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I’m here in the former Stasi prison
in Hohenschönhausen in Berlin.
Now a museum and memorial site,
this prison complex was once a key part
of East Germany's secret service agency the Stasi.
During the Cold War, the Stasi
was notorious for its oppressive control
over citizens, holding thousands of political prisoners.
If these walls could talk, they
would telling you harrowing stories
of oppression and isolation.
Mario Röllig was a prisoner here for three months in 1987.
His time here may have been relatively short,
but the scars remain until today.
Mario tried to flee from East Germany
to the former Yugoslavia via Hungary.
He was arrested by Hungarian border
police and sent back to East Berlin,
where his actions were deemed criminal by the state.
From 1951 to 1989 this prison held some 11,000 people
considered hostile to the communist GDR,
and that included West Berliners,
even before the Berlin Wall was built.
We're walking now among the interrogation rooms.
There are dozens of them.
What was it like to be interrogated here?
Did you lose track of time?
The Stasi prison in Hohenschönhausen
employed several methods
to keep prisoners separated and isolated:
Small, soundproof cells and interrogation rooms
made it difficult for prisoners
to see or communicate with each other.
Guards followed strict protocols
to ensure prisoners did not interact.
For example, prisoners were often moved individually
through the building using red and green lights
to indicate when the corridor was free.
There was also an isolation unit known
as "The Submarine" for special cases,
including well-known political opponents of the state.
Mario was rewarded for providing information,
and that took it's form in time outside,
in this open-air cell.
Mario was released from prison in September of 1987
under a West German program that
paid 90,000 DM for his freedom.
Years later, long after the Berlin Wall fell,
he had a bitter encounter with
one of his former Stasi officers
at a Berlin department store.
This experience eventually led him to give tours
and speak publicly about his past,
highlighting that many former Stasi officers walk freely,
showing little regret for their past actions.
I’ve been to other prison museums,
such as Alcatraz in San Francisco.
But I must say that nothing leaves you
with a feeling of such oppression
and isolation as this Stasi prison.
Would you put it on your list of sites to visit in Berlin?
Let us know in the comments.
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