I’m not sure what one would expect to see at a prison that didn’t officially exist. On maps it was simply a grey block, and until one is right upon it, the prison fits into the surrounding apartments and factory buildings nicely.
But once a person takes a few more steps toward Genslerstraße, past a grocery store and pay parking lot, the feeling in the air is noticeably unheimlich: strange and unsettling. Entering the complex with an unsettled feeling highlights an irony of this terrible place. The Ministerium für STAatsSIcherheit (State security) provided anything but true security for its visitors.
Continue reading “Behind Stasi Bars”