Photo: Reise Reise · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Informations- und Dokumentationszentrum Halle (Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv)

Permanent exhibition "Entschlüsselte Macht" (Decoded Power) on surveillance and the methods of the GDR State Security in the Stasi Records Archive Halle (Federal Archives).

Opening hoursFree admission

Website Directions

About the museum

The Stasi Records Archive Halle holds the files of the former Halle District Administration of the Ministry for State Security and of the district's county offices, more than 7,000 linear metres in total. The site on Blücherstraße used to be run as a branch office of the Stasi Records Agency and today belongs to the Federal Archives.

In the attached Information and Documentation Centre, the permanent exhibition "Entschlüsselte Macht" shows how the GDR State Security surveilled the population and how its apparatus was organised. A first part explains the archive's statutory mandate, such as cataloguing and preserving the files and personal access to records; the larger second part deals with the development, structures and methods of the Ministry for State Security.

The building also contains a bar from a demolished building of the former district administration, which now serves as a display object and information point. Public archive tours lead through the branch office's repository and end in the exhibition.

Key themes

Permanent exhibition "Entschlüsselte Macht"
Public archive tour through the repository
Stasi files from the former Halle district
Viewing of sample MfS files and on-site access to personal records

Permanent exhibition

Entschlüsselte Macht – Explains the archive's mandate and work as well as the history, structures and surveillance methods of the Ministry for State Security.

Operated by: Bundesarchiv

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission and public archive tours are free of charge.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible: no information
Elevator: no information
Accessible restroom: no information
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

Two disabled parking spaces near the main entrance.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

By public transit

Blücherstraße/Peißnitzinsel

From the main station by tram line 4 or 5 towards Heide to the Blücherstraße/Peißnitzinsel stop.

By car

Parking available

Public parking beside the road in front of the office building; two disabled parking spaces near the main entrance.

Accessible parking

Within a radius of 500 m, signs point the way to the Halle branch office.

Get directions

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

Guided tours	yes · approx. 1.5 hrs
Good to know	Public archive tour on the second Tuesday of every month at 5 p.m. (repository, insight into the work with files, visit to the exhibition); advance registration requested on +49 30 18665-2711; additional archive tours for seniors at 10 a.m. Guided tours of the exhibition by arrangement.