The Berlin Senate’s invitation program for former Berliners

Berlin looks forward to seeing you again

The Berlin Senate started its invitation program to give former Berliners who were forced to leave Berlin during the National Socialist years the chance to see their hometown again.

The visitors’ program for groups came to an end in 2010. The remaining funds for the program are for visits made by individual visitors who were born in Berlin or lived here and had to emigrate during the National Socialist years and who have not been in Berlin before at the invitation of the Senate.

If you would like to visit Berlin, the Senate Chancellery’s Protocol Office would be glad to help you plan your visit. If you are interested in financial support for your trip, the Protocol Office will need the following information:

• Your full name
• Your birthdate
• Your current address
• A copy of your birth certificate
• A declaration that you have not yet taken part in the invitation program

You can download the form below this text, fill it out, and then attach a copy of your birth certificate. The Protocol Office is delighted that you have decided to visit Berlin.

As soon as we have received your documents, we will review them and then contact you with more details on how the Berlin Senate can help finance the trip you will be arranging on your own. Please note that people who have already taken part in the invitation program cannot take part again. We appreciate your understanding.

• Declaration invitation program for former Berliners

  DOCX-Document (81.9 kB)

The Berlin Senate’s invitation program for former refugees turns 50

The “Charter flight into the past” exhibition was created in 2019 under the auspices of the German Resistance Memorial Center in cooperation with the Berlin Senate Chancellery, marking the program’s 50th anniversary
and tracing the program’s development over time. It puts the spotlight on the biographies of those who, in spite of their reservations, embarked on the journey to Berlin from all over the world.

• Exhibition catalog “Charter flight into the past”

  PDF-Document