Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial
Location:
Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen
Genslerstraße 66
13055 Berlin
Germany
Contact:
Visitor's Service
Tel. + 49 (0)30 98 60 82 30
info[at]stiftung-hsh.de
Opening Hours:
Daily 9 am - 6 pm
Today, the former central prison of the East German secret police – the Stasi – is a memorial. The remains of this vast prison with its cells and interrogation rooms give a pervasive and authentic insight into German history. A great number of inmates of the principal Stasi detention center were imprisoned for "anti-social behavior", "attempted escape from the Republic" as well as actual or assumed espionage.
The prison was permanently closed in 1990. A memorial foundation was created four years later which was transformed in 2000 into a federal foundation with further financial support from the City-State of Berlin.
The memorial Hohenschönhausen provides tours around the building which are usually given by former prisoners. An exhibition also presents information about the history of the prison which held thousands of political prisoners between 1945 and 1989.
The Research Department has a contemporary witness archive and a library, allowing historians to research the prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen as well as the biographies of former prisoners and members of the Stasi.
Once a year, the memorial hosts the Hohenschönhausen Forum. The full-day conference considers contemporary German history from a comparative perspective in regards to National Socialism, as well as to East-West German History after 1945.