Begin with the Visit the Brand New Alsace-Moselle WWII Memorial Museum
In the morning, we will come and pick you up at your centrally located accommodation in Colmar. First, meet your English speaking driver/guide that will be with you through the day. You will go over the itinerary and program but please note as this is a private full day tour, we can be flexible and adapt the tour to your wishes. Then, board your air conditioned vehicle and begin your private tour.
Visit the Alsace-Moselle Memorial
The Alsace-Moselle Memorial is the result of regional desire and effort. It attempts to explain the complicated history of Alsace and Moselle, particularly during the time of the Second World War. From 1940 to 1945, Alsace and Moselle were the only areas of the French territory to be annexed by the Third Reich and to experience the extreme violence of a totalitarian regime. The agony cannot be understood without retracing the historical steps of a region long disputed by France and Germany, whose culture is richer today because of this long struggle. This place offers a history lesson available to all, and teaches the necessity to unite Europeans in their diversity and in the respect and dignity of every person in order to offer them peace and freedom. Here you will enjoy a visit and then some free time for personal discovery.
After the visit of the Memorial, your tour guide will certainly have you follow the Alsace wine route that is lined with medieval castles, small towns and breathtaking views of the valley and the Vosges Mountains. To make your private tour a great experience, your driver/guide will certainly indicate a highly recommended local restaurant of the region for lunch. It is also possible to stop at one of the many vineyards to visit wineries or participate in a wine tasting session.
Then Reach the Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp
After lunch, we will take you to the Struthof Camp where you will be able to follow a walking tour with an excellent guide. On 21 April 1941, near the village of Struthof, the Nazis opened a concentration camp, KL-Natzweiler. The central camp, the only concentration camp in France, was located in the then annexed Alsace region. Its annexes, scattered over the 2 sides of the Rhine, made up a network of nearly 70 camps, more or less large.
Of the nearly 52,000 detainees of KL-Natzeiler, about 35,000 did not go through the central camp. A labor camp supporting the Nazi war industry, it was also used for medical experiments by Nazi professors from the Reich University of Strasbourg. On 23 November 1944, the Allies discovered the site evacuated by the Nazis since September. Some deportees from the camp annexes had their sufferings prolonged in the spring of 1945 on the “Death Marches”. From 1941 to 1945, the KL-Natzweiler was one of the most murderous camps of the Nazi system. Nearly 22,000 deportees died there.
After the tour, return to Colmar and end of our services.