Gedenkstätte Geschlossener Jugendwerkhof Torgau

About the museum

The building at the Torgau Fischerdörfchen was built in 1901 as a military detention facility and then served for many years as a prison – in 1945 also as a pretrial detention prison of the Soviet secret service, and from 1952 to 1963 as a juvenile prison. In May 1964 the Geschlossener Jugendwerkhof moved in, officially the only closed facility of the GDR youth welfare system. It reported directly to the Ministry of Public Education; young people were committed without a court ruling.

Until its dissolution in November 1989, more than 4,000 young people passed through the facility. Behind walls, bars and watchtowers, they were to be broken and “re-educated” through drill, solitary confinement, forced exercise and labor. In 1990 a commission of inquiry found that conditions had in many respects been harsher than in the penal system.

After the site was sold and converted into apartments, the former administration building was placed under historic protection. The Initiativgruppe Geschlossener Jugendwerkhof Torgau, founded in 1996, established a place of remembrance and encounter there in 1998. A first permanent exhibition in 2003 was followed in 2009 by the current one, which was thoroughly revised in 2024 and now also addresses sexualized violence in GDR children's homes. The memorial advises former children's home residents, collects eyewitness accounts and shows traveling exhibitions, including the mobile BLACKBOX HEIMERZIEHUNG. It is co-funded by the Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten (Saxon Memorials Foundation).

Highlights

• Authentic site with detention and dark-cell wing
• Insight into special files and biographies of former inmates
• Portrait room that gives those affected a voice and a face
• Bilingual permanent exhibition (German/English), redesigned in 2024
• Eyewitness talks and project days for school classes

Permanent exhibitions

• „Ich bin als Mensch geboren und will als Mensch hier raus!“ Der Geschlossene Jugendwerkhof Torgau im Erziehungssystem der DDR – Opened in 2009 and redesigned in November 2024, the exhibition explains, across more than 170 m², the system of special children's homes in the GDR and daily life in the Geschlossener Jugendwerkhof. Special files, biographies, listening stations and a portrait room put those affected at the center; one chapter looks at repressive institutional care elsewhere in Europe.

Founded

1998

Operated by

Initiativgruppe Geschlossener Jugendwerkhof Torgau e. V.

Director

Manuela Rummel

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Visiting the permanent exhibition is free; only educational programs for groups are subject to a fee.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Listed historic building, only partially accessible: access to the permanent exhibition via three low steps; one exhibition area on the second floor has no elevator. Seating in the exhibition. Educational programs can be adapted on request for deaf, blind/visually impaired people and people with learning or intellectual disabilities.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kidsRecommended for ages 14+

The memorial recommends a visit from age 14 or from grade 9.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Publications from the series "Auf Biegen und Brechen" available from the exhibition attendant.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit