Hotel Silber

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The building on Stuttgart's Dorotheenstraße takes its name from a former hotel. From 1928 it was used by the police: during the Weimar Republic it housed police headquarters and the statewide political police, and after 1933 it became the headquarters of the Gestapo (Secret State Police) for Württemberg and Hohenzollern. From here, opponents of the regime were monitored and interrogated, deportations were organized, and officers were sent to the occupied territories. After the war the building remained the seat of the criminal police until 1984.

When plans for a new shopping district called for its demolition from 2007 onward, resistance formed: the Initiative Lern- und Gedenkort Hotel Silber, founded in 2009, campaigned to preserve it, and in 2011 the new state government decided to keep the building. As part of a citizen participation project, the Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg, the initiative, the city of Stuttgart and other partners developed the memorial site, which opened in December 2018.

The permanent exhibition examines the conduct of the police from the end of the Weimar Republic through the Nazi dictatorship and into the Federal Republic: continuities and ruptures, the treatment of minorities and how officers saw themselves. Biographies of perpetrators and persecuted people, an original cell door and documents make this history tangible. Special exhibitions, lectures, theater and educational programs round out the program.

Highlights

• Historic site: former Gestapo headquarters for Württemberg and Hohenzollern
• Permanent exhibition on the police in democracy and dictatorship (1928–1984)
• Original cell door from the building
• Audio guide in German, English and French
• Free admission to the permanent exhibition

Permanent exhibitions

• Hotel Silber – Eine Ausstellung zu Polizei, Gestapo und Verfolgung – Permanent exhibition on the police in the building from the Weimar Republic through the Gestapo era and into the Federal Republic, with biographies of perpetrators and persecuted people.

Founded

2018

Operated by

Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission to the permanent exhibition. Reduced admission to special exhibitions with a same-day bwtarif ticket, Schüler-Ferien-Ticket, JugendticketBW or Deutschlandticket (bwegtPlus).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• 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

Step-free entrance on Else-Josenhans-Straße (doorbell “Hotel Silber. Informationen und Kasse”). Elevator to all levels, accessible restroom in the basement, coat check and lockers reachable step-free. Folding stools in front of the permanent exhibition on the second floor. Two municipal accessible parking spaces on Dorotheenstraße in front of the building. The audio guide can also be used by people with visual impairments.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

Memorial site on Nazi persecution and police violence; educational programs are aimed at young people aged about 14 and up, or from grade 9.

Getting there & parking

About a 20-minute walk from Stuttgart main station.

Amenities & dining

• Coat check
• Lockers

Exhibition catalog (256 pages, €25) available at the ticket desk.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 115 guests.

Foyer (123 m², up to 115 people, with projector, sound system and grand piano) and two seminar rooms for up to 42 and 24 people; inquiries through the rentals department of the Haus der Geschichte.

Plan your visit