"KGB Prison at Leisikowstrasse" Top 5 Page for this destination Potsdam Things to Do Tip by alancollins

I learnt about this memorial via the Tourist Information office in Potsdam who assisted me with information about the site and the best transport route.
It is hard to believe that the building at Leistikowstrasse 1, started life in 1916 at offices for the Evangelical Church. At the end of the second war world Germany was divided up by the Potsdam Agreement and Potsdam came under the control of the Soviets. On 13 August 1945 the Soviet occupation army confiscated the house and converted it into a remand prison for use by the KGB with 36 cells. Prisoners were kept here to await trial and after sentence returned either to the cells for the condemned or sent to the Gulags. Up to 10 prisoners were kept in each small cell. The prisoners included civilians as well as Soviet soldiers. After 1954 it was only Soviet military personnel. The conditions were harsh, basic and unhygienic. There was no medical care, washing facilities, clean clothes, bedding, exercise, the cells were unheated, damp and the lights were kept on 24 hours a day. The prisoners were frequently ill and verminous. Spies who were going to be exchanged at the nearby Gleniecke Bridge were kept here the most famous was Gary Powers. After the mid 1980s the building was used as a storehouse.
At the end of the cold war the building was handed back to the church. There has been a permanent exhibition here since April 2012 which records the history of the building and the fate of some the prisoners. It was free to enter though donations are gladly accepted. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 1400 to 1800hrs and there is an English translation for each exhibit.

Address: Leistikowstrasse 1, Potsdam
Directions: I caught the number 603 bus to Glumestrasse and then walked to Leistikowstrasse which is about 5 minutes away.
Phone: 0331 2011540
Website: http://www.gedenkstaette-leistikowstrasse.de/inhalt_en/index.html