From 9 to 15 November 2025, the capital will be transformed into a stage for diversity, democracy and human rights to mark the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. During Berlin Freedom Week, you can join your family, friends or school class in thinking, having your say and actively shaping the city.
Look forward to over 100 exciting workshops, hands-on activities, guided tours, exhibitions, readings and discussions. We have put together 11 highlights for you that are particularly exciting for children, young people and families. Immerse yourself in a week full of inspiration, dialogue and shared experiences!
Tip 1: Find out how people fought for their rights in the GDR
Berlin stands for freedom, diversity and living history. But what was everyday life like when freedom was not a matter of course? In the guided tour accompanying the exhibition "Everyone has the right! Human rights in everyday life in the GDR", you can immerse yourself in personal stories that tell of courage, hope and the desire for self-determination.
A wedding photo, a Soviet magazine or a home-sewn bag, seemingly ordinary things that suddenly become testimonies to the will for freedom. On the one-hour tour through the permanent exhibition "Everyday Life in the GDR", you will discover how people made big things happen in small ways and stood up for their rights long before the Wall came down in 1989.
When: Sunday, 9 November, 3 pm
Where: Museum in the Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstraße 97, Pankow
Everyone has the right!
Tip 2: Go in search of traces along the Berlin Wall together
Berlin tells history on every corner, but hardly any other place makes it as vividly tangible as Bernauer Strasse. Where the Wall once separated families, you can now understand as a family what division meant - and how valuable freedom is.
At the Berlin Wall Memorial Visitor Centre, you can immerse yourself in the past: Multimedia stations, photos and eyewitness accounts bring history to life and make it tangible. You will learn why the Wall was built, how it changed people's lives and how courage and solidarity were ultimately stronger than concrete and barbed wire.
In addition to free visits, there are regular guided tours and events for families, where you can discover the stories behind the walls together with experts. In this way, history is not just told, but experienced - and encourages questions, reflection and amazement.
When: Sunday, 9 November, 2 pm & Saturday, 15 November, 2 pm; The Berlin Wall Memorial is open daily.
Where: Visitor Centre of the Berlin Wall Memorial, Bernauer Straße 111, Mitte
Tip 3: Discover how freedom and tolerance keep our democracy alive at the Youth Politics Day!
Berlin breathes freedom in its streets, voices and stories. Ideas, generations and cultures meet here to shape the future together. At the Youth Policy Day "Freedom and Tolerance in Democracy", it is precisely this attitude to life that becomes tangible: How can we treat each other with respect in an open society, share our opinions and at the same time protect the values that unite us?
In exciting workshops, discussion rounds and interactive formats, you can immerse yourself in topics that couldn't be more topical, from digital freedom to civil courage in everyday life. It's not just about listening, but about participating, sharing and shaping.
When: Tuesday, 11 November, 9 am
Where: Academy of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V., Tiergartenstraße 35, Mitte
Tip 4: Experience history up close in the school cinema "Bornholmer Straße"
Berlin is full of places where history comes alive and one of them is the Hackesche Höfe cinema. Here, the Berlin Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (BAB) is showing the moving film "Bornholmer Straße" and inviting school classes from year 8 upwards to not only see history, but to understand it.
The film tells the true story of the border officer who opened the decisive door on the evening of 9 November 1989, ushering in the fall of the Berlin Wall. In gripping scenes, the film shows how courage, doubt and humanity can make history. After the screening, you will have the chance to talk to the screenwriters Heide and Rainer Schwochow and the historian Dr Jens Schöne and ask questions.
When: Wednesday, 12 November, 10 am
Where: Hackesche Höfe cinema, Rosenthaler Str. 43-45, Mitte
Film "Bornholmer Straße"
Tip 5: Celebrate the freedom of movement at the "Freedom of Movement Festival"
Berlin is constantly on the move - and nowhere is this more tangible than at the Freedom of Movement Festival organised by CABUWAZI Tempelhof. Here, freedom is not just thought about, but danced, juggled, swung and celebrated. The festival shows how art builds bridges and how young people draw their stories of arrival, departure and cohesion in the air.
Under the motto "Young Stars Edition", young artists from the CABUWAZI community step into the spotlight. They will showcase breathtaking circus skills, talk about their very own freedom of movement - and invite you to experience how creativity, courage and community merge. Whether at the energetic Open Stage, the inspiring International Arrivals show or the rousing after-show party with live music: Berlin's heart of diversity pulsates here.
When: Saturday, 15 November, 4 pm
Where: CABUWAZI Tempelhof, Columbiadamm 84, Tempelhof-Schöneberg
freedom of movement
Tip 6: Courage starts with participation
Berlin is colourful, lively and always full of opportunities to make a difference. At the MACHmit! museum for children, you can experience this up close at the interactive exhibition MUTAUSBRUCH für Alle. Children have helped to design the exhibition themselves and you can immerse yourself in their creative ideas during your visit, playfully reflect on civil courage and think together about how society can experience change. From exciting installations and hands-on stations to surprising perspectives on the past and future, you can ask questions, try things out and be amazed.
The exhibition is aimed at everyone aged eight and over and connects generations in a creative way. Be inspired to discover your own courage and perhaps consider taking small steps towards a better world.
When: Saturday, 8 November to Saturday, 15 November
Where: MACHmit! museum for children, Schönhauser Allee Acarden, Pankow
"A burst of courage for everyone"
Tip 7: Reinvent democracy at "Designing Democracy on Mars"
Imagine landing on Mars with no government, no laws and no history. Embark on an imaginary expedition to the Red Planet: How can we shape a young democracy? How can we build an ideal political system? And what aspects do we need to live freely, safely and together in this society?
In this workshop, everyone is invited to help shape and discuss these questions. Using tools from democracy research, you can create and collapse worlds of thought. At the same time, you will be supporting the University of Stuttgart in researching the big question of our time: What does the future of democracy look like?
When: Wednesday, 12 November, 5 pm
Where: Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe, Sophienstraße 28/29, Mitte
To the workshop
Tip 8: Light your candles for freedom
Berlin, a city that never forgets and keeps on shining. Where darkness once reigned, people now light small candles of remembrance and hope. In the MACHmit! museum's special workshop for children, you can become part of this sea of lights yourself - creative, colourful and full of meaning. Here you can design your own candles and make them shine with colour, wax and imagination . Each candle stands for a story, for courage, solidarity and freedom. You can dedicate it to someone who inspires you or simply express your gratitude for an open, peaceful Berlin.
The workshop invites you to combine art and emotion in a playful, thoughtful and heartfelt way. In this way, every little light becomes a symbol of hope that has an effect far beyond the moment.
When: Saturday, 8 November to Sunday, 9 November & Wednesday, 12 November to Friday, 14 November
Where: MACHmit! museum for children, Schönhauser Allee Acarden, Pankow
Tip 9: Get creative in the spirit of freedom
Berlin, city of history, city of ideas. Where walls once separated everything, today encounters, colours and shapes are created. In the creative workshop at the Berlin Wall Memorial Visitor Centre, you can become part of this living memory yourself. Here, imagination and expressiveness are called for as children, families and friends work together with paper, paint and glue to create their very own works of art. Each picture, each collage tells a little story of solidarity, courage and freedom, which seems to be taken for granted today and yet is a hard-won commodity.
Be inspired by the spirit of the city, where art and history go hand in hand.
When: Sunday, 9 November, 2 pm
Where: Visitor Centre of the Berlin Wall Memorial, Bernauer Straße 111, Mitte
Tip 10: Democracy? Join in and shape your own future!
Berlin is the place where history and the future go hand in hand, from the spirit of the peaceful revolution to the commitment of young people today. At the barcamp "Democracy? Let's do it!" organised by the SozDia Foundation Berlin, you can experience exactly that: living democracy to participate, have your say and help shape the future. A barcamp is an open, participatory workshop format in which the participants themselves determine the topics, discuss them and develop solutions together.
In an open atmosphere, you will exchange ideas with contemporary witnesses of 1989 and current activists, contribute your own ideas and develop new perspectives for a strong, diverse community. Music by Sarah Lesch, creative workshops and real encounters will make the day an inspiring experience full of energy, community and self-efficacy.
When: Thursday, 13 November, 9.30 am
Where: Rainbow youth club, Hönower Str. 30, Lichtenberg
Barcamp - Democracy? let's do it!
Tip 11: Dive into Fritzi's world - experience freedom through children's eyes
Berlin has always been a city of new beginnings, full of stories of courage, change and hope. One of these is told in the enchanting animated film "Fritzi - Eine Wendewundergeschichte", which takes you on an emotional journey back in time to 1989 at the MACHmit! museum for children.
Together with Fritzi, you will experience the moving days of autumn, when people in Leipzig and Berlin dared to make peace with candles and hearts. Friendship, solidarity and the dream of freedom are at the centre of the film, which is child-friendly, touching and full of life. After the film, you can get creative yourself. In small art activities, you can put your thoughts and feelings on paper and design your own symbol of courage and change.
A cinema experience that touches and inspires, perfect for families who want to experience history vividly and with all their senses.
When: Saturday, 8 November & Sunday, 9 November, 6.30 pm & Monday, 10 November, 9.30 am
Where: MACHmit! museum for children, Schönhauser Allee Acarden, Pankow
