Altstrelitz prison

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Former Altstrelitz prison
Former Detention house I
Former Administration building

The former Altstrelitz prison is located on the outskirts of the Neustrelitz district of Strelitz-Alt . In 2001 the prison complex was emptied and two buildings -  detention center I with annex  - and the  administration building  - placed under monument protection.

history

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1701–1918), German Empire (1871–1933) and Weimar Republic (1918–1933)

In 1805, the ruling Duke Karl II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz had the  farm labor, breeding and madhouse built  on the site of the former residential palace of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz dukes, which burned down in 1712. In 1902 the mentally ill were relocated to the independent Mecklenburg-Strelitzsche state lunatic asylum at Domjüchsee , while the prison continued to be used as a farm and poor house , penitentiary and prison . On December 31, 1902, 32 men and 4 women were imprisoned here.

Period of National Socialism (1933–1945)

After the merger of the states of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Mecklenburg-Schwerin to form Mecklenburg (1934), the Altstrelitz prison was known as the "Landesanstalt Neustrelitz-Strelitz" . In the time of National Socialism , opponents of National Socialist arbitrariness were imprisoned, mistreated and also murdered here.

During the November pogroms of 1938 , the National Socialists introduced the Reich Citizenship Act to ensure that Jews in Germany - "especially the wealthy" - were taken into protective custody. Contrary to the instructions of the Berlin Gestapo headquarters, women were also imprisoned in Neustrelitz. Not only Neustrelitzer were affected, but also residents of the cities of Rostock, Feldberg, Friedland, Woldegk and Neubrandenburg - a total of around 200 people. All were released by March 1939. Before their release, the Jewish citizens were "thoroughly warned and instructed [...] that they had to go to their place of residence immediately and report to the police there immediately. [...] They were also about to be released given up that they had to encourage their emigration immediately after their release. Otherwise, they would be arrested again. ”(Excerpt from a communication by the Chief Administrative Inspector Tamm of the Neustrelitz-Strelitz State Office of December 23, 1938).

Before the Second World War , the “big house” (detention house I) was rebuilt. The first floor was converted into a ward for "male asocial lung patients" and the second floor for the penal system to accommodate “lawbreakers who are unreasonable or have limited legal capacity”. The entire building was referred to as the "Department of Sanatorium" or "Department III" for short.

Soviet occupation zone (1945–1949)

After the Second World War, eastern Germany was a Soviet zone of occupation . In May 1945, the Soviet NKVD took over the Altstrelitz prison as -  prison number 5 Strelitz  - the special camp department . Here were Soviet citizens before the repatriation , Vlasov soldiers , SMT convicts and internees in custody - up to 1000 people including young people and women. Many died as a result of illnesses caused by poor hygiene and beatings. In 1946 all prisoners were transferred to special camp No. 7 Sachsenhausen and special camp No. 9 Fünfeichen .

German Democratic Republic (1949–1990)

The prison came back into German hands on August 7, 1947 and was used as a penal facility - StVE Neustrelitz - or penal institution - JVA Neustrelitz - until it was closed in 2001 . After the fall of the Wall in the GDR , the electric fences were dismantled and the guard dogs abolished. Several attempts to break out were the result. In addition, there were also prisoner revolts, which the prisoners were able to resolve themselves.

Federal Republic of Germany (since 1990)

In 1991, eleven prisoners were able to flee in a spectacular mass outbreak. Only two were caught immediately. The breakout was made possible by the inadequate security systems. A renovation according to the standards applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany - such as increasing the wall from four to six meters - had not yet taken place.

In 2001 the building was vacated and Detention House I with its extension and the administration building were placed under monument protection. A buyer is being sought for the property .

The foundation stone was laid for the new Neustrelitz youth institution on Wesenberger Chaussee as early as 1999 . This went into operation on April 1, 2001. 297 places are available in this modern prison for the accommodation of juvenile offenders.

Fates of known prisoners

Bernhard Schwentner

The fates of well-known inmates show how various political systems used the prison complex to exercise state power .

  • The writer Hans Fallada was instructed on September 4, 1944 in the penal system - on the 2nd floor of the “Department of Sanatorium” (Detention Center I) - for observation . Here he wrote the “Drink Manuscript” - a series of short stories, the later film The Drinker and a report on his experiences with the Nazi state. He was released on December 13, 1944.
  • In 1945 the Mayor of Greifswald Richard Schmidt was imprisoned here. He was then taken to special camp No. 9 Fünfeichen and died there in 1946.

literature

  • Hans Fallada: In my foreign country. Prison diary 1944 . Ed .: Jenny Williams and Sabine Lange . Aufbau Verlag, 1st edition (April 21, 2009), ISBN 3-351-02800-8 , ( review ).
  • Anne Kaminsky: Places of Remembrance. Research on GDR society, memorial signs, memorials and museums on the dictatorship in the Soviet occupation zone and GDR. Series: Research on the GDR Society , Links Christoph Verlag 2007, ISBN 3-86153-443-6 .
  • Elke Fein u. a .: From Potsdam to Vorkuta. The NKGB / MGB / KGB prison Potsdam-Neuer Garten reflected in the memory of German and Russian prisoners. Brandenburg State Center for Political Education as a book: ISBN 3-932502-19-1 or PDF

Web links

Commons : Altstrelitzer Prison  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Harald Lachmann: Financially strong lovers of monuments wanted. In: Nordkurier. Strelitzer newspaper .
  2. ↑ a b Internet editorial office of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz district: List of monuments (as of June 1997) In: www.mecklenburg-strelitz.de.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Chronicle of JA Neustrelitz ( Memento of the original from July 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Official website of JA Neustrelitz (March 30, 2011).  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ja-neustrelitz.de
  4. ↑ Chronicle of JA Neustrelitz ( Memento of the original from July 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , with reference to the “Grand Ducal Mecklenburg-Strelitz State Calendar for 1903” . In: Official website of JA Neustrelitz (March 30, 2011).  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ja-neustrelitz.de
  5. ↑ a b c Telex from Reinhard Heydrich on the Reichspogromnacht ("Reichskristallnacht") v. November 10, 1938 In: National Socialist Archives, Documents on National Socialism (March 19, 2012)
  6. ↑ a b c Anett Wieking: Almost 30 Jews from Strelitz were arrested. 60 years ago around 200 Mecklenburg residents were brought to the state institution - many women were arrested in Neustrelitz . In: Nordkurier , 1998. Excerpt from a secret telex "to all Stapo offices and Stapo control centers"
  7. ↑ Anett Wieking: Almost 30 Jews from Strelitz were arrested, 60 years ago around 200 Mecklenburg residents were brought to the state institution - many women were arrested in Neustrelitz . In: Nordkurier , 1998. with reference to documents of the Association for Jewish History and Culture in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / jgmv.de
  8. ↑ A. Kaminsky: Places of Remembrance. Bonn 2007, p. 259 f.
  9. ↑ Charlotte Linke: Eyewitnesses name a shooting location. In: Nordkurier, Strelitzer Zeitung. April 4, 1996, p. 17.
  10. ↑ a b Dieter Schulz: As once with the Count of Monte Christo, Am Laken over the Wall In: Nordkurier
  11. ^ Stories from Josef-Jakubowski-Straße. In: Nordkurier. Strelitzer Zeitung, January 13, 2004, p. 12.
  12. ↑ Peter Martell: The Jakubowski case: The executioner's ax met an innocent In: Nordkurier – Geschichte, February 24, 1996, p. 6.
  13. ↑ Jenny William In: More life than one, biography of Hans Fallada . Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-7466-7089-8 , p. 315 ff.
  14. ↑ Hans Fallada Society V .: Hans Fallada - Leben & Werk ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Website of the Hans Fallada Society e. V. ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (January 31, 2012) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fallada.de @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fallada.de
  15. ↑ Press release and laudation on Christiane Witzke being awarded the Annalize Wagner Prize .