Detail

During the Nazi era, Wolfenbüttel prison, with its 15,000 internees, was the central place of detention for men in the former state of Brunswick. From 1933 onwards, those incarcerated in the prison increasingly numbered political dissidents, people excluded on social and racial grounds, gay men and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The number of foreign prisoners rose sharply during the course of the Second World War. The prison was integrated into the system of Nazi forced labour. Incarcerated people were forced to work inside and outside the prison in more than 70 locations, including underground, and often under inhuman conditions, alongside civilian workers and concentration camp prisoners. At least 526 death sentences handed down by Nazi courts were carried out on German and foreign prisoners in Wolfenbüttel between 1937 and 1945.

Civic engagement and strong objections by family members from survivors abroad prevented the planned demolition of the former execution building in the 1980s. The memorial was erected at the historical site in 1990. The prison building is still being used today by Wolfenbüttel prison for carrying out prison sentences. As the historical sites are within the security zone of the prison, they are only accessible by appointment. A fundamental redesign was carried out between 2014 and 2019. An interactive and multi-media educational programme can now be used in the area near the shared cells. The former execution building, where the 526 executed prisoners are commemorated, can be visited by appointment.

A documentation centre was added to the historic sites at the end of 2019. The permanent exhibition Law, Crime and Consequences: Wolfenbüttel Prison under the Nazis is the centrepiece of the new building. The documentation centre includes a seminar and event room, a library and the memorial's archive collection, as well as a bookshop. This has created a central place in Germany for learning about the history of the judicial system and the punishment of criminals under the Nazi dictatorship, which at the same time is dedicated to showing how fragile constitutionality and democracy can be.

The memorial at Wolfenbüttel Prison offers a range of educational programmes on the Nazi judicial system and the punishment of criminals. The memorial’s educational concept is based on self-directed learning through research and discovery.

The memorial’s educational work aims to encourage research into the Nazi past, to question conventional views of history and to develop an independent point of view. As far as possible, the events are designed to be interactive and methodically varied. The memorial offers a wide range of topics and methods, designed for different levels and age groups, and taught in an activity-oriented way, offering multiple perspectives and the widest possible variety of methods. The programme includes guided tours and workshops lasting half a day, a full day or several days.