So what is it really that we do? In two words: applied history.

Like the term "artist", that doesn't say much about what a particular artist might do, "tour guide" is a very general term too, that covers many different fields. One of these fields describes precisely our expertise and is known in German as Geschichtsvermittlung - a literal translation into English would be "mediation of history".

It refers to a certain kind of historians like ourselves that do practical history, in contrast to the theoretical work done by the other kind of historians, those who work at universities. There's a common misconception about us and what we do, namely that we supposedly teach at universities. Actually we don't, although we do guide history classes quite often, when it's time to take the students out of their theoretical framework, into the practical manifestations of history in society.

To put it shortly, our work as "mediators of history" has a lot in common with, for example, the history channel: We apply academic knowledge by conveying new perspectives to audiences interested in a deeper understanding of history. The major difference, however, is that the history channel is a one-way channel - your television talks to you, not with you. Having true, real conversations with our guests is a key aspect in our understanding of ourselves as history guides. In fact, this is exactly what keeps us going for years: Every tour is different, because you, our guests, are different.

In this work of ours, we accompany mostly Jewish visitors, for whom traveling to the capital of reunified Germany is not just tourism, but is usually also a personal examination of - and a journey to - the past.

The past can mean, in this context, one’s family history (sometimes, although nowadays naturally quite seldom, also one's personal biography), but it can also mean the collective memory of both peoples – Germans and Jews. The visit to Berlin often has a very special character: It resembles a voyage of discovery, during which both the Jewish and the German sides of the story are experienced anew.

Therefore, our work is based on three central aspects:

Firstly, to provide our visitors with professional and high-quality guidance in Berlin. This naturally requires continuous investments in keeping one's level, both technically and academically.

Secondly, to help the visitors during their journey into history, by accompanying them when they deal with the sometimes difficult and sensitive questions that this confrontation with the past might raise. 

And thirdly - last but not least - we are thankful to all our guests that share with us their thoughts, as each one has his or her own perspective on this pained city and its meaning for us today. Allowing this space for dialog and mutual enrichment is central to our understanding of being history guides.

PS. We are left, if you're really curious, with the question - what is history?

PPS. We aren't that certain about the exact meaning of the symbols but just in case: History Guides ® © 🥤