Timeline

Timeline

The following 24 stations provide an overview of the history of the site on Wilhelm- and Prinz-Albrecht-Straße (now Niederkirchnerstraße) from the 18th century to the present day.

Between 1933 and 1945, the most important facilities of the National Socialist apparatus of persecution and terror were located here.

After 1945, the site was often referred to as the "Gestapo grounds" and later simply as "the grounds".
City model with a symmetrical street layout converging in a star shape toward a central square.

The Friedrichstadt district in Berlin was extended to the south in the 18th century. A stately palace, one of the city’s most important buildings at the time, stood on the corner of Kochstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse. It had been used by Prince Albrecht of Prussia since 1830. In the second half of the 19th century, urban life developed around the Anhalter and Potsdam railway stations. The Museum of Industrial Arts and Crafts opened and Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse was built during this time. Model of Berlin, the capital and seat of royal power, around 1750 / Stiftung Stadtmuseum / Reproduction: Dorin Alexandru Ionita, Berlin Modell der Haupt- und Residenzstadt Berlin um 1750 / Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin / Reproduktion: Dorin Alexandru Ionita, Berlin

18th and 19th century

Historical city map. At the center, the “Park des Prinzen” with winding paths. To the southwest of the green space is the Museum of Ethnology, with the Museum of Decorative Arts to its right. Below, west of the park, a U-shaped building.

In 1905, the educational centre opened in a building next to the Museum of Industrial Arts and Crafts at Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse 8. The museum library was also located there. In 1924, the educational centre moved out of the building and joined the Academy of Fine Arts in Charlottenburg. The building was rented out, but a few studios remained in use. City map by Julius Straube (detail), 1910 / Landesarchiv Berlin / Histomap Berlin

1905

Black-and-white photograph: Monumental five-story building with an ornate façade and mansard roof. In front, a quiet street with a sidewalk, street lamps, and a passerby holding a newspaper.

Shortly after the Secret State Police (Gestapo) was established in April 1933, it moved into the building at Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse 8. A house prison was built either in the cellar or on the raised lower level of the building’s southern wing, which faced the park grounds of Prinz-Albrecht-Palais. Many of those held in the prison were politically persecuted members of the resistance in Germany. Later, opponents of the Nazi regime from the German-occupied territories were also imprisoned here. Eastern view of the building housing the educational centre and art library, 1933 / Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R97512 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

1933

Black-and-white photograph: Two men in National Socialist uniforms shake hands with serious expressions. The man on the left carries a pistol in a holster, the one on the right a dagger. They stand in front of a large swastika flag hanging on the wall.

In 1934, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler asserted himself as head of the political police forces in the federal states. The SS subsequently moved its offices to Berlin. The SS Reich leadership moved into the former Hotel Prinz Albrecht at Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse 9, while the SS Security Service (SD) occupied the Prinz-Albrecht-Palais in Wilhelmstrasse. Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler at Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse 8, 1934 / Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R96954 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

1934

Black-and-white photograph showing a representative office with a large desk, chandelier, and a wall tapestry displaying the Reichsadler (Imperial Eagle).

In 1939, the buildings on Wilhelm-and Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse became the headquarters of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), which included the SD and the Criminal Investigation Police based at Werderscher Markt. Over the following years, the RSHA occupied other locations throughout the city. The RSHA was the institution responsible for the persecution in occupied Europe as well as various murder operations. Reinhard Heydrich’s office in Prinz-Albrecht-Palais, c. 1942 / Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege

1939

Aerial photograph of an open area surrounded by bombed-out buildings.

The buildings at Prinz-Albrechtstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse were in disrepair after the war. The Prinz-Albrecht-Palais was demolished in 1948 and the former Gestapo headquarters building was dismantled in the mid-1950s. By the early 1960s, all the rubble had been cleared from the grounds. A Gestapo garage complex from the 1930s was also demolished. Museum of Industrial Arts and Crafts and Ethnology, Europahaus complex and building ruins, 1954 / Geoportal Berlin 

After 1945

Drawn city map with the title “Sites of Persecution and Resistance in Berlin 1933–1945” and marked locations.

In 1952, a memorial was established around the former execution site of the Berlin-Plötzensee prison, where over 2,800 people were murdered between 1933 and 1945. A brochure about the site was published in 1960. It contained a map of the city showing the location of Nazi perpetrator sites, including the Gestapo headquarters. Over a million copies of the brochure were printed in 1967. Its wide distribution at home and abroad helped ensure that the site’s history was not entirely forgotten. Back of the Plötzensee brochure, published by the State Agency for Political Education, Berlin (West) 1960 / Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand

1960 

Black-and-white photograph of an empty street running alongside the Berlin Wall, lined with tall buildings.

The Berlin Wall, erected in 1961, divided Berlin for 28 years. During this time of division, the grounds in the Kreuzberg district lay on the periphery of West Berlin. The Berlin Wall stood on Stresemannstrasse, Niederkirchnerstrasse and Zimmerstrasse in the Southern Friedrichstadt district. Berlin Wall on Zimmerstrasse/Niederkirchnerstrasse, c. 1963 / Stiftung Berliner Mauer / Photo: Wolfgang Schubert / Donated by Brigitte Schubert

1961

Colorful index cards arranged in a grid on a wall, shown as part of an exhibition.

In spring 1963, the Public Prosecutor General’s Office at the West Berlin Superior Court of Justice began investigating former members of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). By the time the first trials began in 1969, nearly 700 names had been identified. Media coverage of the trials drew public attention to the site where the RSHA headquarters had been located. The Topography of Terror presented a 2005 installation of index cards from the trial of employees of the Reich Security Main Office. / Photo: Ulrich Tempel 

1963 to 1969 

Black-and-white photograph of three men in suits outdoors; the man in the middle smiles at the camera, the man on the right looks kindly at the man on the left, who has a serious expression.

In January 1942, high-ranking representatives of the Nazi state met in a villa on Lake Wannsee to discuss the plan to systematically murder the European Jews. In 1966/1967, an association led by Auschwitz survivor Joseph Wulf called for the establishment of an international documentation centre in the villa. The Senate was reluctant to vacate the villa, which at the time was serving as a school recreation centre. During these discussions, the ‘Gestapo terrain’ was suggested as an alternative location for the documentation centre. The idea, however, was not pursued further. Joseph Wulf, Nachum Goldmann and Peter Heilmann in front of the Wannsee Villa, October 1966 / Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz / Sammlung Peter Heilmann / Photo: unknown

1967/1968

Aerial photograph of a green area with winding paths, surrounded by urban buildings and streets.

After the Berlin Wall was built, the site became a wasteland. In the late 1960s, a track was established on the grounds between Wilhelmstrasse and Anhalter Strasse where people could practice driving. A debris recycling company was established to its north. Both businesses continued to operate there until the mid-1980s. View of the Autodrom driving track and the mounds of debris with the former Reich Aviation Ministry in the background, July 1981 / Margret Nissen / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

In the late 1960s

Street and traffic plan with a dashed line indicating a planned road connection between Prinz-Albrecht-Straße and Anhalter Bahnhof.

In the late 1970s, the Berlin Senate decided to hold an International Building Exhibition (IBA) in Berlin. Southern Friedrichstadt was one of the event’s central locations. The IBA spoke out against the plan to extend Kochstrasse through the grounds and the plans were eventually dropped. Architecture critic Dieter Hoffmann-Axthelm had drawn attention to the site’s historical significance. Senate plans for the ‘Berlin Capital’ competition, 1957 Berlin. / Planning criteria for the urban planning ideas competition ‘Berlin Capital’, Bonn 1957

Around 1980

Photograph of a letter from the Working Group of Persecuted Social Democrats (AVS) to the Berlin Senator for Construction. The typed letter from February 1989 concerns a planned road connection.

In connection with the International Building Exhibition (IBA) and the preparations for the ‘Prussia – Attempting an Assessment’ (Preußen – Versuch einer Bilanz) exhibition, victim and persecutee organisations such as the League for Human Rights and the Working Group of Persecuted Social Democrats joined those demanding that the site of the former Gestapo headquarters be publicly acknowledged. Letter from the Working Group of Persecuted Social Democrats (AVS), 9 February 1980 / Landesarchiv Berlin, B Rep. 002 Senatskanzlei Nr. 38213

1979/80

Black-and-white photograph: A large crowd gathers on an open area in front of a historic building.

In August 1981, the exhibition ‘Prussia – Attempting an Assessment’ (Preußen – Versuch einer Bilanz) opened at the Martin Gropius Building. By November, nearly 500,000 people had visited the show, which presented Prussian history in 33 rooms. In Room 32 (‘Prussia Under National Socialism’), a window offered visitors a view onto the area that had been used by the Gestapo and SS until 1945. At the time, a debris recycling company and a driving practice track were located on the grounds. Opening event on 15 August 1981 / Margret Nissen / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

1981

Cover of a brochure showing a red-outlined site with the title “Open Competition, Southern Friedrichstadt. Design of the former Prinz-Albrecht-Palais site.” At the bottom, the logo of the International Building Exhibition 1987.

In June 1983, the competition documents for the design of the site were released. They called for the ‘site’s historical depth’ to be brought into ‘harmony with usage requirements, such as a park, playground, exercise area, etc.’ In April 1984, the jury awarded first prize to a submission that had proposed establishing an ‘active museum’. The winning design was heavily criticised. In late 1984, the Senate decided against implementing the plans. Temporary improvements were made to the site in anticipation of Berlin’s 750th anniversary celebrations in 1987. Title page of the call for bids in the ‘Open competition - Berlin. Southern Friedrichstadt. Designing the grounds of the former Prinz-Albrecht-Palais’

1983/84

Cover page of a brochure by the Active Museum of Fascism and Resistance in Berlin. At the top is the initiative’s logo, below it a black-and-white aerial photograph of the former Gestapo site. At the bottom, the title: “Contributions to the Concept"

The association ‘Active Museum of Fascism and Resistance’ was founded in Berlin in June 1983, around the same time that the competition was announced. The association was made up of both organisations and individuals. It aimed to ensure that the projects organised for the 1983 commemorative year become permanent. The association became involved in discussions over the future design of the ‘Gestapo terrain’ and played an important role in raising issues concerning the site. Cover of the brochure ‘Conception Ideas’ published by the Active Museum, March 1984

1983 

Black-and-white photograph: A long row of people is digging a narrow trench. In the right foreground, a megaphone and text pages are held in a hand. In the background, a massive building with a clearly structured facade.

On 5 May 1985, the Active Museum and the Berlin History Workshop invited people to participate in a ‘remembrance action’ on the ‘Gestapo terrain’. They provided the spades and shovels. Roughly 60 people took part in a symbolic excavation on the grounds where the Gestapo house prison had once stood. During the event, a text collage was read aloud; it addressed the historical site and the end of the war in 1945. The event injected new energy into the movement to engage with the site. Photo Hans Peter Stiebing / Estate apabiz e.V.

5 May 1985 

Poster for a rally on May 8, 1985, with the slogan “Never again fascism – Never again war.” On the left, a black-and-white scene of postwar ruins with children, in front a color portrait of a child. On the right, event text featuring speaker Jesse Jackson

To mark the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II, a broad alliance of over 100 groups organised a large peace protest in West Berlin. Over 30,000 people marched from different areas and converged at the Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz for the closing rally. One of the starting points was near the site where the symbolic excavation had taken place three days earlier. Poster announcing a rally at the Memorial Church on 8 May 1985, designed by Ernst Volland / Privately owned

8 May 1985

Black-and-white photograph: A group of people stands behind a barrier, looking into an excavation site with exposed wall remains and a tiled floor section. On the left, a historic building with scaffolding; in the background on the right, the Berlin Wall.

In late 1985, an initiative was formed to discuss ideas on what to do with the ‘Gestapo terrain’. Its members did not want the decision-making process left to politicians alone. They called for measures to be taken to secure any existing relics of the buildings where the police and SS institutions had worked. The initiative was supported by the Academy of Arts, the German Trade Union Confederation and the Active Museum, among others. Members of the initiative stand near a section of the exposed cellar on Niederkirchnerstrasse, 1986 / Stefanie Endlich / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

December 1985 

Black-and-white photograph: View of an excavation site with exposed brickwork and paved ground. Several wreaths are arranged on the foundation. In the background, a historic building and undeveloped land with mounds of earth.

To prepare the grounds for Berlin’s 750th anniversary celebration in 1987, the Culture Senator commissioned Dieter Robert Frank, an architect with experience in archaeology, to carry out excavation and preservation work. His team exposed parts of a cellar wall on Niederkirchnerstrasse and structural foundations on Wilhelmstrasse. The most exciting discovery, however, was the cell floor in the Gestapo house prison. This provided structural evidence of the detention site where many opponents of the Nazi regime had been held. Excavated cell floors in the southern wing of the Gestapo headquarters building, September 1986 / Margret Nissen / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

1986

Black-and-white photograph: View of an exhibition with large information panels suspended in space. The panels display texts and images documenting the excavation.

In 1987, Berlin’s 750th anniversary was celebrated on both sides of the city. In August, the Martin Gropius Building opened the exhibition ‘Berlin, Berlin’. On 4 July 1987, the Topography of Terror opened a documentary exhibition on the Gestapo, SS and Reich Security Main Office in a pavilion next to the Martin Gropius Building. Paths, information panels and a lookout point were created to make the grounds publicly accessible. The exhibition also addressed the history of the site after 1945. Panel on the symbolic excavation in the Topography of Terror exhibition pavilion, 1987 / Margret Nissen / Topography of Terror Foundation

1987 

Black-and-white photograph: A group of people stands talking on an undeveloped site and looks at a display board. In the background, construction cranes and unfinished buildings; on the right, bushes and trees.

In 1989/90, a commission of experts discussed how the city had dealt with the site up till then. It presented its findings and recommendations in a final report. It considered issues such as securing material traces, preserving the site and establishing a visitors’ centre. It also reflected on forms of commemoration and made concrete suggestions on how to proceed in the future. Members of the expert commission and other specialists visit the site, 1989 / Stefanie Endlich / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

1989/90

A man attaches an inscription to a stone block, surrounded by other people. On the left, demonstrators hold a sign reading “Nazi judges unpunished – memorial prevented 1989.” Several photographers document the scene.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the start of World War II, the Active Museum Association, in cooperation with Action Reconciliation Service for Peace and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), organised a symbolic cornerstone ceremony for an active museum on the ‘Gestapo terrain’. The black granite block with an embedded brass plaque called for the establishment of an active museum on the grounds: ‘The former perpetrator site must become a place of remembrance’. Michael Pagels (DGB) and Leonie Baumann (Actives Museum) place the inscription on the cornerstone, 1 September 1989 / Aktives Museum / Photo: Jürgen Henschel

1 September 1989

Black-and-white photograph: View down an empty street along the Berlin Wall. On the left, the border wall; on the right, a large, straight-edged building. Two people walk down the street, the ground is unpaved.

In October 1989, East German citizens demanded political change. The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 also had far-reaching consequences for the site. The area that had been relegated to the periphery of West Berlin was now in the city centre. The strong public attention paid to the site since 1987 led to the preservation of a section of the Berlin Wall near the Martin Gropius Building. With the fall of the Wall, reunification, and the decision to move the German capital to Berlin, the discourse around remembrance culture intensified. The Berlin Wall on Niederkirchnerstrasse, May 1990 / Margret Nissen / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

Late 1989

Black-and-white photograph: View of an exhibition with numerous freely suspended text and image panels.

The work of the expert commission in 1989/90 and civil society activism led to the establishment of the Topography of Terror Foundation in 1992. An architectural competition for a documentation centre was held in 1993, but Peter Zumthor’s winning design was never completed. In 2006, Ursula Wilms and Heinz W. Hallmann won a new competition. The redesigned site and documentation centre opened in 2010. Plaque in the exhibition pavilion of the "Topographie des Terrors", 1992 / Margret Nissen / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors

1992 

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