Gedenkstätte Zuchthaus Brandenburg-Görden

About the museum

The penal institution in Brandenburg's Görden district was built between 1927 and 1935 as a model institution of humane imprisonment and replaced the old penitentiary in the city centre. Under the National Socialists it became a place of political persecution: opponents of the regime, prisoners in preventive detention and those sentenced to death were held here. In 1940 the Nazi justice system set up an execution site, where more than 2,000 men from all over Europe were killed until April 1945, most of them for political reasons. Among the prisoners were Robert Havemann and Erich Honecker.

After liberation by the Red Army in April 1945, the Soviet occupying power continued to use the prison for several years. In the GDR it was one of the large penal institutions, holding political prisoners alongside violent offenders, and inmates performed forced labour for businesses in the region. Today the site houses the Brandenburg state correctional facility.

Commemorative rooms have existed in the institution since the late 1940s; in 1975 they were redesigned. The memorial now belongs to the Brandenburg Memorials Foundation. Since 2018 the former residence of the institution's director has housed a permanent exhibition spanning the origins in the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era and the GDR, up to present-day imprisonment. The memorial at the former execution site has been largely preserved in its design and has been supplemented with twelve biographies of executed people and a projection of all known names.

Key themes

• Permanent exhibition in the former director's residence (since 2018)
• Memorial at the former Nazi execution site (visit by registration)
• Twelve biographies of execution victims and a projection of all known names
• Listed penitentiary complex from the Weimar Republic era

Permanent exhibitions

• Dauerausstellung zur Geschichte des Zuchthauses Brandenburg-Görden – Since April 2018 in the former director's residence: exhibition from the construction of the institution in the Weimar Republic through the Nazi era and the GDR to present-day imprisonment.
• Gedenkort am ehemaligen Hinrichtungsort – Largely unchanged memorial at the site of the Nazi executions, with biographies of victims and a projection of names; visit by registration only.

Founded

1947

Operated by

Stiftung Brandenburgische Gedenkstätten

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Visiting the memorial is free of charge.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• 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

In the exhibition building a lift leads to the upper floor and to the accessible toilet; level, trip-free flooring indoors and outdoors.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

Memorial with educational programmes aimed mainly at school classes and youth groups.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit