Delve deeply into Holocaust history
The tour offers an opportunity for participants to take their interest in Holocaust history.
The Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) is leading a significant and profound European tour next year, taking in key Jewish and Holocaust sites in Berlin, Warsaw, Lublin, Lodz and Krakow.
The tour offers an opportunity for participants to take their interest in Holocaust history to a deeper level, learn the personal stories behind historic sites and connect with other participants.
Like the work of the museum itself, this tour is more important than ever. With hateful rhetoric that echoes this haunting past now entering the mainstream – notably the recent neo-Nazi rally outside Parliament House in Sydney – it is a timely reminder of the importance of learning from history.
The SJM’s 2026 Berlin and Poland tour is led by expert educators, foremost among them the museum’s head of education Sandy Hollis, who has led many similar tours.
“Each of the 13 previous tours I’ve led has been remarkable in its own way,” said Hollis.
“It’s a chance for participants to grow individually, to share unbelievable experiences with a group and to learn from each other. There are also inspiring and joyful elements in tracing the story of life in pre-Holocaust Europe; we learn the breadth, the depth and the richness of the Polish-Jewish community.”
Previous tours have included group members of all ages and life stages from Australia and internationally – students and adults, politicians and public figures.
Covering 14 days and 13 nights from June 14-27, 2026, sites include Wannsee Villa, Sachsenhausen, Treblinka, Majdanek and Auschwitz/Birkenau concentration camps, as well as the historic town of Lodz and many Jewish museums and memorial sites.
Travelling in airconditioned coaches, there are VIP speakers, professional English-speaking local guides for all excursions, whisper-amplified headphones and all venue entries, gratuities and most meals are included.
Alicia Kawalsky, who took the tour in 2017 said it was a “transformative experience”.
“The opportunity to convert my historical knowledge into a lived experience was deeply meaningful,” she said.
“When one bears witness at the sites of these atrocities, one cannot remain unchanged. The tour was well organised, the guides were extremely knowledgeable, and the intensity of this experience created deep, enduring friendships.”
To find out more, prospective participants should contact the Sydney Jewish Museum on 02 9360 7999 or email tour2026@sjm.com.au