Editing Stasi (section)

==Museums==
[[File:Stasi-Museum front view.png|thumb|Part of the former Stasi compound in Berlin, with "Haus 1" in the centre]]
There are a number of memorial sites and museums relating to the Stasi in former Stasi prisons and administration buildings. In addition, offices of the [[Stasi Records Agency]] in Berlin, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt-an-der-Oder and Halle (Saale) all have permanent and changing exhibitions relating to the activities of the Stasi in their region.<ref name=history>[https://www.bstu.de/assets/bstu/en/Downloads/BStU-Image2018-EN_O.pdf Stasi Records Agency. History of the Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815155520/https://www.bstu.de/assets/bstu/en/Downloads/BStU-Image2018-EN_O.pdf |date=15 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

===Berlin===
* [[Stasi Museum]] (Berlin) –  This is located at Ruschestraße 103, in  "Haus 1" on the former Stasi headquarters compound. The office of Erich Mielke, the head of the Stasi, was in this building and it has been preserved along with a number of other rooms. The building was occupied by protesters on 15 January 1990. On 7 November 1990, a Research Centre and Memorial was opened, which now called the Stasi Museum.<ref>[https://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enindex.htm Stasi Museum Berlin.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818111107/https://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enindex.htm |date=18 August 2019 }} Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>
* [[Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial]] – A memorial to repression during both the Soviet occupation and GDR era in a former prison that was used by both regimes. The building was a Soviet prison from 1946, and from 1951 until 1989 it was a Stasi remand centre. It officially closed on 3 October 1990, the day of German reunification. The museum and memorial site opened in 1994. It is in [[Alt-Hohenschönhausen]], in Lichtenberg in north-east Berlin.<ref>[https://www.stiftung-hsh.de/history/ Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104011227/https://www.stiftung-hsh.de/history/ |date=4 November 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

===Erfurt===
[[File:Former Stasi Prison, Erfurt.jpg|thumb|The former [[Stasi Prison (Erfurt)|Stasi Prison]], Erfurt]]
[[Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstraße]] – a museum in [[Erfurt]] which is housed in a former Stasi remand prison. From 1952 until 1989, over 5000 political prisoners were held on remand and interrogated in the Andreasstrasse prison, which was one of 17 Stasi remand prisons in the GDR.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wüstenberg |first1=Jenny |title=Civil Society and Memory in Postwar Germany |date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge | language =en |isbn= 978-1-1071-7746-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4jQyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA223}}</ref><ref>[https://www.stiftung-ettersberg.de/en/andreasstrasse/ Stiftung Ettersberg. Andreasstrasse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711083542/https://www.stiftung-ettersberg.de/en/andreasstrasse/ |date=11 July 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref> On 4 December 1989, local citizens occupied the prison and the neighbouring Stasi district headquarters to stop the mass destruction of Stasi files. It was the first time East Germans had undertaken such resistance against the Stasi and it instigated the take over of Stasi buildings throughout the country.<ref name=local>[https://www.thelocal.de/20141204/how-ordinary-people-smashed-the-stasi How ordinary people smashed the Stasi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711084543/https://www.thelocal.de/20141204/how-ordinary-people-smashed-the-stasi |date=11 July 2019 }} in [[The Local|The Local.de]], 4 December 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2019</ref>

===Dresden===
[[File:Gedenkstätte Bautzner Straße Dresden - Zellentrakt der Haftanstalt (ii).jpg|thumb|Cells in Bautzner Strasse Memorial, Dresden]]
{{ill| Gedenkstätte Bautzner Straße Dresden|de}} (The Bautzner Strasse Memorial in Dresden) – A Stasi remand prison and the Stasi's regional head office in Dresden. It was used as a prison by the Soviet occupying forces from 1945 to 1953, and from 1953 to 1989 by the Stasi. The Stasi held and interrogated between 12,000 and 15,000 people during the time they used the prison. The building was originally a 19th-century paper mill. It was converted into a block of flats in 1933 before being confiscated by the Soviet army in 1945. The Stasi prison and offices were occupied by local citizens on 5 December 1989, during a wave of such takeovers across the country. The museum and memorial site was opened to the public in 1994.<ref>[https://www.bautzner-strasse-dresden.de/ The Bautzner Straße Memorial in Dresden website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728145508/https://www.bautzner-strasse-dresden.de/ |date=28 July 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

===Frankfurt-an-der-Oder===
{{ill| Remembrance and Documentation Centre for "Victims of political tyranny"|de|Städtische_Museen_Junge_Kunst_und_Viadrina#Ausstellungsort Gedenk- und Dokumentationsstätte „Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft“}} – A memorial and museum at Collegienstraße 10 in [[Frankfurt-an-der-Oder]], in a building that was used as a detention centre by the Gestapo, the Soviet occupying forces and the Stasi. The building was the Stasi district offices and a remand prison from 1950 until 1969, after which the Volkspolizei used the prison. From 1950 to 1952 it was an execution site where 12 people sentenced to death were executed. The prison closed in 1990. It has been a cultural centre and a memorial to the victims of political tyranny since June 1994, managed by the Museum Viadrina.<ref>Rost, Susanne (25 May 2002) [https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/frankfurt--oder--baut-sein-altes-gefaengnis-zum-kulturzentrum-um---gedenkstaettenbeirat-entsetzt-der-einstige-hinrichtungsraum-wird-ein-caf%C3%A9-15971560 Frankfurt (Oder) baut sein altes Gefängnis zum Kulturzentrum um / Gedenkstättenbeirat entsetzt Der einstige Hinrichtungsraum wird ein Café ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312081410/http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/frankfurt--oder--baut-sein-altes-gefaengnis-zum-kulturzentrum-um---gedenkstaettenbeirat-entsetzt-der-einstige-hinrichtungsraum-wird-ein-caf%C3%A9-15971560 |date=12 March 2016 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref><ref>[http://www.museum-viadrina.de/museum/gedenkstatte/ Museum Viadrina. Gedenk- und Dokumentationsstätte „Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft“] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818130858/http://www.museum-viadrina.de/museum/gedenkstatte/ |date=18 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

===Gera===
{{ill| Gedenkstätte Amthordurchgang|de}}, a memorial and 'centre of encounter' in [[Gera]] in a former remand prison, originally opened in 1874, that was used by the Gestapo from 1933 to 1945, the Soviet occupying forces from 1945 to 1949, and from 1952 to 1989 by the Stasi. The building was also the district offices of the Stasi administration. Between 1952 and 1989 over 2,800 people were held in the prison on political grounds. The memorial site opened with the official name ''"Die Gedenk- und Begegnungsstätte im Torhaus der politischen Haftanstalt von 1933 bis 1945 und 1945 bis 1989"'' in November 2005.<ref>[http://www.torhaus-gera.de/index.php/de/ Torhaus Gera] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924112658/http://www.torhaus-gera.de/index.php/de/ |date=24 September 2020 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref><ref>[https://geschichtsverbund-thueringen.de/mitglieder/gedenkstaette-amthordurchgang-gera-e-v/  Geschichtsverbund Thüringen Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur. Gedenkstätte Amthordurchgang Gera e.V. ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818134114/https://geschichtsverbund-thueringen.de/mitglieder/gedenkstaette-amthordurchgang-gera-e-v/ |date=18 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 1990</ref>

===Halle (Saale)===
The [[Roter Ochse]] (Red Ox) is a museum and memorial site at the prison at Am Kirchtor 20, [[Halle (Saale)]]. Part of the prison, built 1842, was used by the Stasi from 1950 until 1989, during which time over 9,000 political prisoners were held in the prison. From 1954 it was mainly used for women prisoners. The name "Roter Ochse" is the informal name of the prison, possibly originating in the 19th century from the colour of the external walls. It still operates as a prison for young people. Since 1996, the building which was used as an interrogation centre by the Stasi and an execution site by the Nazis has been a museum and memorial centre for victims of political persecution.<ref>[https://gedenkstaette-halle.sachsen-anhalt.de/ Stiftung Gedenkstätten Sachsen-Anhalt. Gedenkstätte Roter Ochse Halle (Saale)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807111200/https://gedenkstaette-halle.sachsen-anhalt.de/ |date=7 August 2020 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

===Leipzig===
[[File:Eingang Runde Ecke Leipzig.jpg|thumb|Entrance to the "Runde Ecke" museum, Leipzig, 2009]]
* {{ill| Gedenkstätte Museum in der „Runden Ecke“|de}} (Memorial Museum in the "Round Corner") – The former Stasi district headquarters on ''am Dittrichring'' is now a museum focusing on the history and activities of the organisation. It is named after the curved shape of the front of the building. The Stasi used the building from 1950 until 1989. On the evening of 4 December 1989, it was occupied by protesters in order to stop the destruction of Stasi files. There has been a permanent exhibition on the site since 1990. The building also houses the Leipzig branch of the Stasi Records Agency, which holds about 10&nbsp;km of files on its shelves.<ref>[http://www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de/index.php?id=76&L=1 Runde Ecke Leipzig (in English)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818142244/http://www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de/index.php?id=76&L=1 |date=18 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>
* [[Lübschützer Teiche Stasi Bunker]] – The Stasi Bunker Museum is in [[Machern]], a village about 30&nbsp;km from Leipzig. It is managed by the Runde Ecke Museum administration. The bunker was built from 1968 to 1972, as a [[fallout shelter]] for the staff of the Stasi's Leipzig administration in case of a nuclear attack. It could accommodate about 120 people. The bunker, which was disguised as a holiday resort on 5.2 hectares of land, was only discovered in December in 1989. "The emergency command centre was a secretly-created complex, designed to maintain the Stasi leadership's hold on power, even in exceptional circumstances." The whole grounds are classified as a historic monument and are open to the public on the last weekend of every month, and for pre-arranged group tours at other times.<ref>[http://www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de/index.php?id=253&L=1 Runde Ecke Leipzig. Stasi Bunker Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818152445/http://www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de/index.php%3Fid%3D253%26L%3D1 |date=18 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>
* GDR Execution site – The execution site at Alfred-Kästner-Straße in south Leipzig, was the central site in East Germany where the death penalty was carried out from 1960 until 1981. It remains in its original condition. The management of the "Runde Ecke" Museum opens the site once a year on "Museum night" and on special state-wide days when historic buildings and sites that are not normally accessible to the public are opened.<ref>[http://www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de/index.php?id=72&L=1 Runde Ecke Leipzig. Execution site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818142255/http://www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de/index.php?id=72&L=1 |date=18 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

===Magdeburg===
{{ill| Gedenkstätte Moritzplatz Magdeburg|de}} – The memorial site at Moritzplatz in [[Magdeburg]] is a museum on the site of a former prison, built from 1873 to 1876, that was used by the Soviet administration from 1945 to 1949 and the Stasi from 1958 until 1989 to hold political prisoners. Between 1950 and 1958 the Stasi shared another prison with the civil police. The prison at Moritzplatz was used by the Volkspolizei from 1952 until 1958. Between 1945 and 1989, more than 10,000 political prisoners were held in the prison. The memorial site and museum was founded in December 1990.<ref>[https://gedenkstaette-magdeburg.sachsen-anhalt.de/geschichte/gedenkstaette/ Gedenkstätte Moritzplatz Magdeburg. Zur Geschicte der Gedenkstätte] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818160533/https://gedenkstaette-magdeburg.sachsen-anhalt.de/geschichte/gedenkstaette/ |date=18 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

===Potsdam===
[[File:100 Jahre Frauenwahlrecht Potsdam-8.jpg|thumb|Façade of the Memorial Site, Lindenstrasse, Potsdam]]
* {{ill| Gedenkstätte Lindenstraße|de|Gedenkstätte Lindenstraße 54/55}} The memorial site and museum at Lindenstraße 54/55 in [[Potsdam]], examines political persecution in the Nazi, Soviet occupation and GDR eras. The original building was built 1733–1737 as a baroque palace; it became a court and prison in 1820. From 1933, the Nazi regime held political prisoners there, many of whom were arrested for racial reasons, for example Jews who refused to wear the [[Yellow badge|yellow star]] on their clothing.<ref name=lindenstrasse>[https://www.gedenkstaette-lindenstrasse.de/ Stiftung Gedenkstaette Lindenstrasse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818162122/https://www.gedenkstaette-lindenstrasse.de/ |date=18 August 2019 }}. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>

The Soviet administration took over the prison in 1945, also using it as a prison for holding political prisoners on remand. The Stasi then used it as a remand prison, mainly for political prisoners from 1952 until 1989. Over 6,000 people were held in the prison by the Stasi during that time. On 27 October 1989, the prison freed all political prisoners due to a nationwide amnesty. On 5 December 1989, the Stasi Headquarters in Potsdam and the Lindenstrasse Prison were occupied by protesters. From January 1990 the building was used as offices for various citizens initiatives and new political groups, such as the [[New Forum|Neue Forum]]. The building was opened to the public from 20 January 1990 and people were taken on tours of the site. It officially became a Memorial site in 1995.<ref name=lindenstrasse />

===Rostock===
* {{ill| Documentation Centre and Memorial site, former Stasi remand prison, Rostock|de|Dokumentations- und Gedenkstätte des BStU in der ehemaligen U-Haft der Stasi in Rostock}} – The memorial site is in a former Stasi remand prison at Hermanstrasse 34b. It is on what was part of a Stasi compound in [[Rostock]], where its district headquarters were also located. Most of the site is now used by the Rostock county court and the [[University of Rostock]]. The complex was built 1958–1960. The remand prison was used by the Stasi from 1960 until 1989. About 4,900 people were held in the prison during that time, most of them were political prisoners.<ref name=ddrmuseum>[https://www.ddr-museum.de/de/blog/archive/dokumentations-und-gedenkstaette-der-ehemaligen-u-haft-der-stasi-rostock DDR Museum.  Dokumentations- und Gedenkstätte in der ehemaligen U-Haft der Stasi in Rostock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818190334/https://www.ddr-museum.de/de/blog/archive/dokumentations-und-gedenkstaette-der-ehemaligen-u-haft-der-stasi-rostock |date=18 August 2019 }}, 14 October 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref> Most of prisoners were released after an amnesty issued on 27 October 1989. The Stasi prison in the Rostock compound was occupied by protesters on 4 December 1989 following a wave of such occupation across East Germany starting in Erfurt on the same day.<ref>Vilasi, Antonella Colonna (2015). ''The History of the Stasi''. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse.</ref>

The prison closed in the early 1990s. The state of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] took ownership of it in 1998, and the memorial site and museum were established in 1999. An extensive restoration of the site began in December 2018.<ref>[https://www.bbl-mv.de/sanierung-einer-dokumentations-und-gedenkst%C3%A4tte-in-rostock+2400+1024349 BBL-MV. Sanierung einer Dokumentations- und Gedenkstätte in Rostock]{{Dead link|date=May 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 3 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019</ref>