Berlin: Tour through Moabit's Criminal History

We will begin our tour at the Moabit Historical Park Cell Prison, just across the road from Berlin Central Station. Now a peaceful oasis in the middle of the bustling capital, this park is on the site of a former prison and echoes the struggles of its former inmates. Along the ruins of the original prison walls, we will explore the facility’s development throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. We will tell the stories of those jailed there, including key members of the plot to assassinate Hitler on the 20th July 1944. From the brutal repression of Nazi-era resistance, we will move on to a former women’s prison that made national headlines when four left-wing terrorists escaped from its confines in 1976. Here, we will witness the slow death of this militant organization, the Red Army Faction, as well as the radical left student movement it emerged from. The site now serves as a set for film productions, most recently featuring in the hit TV show Babylon Berlin. Of course, this area is home to far more than just its prisons. We hone in on Lehrter Straße, once an undesirable frontier of the sprawling city. Here, we will take the chance to dig deeper into the history of the Moabit district itself and appreciate the legacy of activism and resistance on a more communal level as we narrate the life of local legend Klara Franke. The tour finishes in a central location in Berlin Mitte, just 10 minutes walking distance from Berlin Central Station.