Victims of Stasi persecution often ended up in this grim remand prison, now a memorial site officially called Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen (stiftung-hsh.de; adult/concession €9/5). Tours – sometimes led by former inmates – reveal the full extent of the terror and cruelty perpetrated upon thousands of suspected regime opponents, many utterly innocent. A permanent exhibit uses photographs, objects, media stations and a free audioguide to document the daily lives of those behind bars and of the Stasi staff.
Book a time slot online for a punch-in-the-gut tour through this claustrophobic warren, including peeks inside cells and interrogation rooms. If you’ve seen the Oscar-winning The Lives of the Others (2006), you may recognize some of the original settings. With luck, your guide will be a former prisoner sharing firsthand accounts of the terror and cruelty inflicted upon inmates, many of them utterly innocent. Don’t be shy to ask questions.
To get to the memorial, take tram M5 from Alexanderplatz to Freienwalder Strasse, then walk 800m along Freienwalder Strasse.
