Topography of Terror (Berlin)

Located at Niederkirchnerstrasse in central Berlin, this is an evocative museum on the site of former Gestapo and SS headquarters which were razed at the end of the Second World War. It is also the site of the longest remaining intact section of the Berlin Wall which is included in a tour of the premises. It was actually first opened while Berlin was still divided and was a unique collaboration between East and West German authorities. Redeveloped and extended in early 2010, on cheap city breaks in Berlin, you will see in no uncertain terms the reign of terror brought on by the Nazis in wartime Germany.

 

It is a modern glass and steel built documentation and visitors centre chronicling the atrocities performed by the Gestapo from 1933 until their fall in 1945. There are several exhibition halls detailing these crimes through thousands of document and photographs, exhibits explaining the propaganda behind the Nazi philosophy and a recreation of the Nuremburg War Crimes trials. Uniquely it concentrates mainly on the perpetrators rather than victims and is certainly a powerful and thought provoking experience for short breaks in Berlin.

 

You can tour the remains of the original Gestapo buildings including the ‘house prison’ and torture cells. There are special photographic exhibitions which pull no punches visually describing the methods of torture, forced labour camp repatriations and the destruction of normal Jewish life in Berlin. On weekend breaks in Berlin, you can also tour a long section of the wall which offers a fascinating insight into the continuing repression of Berliners right up to the 1990, when the Berlin Wall was finally pulled down. It is an evocative and intensely personal exhibition but a rewarding one too for serious social history buffs.