Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial is a museum and memorial located in Berlin's north-eastern Lichtenberg
district in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen
, part of the former borough of Hohenschönhausen
. It was opened in 1994 on the site of the main prison of the former East German Communist Ministry of State Security, the Stasi
.
Unlike many other government and military institutions in East Germany, Hohenschönhausen prison was not stormed by demonstrators after the fall of the Berlin Wall
, allowing prison authorities to destroy evidence of the prison's functions and history. Because of this, today's knowledge of the functioning of the prison comes mainly from eye-witness accounts and documents sourced from other East German institutions.
The prison was depicted in the 2006 film The Lives of Others
.
The museum is a member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience
.
organization. That red-brick building was completed in 1939.
, the Soviet Secret Police took over the Hohenschönhausen area of Lichtenberg and transformed it into a detainment and transit camp, called Special Camp No. 3. The camp served as an both a prison and transfer point. Over 20,000 people passed through Special Camp No. 3 on their way to other Soviet camps, including one at the former Nazi concentration camp at Sachsenhausen
Living conditions in the camp were deplorable, with death from malnutrition, disease, or cold common. Although official statistics list 886 deaths at the camp between July 1945 and October 1946, independent estimates put the toll as high as 3,000. Bodies were disposed of in local bomb craters.
The camp was closed and prisoners relocated other camps in October 1946. After the closing of Special Camp No. 3, the Hohenschönhausen compound served as a Soviet prison during the winter of 1946-1947. The former cafeteria was converted to the underground prison area ("submarine") by prison labor.
in 1989 and officially closed on October 3rd, 1990.
The main prison also included a hospital wing, built in the 1950s and expanded in 1972. The hospital treated prisoners from all three Berlin prisons and sometimes from regional Stasi prisons as well. The hospital had up to 28 beds (in cells), an x-ray ward, treatment and operating rooms, a laboratory, a morgue, and outdoor exercise cells (called "tiger cages" by prisoners). In 1989, shortly before its close, the hospital was run by Dr. Herbert Vogel with 28 full-time MfS staff.
Although torture (including Chinese water torture
)and physical violence were commonly employed at Hohenschönhausen (especially in the 1950s), psychological intimidation was the main method of political repression and techniques including sleep deprivation, total isolation, threats to friends and family members, and the use of water cells.
The Foundation was initially headed by Dr. Gabriele Camphausen, then by Mechthild Günther, who served as provisional director until September 2000. Dr. Hubertus Knabe
has since served as Executive Director.
The Foundation is open year-round, with hourly tours between 11:00 and 15:00 (10:00 - 16:00 weekends). English-speaking tours are done once-daily at 14:30. Visitors may tour in groups only, entrance fees range from 1 Euro (students) to 5 Euros (regular admission).
Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.-Overview:...
district in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen
Alt-Hohenschönhausen
Alt-Hohenschönhausen is a German locality in the borough of Lichtenberg, Berlin. Known also as Hohenschönhausen it was, until 2001, the main and the eponymous locality of the former Hohenschönhausen borough.-History:The locality, first mentioned in 1230, was an autonomous municipality still...
, part of the former borough of Hohenschönhausen
Hohenschönhausen
Hohenschönhausen was a borough of Berlin, that existed from 1985 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. It was composed by the localities of Alt-Hohenschönhausen , Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Malchow, Wartenberg and Falkenberg.-Overview:...
. It was opened in 1994 on the site of the main prison of the former East German Communist Ministry of State Security, the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
.
Unlike many other government and military institutions in East Germany, Hohenschönhausen prison was not stormed by demonstrators after the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, allowing prison authorities to destroy evidence of the prison's functions and history. Because of this, today's knowledge of the functioning of the prison comes mainly from eye-witness accounts and documents sourced from other East German institutions.
The prison was depicted in the 2006 film The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...
.
The museum is a member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience
Platform of European Memory and Conscience
The Platform of European Memory and Conscience is an educational project of the European Union bringing together government institutions and organisations from EU countries active in research, documentation, awareness raising and education about the crimes of totalitarian regimes...
.
Pre-World War II
The Hohenschönhausen area was largely industrial prior to World War II. The area later occupied by the main prison building housed a cafeteria for the National Socialist People's WelfareNational Socialist People's Welfare
The Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt , meaning "National Socialist People's Welfare" was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was established in 1933, shortly after the NSDAP took power in Germany...
organization. That red-brick building was completed in 1939.
Special Camp No. 3
In June 1945, at the conclusion of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Soviet Secret Police took over the Hohenschönhausen area of Lichtenberg and transformed it into a detainment and transit camp, called Special Camp No. 3. The camp served as an both a prison and transfer point. Over 20,000 people passed through Special Camp No. 3 on their way to other Soviet camps, including one at the former Nazi concentration camp at Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
Living conditions in the camp were deplorable, with death from malnutrition, disease, or cold common. Although official statistics list 886 deaths at the camp between July 1945 and October 1946, independent estimates put the toll as high as 3,000. Bodies were disposed of in local bomb craters.
The camp was closed and prisoners relocated other camps in October 1946. After the closing of Special Camp No. 3, the Hohenschönhausen compound served as a Soviet prison during the winter of 1946-1947. The former cafeteria was converted to the underground prison area ("submarine") by prison labor.
Stasi Prison
The prison was reopened by the East German Ministry of State Security (MfS), also known as the Stasi, in 1951. The Stasi added a new prison building (using prisoner labor) in the late 1950s. The new building included 200 prison cells and interrogation rooms. After the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the prison was primarily used to house those who wished or attempted to leave the GDR, although political prisons were also held there. The prison was used until Die WendeDie Wende
marks the complete process of the change from socialism and planned economy to market economy and capitalism in East Germany around the years 1989 and 1990. It encompasses several processes and events which later have become synonymous with the overall process...
in 1989 and officially closed on October 3rd, 1990.
The main prison also included a hospital wing, built in the 1950s and expanded in 1972. The hospital treated prisoners from all three Berlin prisons and sometimes from regional Stasi prisons as well. The hospital had up to 28 beds (in cells), an x-ray ward, treatment and operating rooms, a laboratory, a morgue, and outdoor exercise cells (called "tiger cages" by prisoners). In 1989, shortly before its close, the hospital was run by Dr. Herbert Vogel with 28 full-time MfS staff.
Political Oppression
Hohenschönhausen was a very important part of the GDR's system of political and artistic oppression.Although torture (including Chinese water torture
Chinese water torture
Chinese water torture is the popular name for a method of water torture in which water is slowly dripped onto a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane...
)and physical violence were commonly employed at Hohenschönhausen (especially in the 1950s), psychological intimidation was the main method of political repression and techniques including sleep deprivation, total isolation, threats to friends and family members, and the use of water cells.
Memorial
The Hohenschönhausen Memorial (Gedenkstätte) was founded in the early 1990s by former inmates. The prison was listed as a historical site in 1992 and welcomed its first visitors in 1994. The Foundation is funded equally by both the German federal government and the Berlin state government.The Foundation was initially headed by Dr. Gabriele Camphausen, then by Mechthild Günther, who served as provisional director until September 2000. Dr. Hubertus Knabe
Hubertus Knabe
Hubertus Knabe is a German historian, human rights activist and the scientific director of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, a museum and memorial in a notorious former Stasi torture prison in Berlin. Knabe is noted for several works on oppression in the former communist states of Eastern...
has since served as Executive Director.
The Foundation is open year-round, with hourly tours between 11:00 and 15:00 (10:00 - 16:00 weekends). English-speaking tours are done once-daily at 14:30. Visitors may tour in groups only, entrance fees range from 1 Euro (students) to 5 Euros (regular admission).