Plötzensee Memorial: the Nazi-era execution prison in Berlin

Updated on October 9, 2026

The Plötzensee Memorial (Gedenkstätte Plötzensee) stands in the former Plötzensee prison in north-west Berlin, near the Hohenzollern Canal. Under the Nazi regime the prison became an execution site: more than 2,800 people were executed here after unjust verdicts, including more than 1,400 Germans and more than 1,400 people from 19 other nations. They included members of the Red Orchestra, the Kreisau Circle and plotters of the 20 July 1944 coup attempt. The former execution chamber is now a place of remembrance, with an exhibition on Nazi justice and the resistance. Admission is free. The memorial is open daily from 9:00 to 17:00. Allow one to one and a half hours: it is a sober, harrowing place and not suitable for young children.

Highlights

The former execution chamber

The small brick building at the back of the courtyard housed the place of execution. It can be visited: the room has been left bare and recalls what happened here, notably after 20 July 1944, when several of the plotters were executed.

The memorial wall

In the courtyard, a stone wall bears the inscription "To the memory of the victims of the Hitler dictatorship" ("Zum Gedenken der Opfer der Hitlerdiktatur"). Erected in 1952, it is the site of official ceremonies every year.

The permanent exhibition

Documents, photographs and farewell letters from the condemned show how Nazi justice worked, what became of the resistance fighters who were executed and the history of the memorial itself. A terminal lets you look up biographies of the people put to death here, which are added to regularly.

A neighbouring church

Nearby, the Catholic church of Maria Regina Martyrum, built in the 1960s in tribute to the martyrs of Nazism, extends the visit for those who wish to continue reflecting.

Opening hours and accessibility

Daily 9:00 to 17:00; closed on 24, 25 and 26 December, 31 December and 1 January. A ramp and an accessible toilet are available.

Practical info

Tips

Entry is free and needs no ticket (checked in October 2026). The site lies away from the usual tourist circuits: allow 30 to 40 minutes to get there from the centre and combine it with a day on the history of the Third Reich, with the Topography of Terror, the German Resistance Memorial or, outside the city, the Sachsenhausen memorial. To place these sites in an itinerary, see our guide to Berlin and the Second World War. Respect the character of the place: keep quiet in the courtyard and avoid posed photos.

How to get there

Hüttigpfad 16, 13627 Berlin (Charlottenburg-Nord). Bus 123, stop Gedenkstätte Plötzensee, about a hundred metres from the entrance. S-Bahn S41 and S42 (Ringbahn) to Beusselstraße station, then bus or walk. AB ticket: see our guide to transport in Berlin.