Niederkirchnerstrasse
Encyclopedia
Niederkirchnerstraße, formerly Prinz-Albrecht-Straße, is a street in Berlin
, the capital of Germany
. The street runs east-west from Wilhelmstraße
to Stresemannstraße near Potsdamer Platz
, forming the border between the districts of Mitte
and Kreuzberg
. It is best known for having been the location of the headquarters of the Reich Main Security Office
, SD
, Gestapo
and the SS
in Nazi Germany
. The site is now marked by the Topography of Terror
memorial and museum.
Niederkirchnerstraße is also the site of two other Berlin landmarks, the Martin-Gropius-Bau
exhibition hall, built in 1881 by Martin Gropius
and Heino Schmieden
as a Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin
, from 1899 until 1933 seat of the Preußischer Landtag
, the second chamber of the Prussian parliament. On January 1, 1919 the Communist Party of Germany
was founded in this building. Since April 29, 1993 it houses the parliament of the Berlin city state.
The street was laid out in 1891 and named for Prince Albrecht of Prussia
, son of King Friedrich Wilhelm III, who had owned a large house called Prinz-Albrecht-Palais
on the corner of this street and Wilhelmstraße. In 1905 an extension building of the Museum of Decorative Arts was erected adjacent to the Martin-Gropius-Bau on Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 8. From May 1933 this building served as the headquarters of the Gestapo created by the order of Hermann Göring
, where many political prisoners were tortured and executed. In December 1934, it also housed the headquarters of the Concentration Camps Inspectorate
, which oversaw all the concentration camps. It formed the nucleus of the complex of buildings including the neighbouring Hotel Prinz Albrecht on Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 9 and the Prinz-Albrecht-Palais itself, which was taken over by the Sicherheitsdienst
under Reinhard Heydrich
in 1934. In September 1939, it developed into a centre for the Reich Main Security Office
which was created by Heinrich Himmler
and placed under the command of Reinhard Heydrich for the whole of Germany and occupied Europe. The buildings were destroyed by Allied bombing in early 1945 and demolished after the war.
After World War II
, in 1951, the authorities of East Berlin
renamed Prinz-Albrecht-Straße Niederkirchnerstraße in honour of Käthe Niederkirchner (1909-1944), a member of the communist resistance
to the Nazis. The Berlin Wall
ran along the southern side of the street from 1961 to 1989, one of the few preserved sections is located at the eastern end.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the capital of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The street runs east-west from Wilhelmstraße
Wilhelmstraße
The Wilhelmstrasse is a street in the center of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Between the mid 19th century and 1945, it was the administrative centre, first of the Kingdom of Prussia and then of the unified German state, housing in particular the Reich Chancellery and the Foreign Office...
to Stresemannstraße near Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Platz is an important public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin, Germany, lying about one kilometre south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag , and close to the southeast corner of the Tiergarten park...
, forming the border between the districts of Mitte
Mitte (locality)
Mitte is a central locality of Berlin in the homonymous district of Mitte. Until 2001 it was itself an autonomous district....
and Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
. It is best known for having been the location of the headquarters of the Reich Main Security Office
RSHA
The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
, SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
, Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The site is now marked by the Topography of Terror
Topography of Terror
The Topography of Terror is an outdoor museum in Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is located in Niederkirchnerstrasse, formerly Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, on the site of buildings which during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 were the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS, the principal...
memorial and museum.
Niederkirchnerstraße is also the site of two other Berlin landmarks, the Martin-Gropius-Bau
Martin Gropius Bau
Martin-Gropius-Bau, originally a museum of applied arts and a listed historical monument since 1966, is a well-known Berlin exhibition hall located at Niederkirchnerstraße 7 in Berlin-Kreuzberg.- History and architecture :...
exhibition hall, built in 1881 by Martin Gropius
Martin Gropius
Martin Carl Philipp Gropius was a German architect.- Life :Gropius studied at the Bauakademie in Berlin and after graduation worked as a private architect...
and Heino Schmieden
Heino Schmieden
Heino Schmieden was a German architect.-Biography:Schmieden was born in Soldin, New March In 1866 Schmieden graduated from the renowned Bauakademie in Berlin with a diploma in architecture...
as a Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin
Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin
The Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin is the state parliament for the German state of Berlin, according to the state's constitution. The parliament is based at the building on Niederkirchnerstraße in Mitte which until 1934 was the seat of the lower house of the Preußischer Landtag...
, from 1899 until 1933 seat of the Preußischer Landtag
Preußischer Landtag
Preußischer Landtag or Prussian Landtag was the Landtag of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was implemented in 1849 after the dissolution of the Prussian National Assembly, building on the tradition of the Prussian estates that had existed from the 14th century in various forms and states in Teutonic...
, the second chamber of the Prussian parliament. On January 1, 1919 the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
was founded in this building. Since April 29, 1993 it houses the parliament of the Berlin city state.
Prince Albert of Prussia (1809-1872)
Prince Albert of Prussia was a Prussian colonel general. Albert was the fifth son and youngest child of King Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. His parents had fled to East Prussia after the occupation of Berlin by Napoleon...
, son of King Friedrich Wilhelm III, who had owned a large house called Prinz-Albrecht-Palais
Prinz-Albrecht-Palais
The Prinz-Albrecht-Palais was a large stately mansion or a smaller palace in Berlin Friedrichstadt. It was located on Wilhelmstraße 102, opposite the western end of Kochstraße.-History:...
on the corner of this street and Wilhelmstraße. In 1905 an extension building of the Museum of Decorative Arts was erected adjacent to the Martin-Gropius-Bau on Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 8. From May 1933 this building served as the headquarters of the Gestapo created by the order of Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, where many political prisoners were tortured and executed. In December 1934, it also housed the headquarters of the Concentration Camps Inspectorate
Concentration Camps Inspectorate
The Concentration Camps Inspectorate was the central SS administrative and managerial authority for the concentration camps of the Third Reich. Created by Theodor Eicke, it was originally known as the "General Inspection of the Enhanced SS-Totenkopfstandarten, after Eicke's position in the SS...
, which oversaw all the concentration camps. It formed the nucleus of the complex of buildings including the neighbouring Hotel Prinz Albrecht on Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 9 and the Prinz-Albrecht-Palais itself, which was taken over by the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
under Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
in 1934. In September 1939, it developed into a centre for the Reich Main Security Office
RSHA
The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
which was created by Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
and placed under the command of Reinhard Heydrich for the whole of Germany and occupied Europe. The buildings were destroyed by Allied bombing in early 1945 and demolished after the war.
After World War II
World 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...
, in 1951, the authorities of East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
renamed Prinz-Albrecht-Straße Niederkirchnerstraße in honour of Käthe Niederkirchner (1909-1944), a member of the communist resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
to the Nazis. 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...
ran along the southern side of the street from 1961 to 1989, one of the few preserved sections is located at the eastern end.
Literature
- Erika Bucholtz: Die Zentralen des nationalsozialistischen SS- und Polizeistaats. Gebäudenutzung und Bauplanung in Berlin 1933-1945, In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft 52 (2004), H. 12, S. 1106-1125. online als pdf