of the Old Town was destroyed in WWII bombing, the Dom-Römer Project (finished in 2018) beautifully reconstructed key medieval buildings with a keen attention to detail, providing a sense of the beauty and character of the area in medieval times.
We then undertake a private guided visit of the nearby Judengasse Museum. In 1987, when construction was begun on a public building, workers uncovered the foundations of several houses from the former Jewish quarter, the Judengasse, literally “the Jewish Lane.” This unique museum sits on part of the original site and brings to light 300 years of everyday Jewish life.
Afternoon: We have lunch at the Jewish Museum of Frankfurt, followed by a private guided tour. Housed in the former “Rothschild Palais,” the museum showcases Jewish history and culture from 1800 onwards, emphasizing the contributions of Jewish individuals to Frankfurt’s cultural and economic development.
We then move on to the serene Rat-Beil Cemetery, a poignant and historically rich site that offers a deep connection to the city’s Jewish heritage. Nearby, we visit the grand Westend Synagogue, the only one of the four major pre-war synagogues in Frankfurt to have survived the November 1938 pogroms and the World War II bombings.
Enjoy dinner on your own, followed by a lecture by our scholar at the hotel: The Beating Heart of Ashkenazic Jewry: The Medieval and Early Modern Period.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodations: Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof, Frankfurt
Wednesday, May 13 | Frankfurt – Mainz – Worms – Frankfurt
Morning: This morning we tour Mainz, just 45 minutes from Frankfurt and one of Europe’s foremost centers of rabbinic scholarship during the Middle Ages. We visit the new Mainz synagogue, an architectural gem whose ark contains three Torah scrolls that survived Kristallnacht. We also visit the Gutenberg Museum of Printing, which honors Johann Gutenberg, born in Mainz around 1400, and learn more about how his invention of the printing press changed the course of world history.
Afternoon: After lunch on your own in Mainz, we drive to Worms, known in the Middle Ages as the “Little Jerusalem on the Rhine.” Here we visit an 11th-century synagogue, one of the oldest in Europe, and the Rashi House, which honors the legacy of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105), author of the most important and comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and Torah. This is where the greatest of rabbinic commentators studied, and now houses the Jewish Museum Worms. We also view a towering statue of theologian Martin Luther. Built in 1868, it is the largest Reformation monument in Europe.
We have dinner together in Worms, then return to Frankfurt.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof, Frankfurt
Thursday, May 14 | Frankfurt – Friedberg – Erfurt – Leipzig
Morning: At the hotel, we are treated to a lecture by our scholar: Modern German Jewry: The World That Was. Afterwards, we drive to Friedberg, around 20 miles away, where we will view the oldest accessible mikvah (ritual bath) in Europe and the site of a synagogue. This remarkable 13th-century structure descends 75 steps and reflects the deep attachment to tradition of medieval Jewish communities.
Afternoon: We eat lunch before departing for Erfurt, where we see the remarkable “Erfurt Treasure,” a collection of medieval Jewish artifacts that were hidden in the wall of a cellar near an 11th-century synagogue just before the Erfurt pogrom of 1349 — and only discovered in 1998. The priceless treasure includes silver coins and ingots and gold and silver jewelry, including a gold wedding ring.
We end our day in Leipzig, which played a key role in the fall of communism in Germany. After arriving at our luxurious hotel and checking in, you are free to enjoy dinner on your own at the hotel or at a nearby restaurant.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodations: Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof, Leipzig
Friday, May 15 | Leipzig – Berlin
Morning: We take a walk through the Jewish cemetery of Leipzig, which is today a memorial site and part of a comprehensive digital archive documenting over 5,000 graves. We then visit Centrum Judaicum, the primary institution of the city’s 1,300 Jews, and the close-by Brody Synagogue, which survived the Nazi regime. Here we have the unique opportunity to meet Rabbi Zsolt Balla and Mrs. Klaudia Krenn to talk about Jewish life in Leipzig today.
Next, we go to the Runden Ecke Museum, dedicated to the history, structure, and working methods of the Stasi. The museum actively participates in social discourse on dictatorship and their consequences as well as on civil and human rights.
Afternoon: Lunch and free time to explore on your own. We then drive to Berlin, around 2 hours away, and check in to our hotel in the Mite district, Berlin’s most important Jewish neighborhood before World War II.
In the evening, we celebrate Shabbat at Centrum Judaicum (Masorti/Conservative) or Chabad and then have Shabbat dinner at the hotel.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: The Westin Grand, Berlin
Saturday, May 16 | Berlin
Morning: Optional prayer with the local community (Orthodox or Masorti/Liberal) and a chance to meet with a local rabbi/community member(s) or free time to relax and explore.
Afternoon: After lunch on your own, we convene for a walking tour through the Mitte. We visit the sculpture at Rosenstrasse Memorial, which honors a successful protest against the Nazi regime in Berlin in February and March 1943 carried out by the non-Jewish wives and relatives of Jewish men who had been arrested for deportation. We also visit the grave of Moses Mendelssohn, the site of the home of Reform founder Rabbi Abraham Geiger, the modern Orthodox seminary of R. Azriel Hildesheimer, and other significant historical sites.
The evening is free for you to enjoy dinner on your own.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Accommodations: The Westin Grand, Berlin
Sunday, May 17 | Berlin
Morning: We begin our day in the historic heart of Berlin with a visit to Peter Eisenman’s memorial to the Six Million and continue with a tour of the museum housed below it. Next, we walk to the nearby Brandenburg Gate and ponder the glories and atrocities of Prussian/German history. We continue to Babelplatz with its memorial to the Nazi book burnings in 1935.
Afternoon: We visit the New Synagogue and the Centrum Judaicum. We then spend time at the Berlin Wall Memorial, dedicated to preserving the memory of the Berlin Wall, which divided the city from 1963 to 1989, and the people affected by its division.
Our final destination is the award-winning Berlin Jewish Museum, where we have lunch, followed by a self-guided visit of the museum, dedicated to exploring the rich and complex history of Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day.
After dinner together, our evening features a lecture at the hotel by our scholar: Kristallnacht and American Jewish Reaction.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodations: The Westin Grand, Berlin
Monday, May 18 | Berlin – Wannsee – Berlin
Morning: Today, we embark on a daylong trip to the lakeside suburb of Wannsee, famous for its role in Holocaust history. Our stops include the Glienicke Bridge, also known as the “Bridge of Spies,” an iconic Cold War landmark where spy exchanges between the United States and the Soviet Union took place during the war. At the Wannsee House, now an impressive Holocaust study center, we see the actual room in which the Final Solution was plotted by Nazi leaders.
Afternoon: After lunch on your own, we visit the museum located in the house of the great Impressionist painter Max Liebermann, a pioneer of artistic freedom. On our drive back to the city, we stop at the Memorial of Platform 17, one of the former deportation train stations in Berlin.
The rest of the day, including dinner, is at your leisure.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Accommodations: The Westin Grand, Berlin
Tuesday, May 19 | Berlin
Morning: We begin our day at the Topography of Terror, a museum located on the site of the Gestapo and the SS headquarters, which tells the story of the Nazi regime and its crimes. We then visit “Checkpoint Charlie” nearby, the most famous border crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War.
Lunch is on your own, with a large selection of restaurants to choose from.
Afternoon: We stop at the German Historical Museum, opened in 1987 on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure for individual activities. Options include a boat trip, shopping on the fashionable Unter den Linden, a museum visit (there are many to choose from), time to relax by the hotel pool, or anything else you might like to do.
At night, we celebrate the end of the tour with a farewell dinner together.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: The Westin Grand, Berlin
Wednesday, May 20 | Departure
After breakfast at the hotel, transfer on your own to the Berlin airport for flights home.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Traveling with you…
Each of our scholars are outstanding experts in their fields and play an active role in helping us design our journeys as well as accompanying us as we travel.
David I. Bernstein
Dr. David I. Bernstein has led more than 60 Jewish heritage trips to Europe. He brings a wide-angle lens to the story of Jewish life in Europe by illuminating the big picture of European history, while zooming in to intimate stories of the dynamics of Jewish life. The son of refugees who came to the U.S. after the Second World War, he brings a personal sense of mission to his work as he shares the story of these famous Jewish communities. David earned a BA, MA, and PhD from New York University and was a visiting graduate fellow at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He served for more than a decade as the Director of Midreshet Lindenbaum and for 25 years as the Dean of the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies, where he currently serves as Dean Emeritus.
Ariel Goldstein
Ariel Goldstein was born in Uruguay, studied Latin American history in Montevideo and tourism at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. CEO of Tiyul-Jewish Journeys, he has led more than 50 tours throughout Israel, Europe, Persian Gulf, Latin America, China, India, Africa, and the US. Ariel speaks Spanish, English, Hebrew, and Portuguese and is the author of From Moses to Moisesville (2024).
Accommodations
Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof, Frankfurt
Since 1876, the distinguished Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof has welcomed luxury travelers from Queen Victoria to Elton John. Offering refined design, a serene ambiance, and first-class service, the 5-star hotel features spacious rooms and upscale amenities as well as a full-service spa, a bar, and a brasserie, right in the heart of Frankfurt’s historical city center.
Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof, Leipzig
Providing luxurious comfort and historical elegance in a prime location at the center of Leipzig, the prestigious Steigenberger Grandhotel Handelshof features elegant decor, spacious rooms, an array of modern amenities, and a restaurant with French and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. All the rooms are air-conditioned, soundproofed, and comfortably equipped with a flat-screen TV, desk, safe, and coffee- and tea-making facilities.
The Westin Grand, Berlin
From its location in the historic center of Berlin to its renowned lobby with a grand staircase and atrium, the Westin Grand Berlin hotel provides modern luxury for the discerning traveler. Elegant guest rooms feature comfortable beds, modern bathrooms, and a full range of amenities, including bathrobes and slippers. The hotel also offers a restaurant, spa, and fitness center.
Details
Program Cost: $7,995* includes:
- 9 nights’ accommodations at deluxe hotels
- Full breakfast daily; 3 lunches; 7 dinners
- All group transportation via deluxe air-conditioned coach
- All lectures, guided tours, museums and site entrance fees
*Per person, double occupancy; single supplement: $2,495. Fees not included: gratuities: $250; museum membership for nonmembers.
Travel note: Arrive on Monday May 11 in Frankfurt (FRA) and depart on Wednesday May 20 from Berlin (BER).
Secure your place
Book Now: use the link below to reach our easy online booking form.
By phone: 845-256-0197 Monday–Friday, 10am–4pm EST.
Payment Reserve your space with a nonrefundable deposit of $1,000 per person. Final balance is due 120 days prior to departure.
Membership Participation on these tours is a benefit for active members of our museum partners. During the registration process, you will be asked about your membership status with your affiliated museum. If you are not a current member, you will have a chance to activate your membership.
Participation Tour sizes are limited to 28 participants unless otherwise noted. Trips entail considerable walking including over uneven terrain. Participants need to be in good health, be able to keep up with the group, be able to experience group and cultural differences with grace. Please let us know if you have any physical conditions that may require special attention while on tour. For more information please see our FAQ page.
Cancellations All cancellations must be received by Jewish Heritage Travel in writing. Cancellations received 120 days or more prior to departure: full refund less nonrefundable deposits, per person; 119–90 days prior to departure: 50% refund per person after nonrefundable deposits. 89–0 days before departure: no refund.
Trip Cancellation Insurance Jewish Heritage Travel strongly urges all participants to purchase travel insurance for coverage of losses necessitated by having to cancel due to illness or accident. For your convenience, we are providing a link to Allianz Global Assistance, which many past participants have used. Please use code ACCAM/Agency ID# F026815 or feel free to use your own insurance agent. When purchasing insurance, please consider the plans carefully to familiarize yourself with what is covered. In this context, do take note that most insurance companies generally will waive exclusion for preexisting conditions only if your application is received by them within 14 days from the date of your program registration. If you have a preexisting medical condition and are interested in taking trip insurance, you should do so either with Allianz or through your own insurance agent within 14 days of registration.
Changes All rights are reserved by Jewish Heritage Travel to make scholar substitutions and/or to modify the itinerary (including hotels) as needed. Every reasonable effort will be made to operate the program as planned; however, should unforeseen world events and conditions require the itinerary to be altered, Jewish Heritage Travel reserves the right to do so for the safety and best interest of the group. Any extra expenses incurred in this situation are the responsibility of the participant.
Disclaimer of Responsibility By registering for this program, participant specifically waives any and all claims of action against Jewish Heritage Travel and our museum partners listed below and their respective staffs for damages, loss, injury, accident, or death incurred by any person in connection with this tour. Jewish Heritage Travel and our museum partners listed below and their respective staffs assume no responsibility or liability in connection with the service of any train, vessel, carriage, aircraft, or other conveyance that may be used wholly or in part in the performance of their duty to the passengers. Neither will the Jewish Heritage Travel and our museum partners listed below or their staffs be responsible for any injury, death, loss, accident, delay, or irregularity through neglect or default of any company or person engaged in carrying out the purposes for which tickets, vouchers, or coupons are issued. Any personal activities arranged outside the Jewish Heritage Travel published tour itinerary are solely and wholly the responsibility of the individual traveller whether or not a representative of Jewish Heritage Travel has provided any guidance. No responsibility is accepted for losses or expenses due to sickness, viruses, weather, strikes, wars, and other causes. In the event it becomes necessary or advisable for any reason whatsoever to alter the itinerary or arrangements, including hotels or scholars, such alterations may be made without penalty. All rights reserved to require any participant to withdraw from the tour at his/her own expense when such an action is determined by the tour staff to be in the best interest of the participant’s health and safety and that of the group in general. Prices subject to change. Cost in effect at time of registration will be honored.
