Bundesarchiv Bild 102-11695, Brandenburg, Hauptgebäude des Zuchthauses

Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden quarter of

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. Both criminal and political prisoners were sent there, as well as people imprisoned for

preventive detention Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non- punitive purposes, most often to prevent (further) criminal acts. Types of preventive detention There is no universally agreed definition of preventive detention, and m ...

or for interrogation and prisoners of war. Built with a capacity of 1,800, it sometimes held over 4,000 during the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

era. After the war,

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

used the prison to incarcerate at least 170,000 people. Prisoners were used for labor, with them making things such as tractors, kitchen furniture, uniforms and radiation suits, electric motors, shoes, and cars.

History

A first

Zuchthaus The prisons in Germany are run solely by the federal states but governed by a federal law. The aim of prison confinement in Germany is twofold: emphasis is placed on enabling prisoners to lead a life of "social responsibility free of crime" upon re ...

in Brandenburg was established on Neuendorfer Straße in 1820. The old Brandenburg Prison was closed in 1931 because of its disastrous hygienic conditions, but later housed a

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

from August 1933 till February 1934. It later became the site of the

Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre The Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre (german: NS-Tötungsanstalt Brandenburg), officially known as the Brandenburg an der Havel State Welfare Institute (''Landes-Pflegeanstalt Brandenburg a. H.''), was a killing centre established in 1939 as part of t ...

, part of the Nazis' involuntary

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

program known later as

Aktion T4 (German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post- war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address o ...

, where from February to October 1940, some 10,000 disabled, mentally retarded or mentally ill people were gassed based on official numbers."Denkmal zur Befreiung des Zuchthauses Brandenburg-Görden"
City of Brandenburg, official website. Retrieved March 17, 2010 Upon the Nazi ''

Machtergreifung Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

'', the new prison in Görden became an instrument of

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

and terror. It was a Zuchthaus for inmates with lengthy or life sentences at hard labor, as well as prisoners who had been sentenced to death. Initially, there weren't many political prisoners at the new prison, but during the war years, the share increased to about 60%. In 1940, Brandenburg-Görden became one of the selected central execution sites established throughout Germany by the order of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

and Reich Minister of Justice

Franz Gürtner Franz Gürtner (26 August 1881 – 29 January 1941) was a German Minister of Justice in the governments of Franz von Papen, Kurt von Schleicher and Adolf Hitler. Gürtner was responsible for coordinating jurisprudence in Nazi Germany and provided ...

. An execution chamber was installed, using what had previously been a garage, with a

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

and a

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

. The total number of executions was 2,743 and took place between 1 August 1940 and 20 April 1945, most of them convicts sentenced to death by ''

Sondergericht A ''Sondergericht'' (plural: ''Sondergerichte'') was a German "special court". After taking power in 1933, the Nazis quickly moved to remove internal opposition to the Nazi regime in Germany. The legal system became one of many tools for this ai ...

e'' courts of the notorious People's Court under President

Roland Freisler Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945), a German Nazi jurist, judge, and politician, served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945. As ...

. The youngest victim was a 15-year-old French boy. By the end of 1942, "preventive detention" prisoners, such as Jews,

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

, Russians and Ukrainians were sent to concentration camps.Dokumentationsstelle Zuchthaus Brandenburg
Archive for ''Zuchthaus Brandenburg''. Stiftung Brandenburgische Gedenstätte (Brandenburg Memorial Foundation) Retrieved March 17, 2010 Several victims were members of the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

, about 100 were Bible Students condemned as

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objec ...

s. By the end of the

era, from 1933–1945, roughly 4,300 people had been imprisoned at Brandenburg-Görden. A total of 1,722 people, who were sentenced for political reasons, were executed there. 652 other political prisoners died from disease and seven committed suicide. The

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

liberated the prison during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

on 27 April 1945, finding around 3,600 prisoners, including 180 awaiting execution. After the war, the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

imprisoned collaborators here until 1947, primarily members of the

Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army; russian: Русская освободительная армия, ', abbreviated as (), also known as the Vlasov army after its commander Andrey Vlasov, was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Rus ...

. Until 1989, the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

also used the correctional facility for political prisoners. Since 1975, there has been a memorial room at the prison, which is today part of a Justizvollzugsanstalt complex.

The present

BRBHavel asv2022-07 img18 Görden Beamtensiedlung und JVA

Today the

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

is divided into three main sections, plus a social therapy wing and prison hospital. There is a jail for 88 adults, a medium security wing for 330 adult men and a minimum security wing for 100 adult men. In addition, there is a social therapy wing with 80 men and a prison hospital with 32 beds. There are another 36 beds in the transport wing for prisoners who are being moved from one location to another. The JVA Brandenburg is a men's prison and is supported by a total staff of 439, of whom 145 are women. Prisoners there have sentences from temporary detention to

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

, the most severe sentence in Germany. Life sentence does not, however, mean one is to spend the rest of one's life in prison, rather that it is for an undetermined, but long time with a minimum of 15 years. After 15 years, the sentence may be commuted. The prison underwent renovations that were completed in 2014. Security and technical equipment were upgraded. The prison remained operational during this time. The street where the prison exists is now named for one of the people executed there,

Anton Saefkow Anton Emil Hermann Saefkow (; 22 July 1903 – 18 September 1944) was a German Communist and a resistance fighter against the National Socialist régime. He was arrested in July 1944 and executed on 18 September by guillotine. Early life An ...

Notable prisoners

(Many of the people on this list are notable because they later became important in the

. For more information on any of the people below, see the list on the German version of this page.) *, 1935?-1945 * Bruno Baum, 1937–1945 *, 1971–1972 * Hermann Brill, 1939–1943 *, 1941–1945 * Ernst Busch, 1943–1945 *

Karl Wilhelm Fricke Karl Wilhelm Fricke (born 3 September 1929) is a German political journalist and author. He has produced several of the standard works on resistance and state repression in the German Democratic Republic (1949–1990). In 1955 he became one of s ...

, 1956–1959 *

Michael Gartenschläger The SM-70 (''Splittermine Modell 1970'') is an East German directional antipersonnel mine developed specifically to combat ''Republikflucht'' (defection) across the Inner German Border (''Grenze'') into West Germany. Design First fielded in 1970, ...

, 1961–1971 * Paul Hatschek, 1943?-1944 * Robert Havemann, 1943–1945 * Walter Hochmuth, 1942?-1945 *, 1942–1945 *

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...

, 1937–1945 *

Wilhelm Kling Wilhelm Kling (7 February 1902 – 17 November 1973) was a Communist Party of Germany (KPD) functionary, and later an associate in the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in East Germany. Kling was b ...

, 1937–1945 *, 1938–1945 * Fritz Lange, 1943–1945 *

Alfred Lemmnitz Alfred Lemmnitz (27 June 1905 – 23 September 1994) was an East German politician. He served as Minister for National Education from 1958 to 1963. Lemmnitz was born in Taucha, Saxony and completed training as a typesetter and studies in ec ...

, 1941–1945 *, 1936–1940 *

Hans Litten Hans Achim Litten (19 June 1903 – 5 February 1938) was a German lawyer who represented opponents of the Nazis at important political trials between 1929 and 1932, defending the rights of workers during the Weimar Republic. During one trial in ...

, 1934 *

Horst Mahler Horst Mahler (born 23 January 1936) is a German former lawyer and political activist. He once was a far-left militant and a founding member of the Red Army Faction who later became a Maoist, before switching to neo-Nazism. Between 2000 and 2003, ...

, 1936- * Friedrich Minoux, 1941-1945 * Alfred Neumann, 1942–1945 *

Ernst Niekisch Ernst Niekisch (23 May 1889 – 23 May 1967) was a German writer and politician. Initially a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he later became a prominent exponent of National Bolshevism. Early life Born in Trebnitz (Silesia), and b ...

, 1939–1945 * Herbert Sandberg, 1934 *, 1942–1945 *, 1938-1940 *

Alexander Schwab Alexander Schwab (5 July 1887 – 12 November 1943) was a German political activist. He withdrew from active participation in politics after resigning from the fractious and short-lived Communist Workers' Party of Germany, Communist Workers' Part ...

, from 1937 * Kurt Seibt, 1941–1945 * Harry Seidel, 1963–1966 * Frank Schmökel, -1993 *, 1966

Executed or died at Brandenburg-Görden Prison

* Bernhard Almstadt, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 6 November 1944 *

Hans Anhalt Hans Anhalt (September 25, 1908 - April 13, 1975) was a member of the Nazi Party who served in the Schutzstaffel, SS. During World War II, he was stationed in Auschwitz concentration camp. There, Anhalt personally murdered multiple prisoners, se ...

, Nazi war criminal, died in prison on 13 April 1975 *

Walter Arndt Walther Arndt (8 January 1891 in Landeshut, Silesia, now Kamienna Góra, Poland – 26 June 1944 in Brandenburg) was a German zoologist and physician. A curator at the in Berlin, and a professor, he was executed for being critical of the Nazi ...

, zoologist, executed on 26 June 1944 * Friedrich Aue, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 27 November 1944 *

Bernhard Bästlein Bernhard Bästlein (; 3 December 1894 in Hamburg – 18 September 1944 in Brandenburg an der Havel) was a German Communist and resistance fighter against the Nazi régime. He was imprisoned very shortly after the Nazis seized power in 1933 and wa ...

, Communist and co-founder of

Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization The Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization was an underground German resistance movement acting during the Second World War, that published the illegal magazine, '' Die Innere Front'' ("The Internal Front"). In the 1940s, the Communist Party of Germ ...

, executed on 18 September 1944 * Bruno Binnebesel, Catholic Priest and Resistance fighter, executed on 13 November 1944 * Max Borrack, Resistance fighter, executed on 19 February 1945 * Walter Budeus, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 21 August 1944 *

Jean-Marie Derscheid Jean-Marie Eugène Derscheid (May 19, 1901, Sterrebeek – March 13, 1944) was a Belgian zoologist who focused much of his professional interest on Africa. He was a world expert on breeding exotic waterfowl in captivity, authored scientific art ...

, zoologist, executed on 13 March 1944 * Hermann Danz, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 5 February 1945 * Leo Drabent, Communist and resistance fighter, executed on 20 November 1944 * Friedrich Fromm, Officer of the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

and the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

, executed on 12 March 1945 * Paul Gesche, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 21 August 1944 * Claudius Gosau, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 6 March 1944 *

Alois Grimm Alois Grimm (24 October 1886 in Külsheim, Germany – hanged 11 September 1944 in Brandenburg-Görden) was a Jesuit priest, Patristic scholar, educator, and victim of Nazi religious hostility. Early years After graduation from Gymnasium (Ge ...

, Jesuit priest, educator, theologian, hanged on 11 September 1944 * Georg Groscurth, doctor, co-founder of European Union (resistance group), executed on 8 May 1944 * Nikolaus Christoph von Halem, jurist, businessman and Resistance fighter, executed on 9 October 1944 * Ernst Hampel, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 20 April 1945 * Paul Hatschek, Czech engineer and member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, executed on 15 May 1944 * Michael Hirschberg, SPD Resistance fighter, died from heart attack from injuries after arrest, 20 March 1937 * Martin Rasmussen Hjelmen, Norwegian Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 30 May 1944 * Cäsar Horn, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 19 March 1945 * Franz Jacob, Communist and co-founder of

and

Bästlein-Jacob-Abshagen Group The Bästlein-Jacob-Abshagen Group was a German resistance group that developed around the core members Bernhard Bästlein, Franz Jacob and Robert Abshagen. It fought the National Socialist (Nazi) regime from 1940 till the end of the war in 194 ...

, executed 1944 *

Franz Jägerstätter Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S. (also spelled Jaegerstaetter in English; born Franz Huber, 20 May 1907 – 9 August 1943) was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed for his refus ...

, Catholic

, executed on 9 August 1943 * Erich Knauf, author, executed on 2 May 1944 * Wilhelm Knöchel, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 24 July 1944 * Alfred Kowalke, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 6 March 1944 *

Wolfgang Kusserow Wolfgang Kusserow (1 March 1922 – 28 March 1942) was executed by guillotine at Brandenburg-Görden Prison for conscientiously objecting induction into the German Army because of his religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. One of his older b ...

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

, executed on 28 March 1942 * Alois Laub, member of Czechoslovak anti-nazi resistance, executed on 19 February 1945 *

Arthur Ladwig Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 10 July 1944 * Georg Lehnig, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 28 March 1945 * Karl Lühr, mayor of Woltersdorf (Wendland,

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

), executed on 20 December 1943 * Rudolf Mandrella, executed on 3 September 1943 *

Albert Merz Albert Merz (died April 3, 1941) was a German Christadelphian who was executed for refusing to bear arms in the Second World War. Albert Merz belonged to the Merz family of southern Germany who were leading members of what was then known as the '' ...

Christadelphian The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the ...

, executed on 3 April 1941 * Franz Mett, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 21 August 1944 *

Max Josef Metzger Max Josef Metzger (3 February 1887 – 17 April 1944) was a Catholic priest and leading German pacifist who was executed by the Nazis during World War II.Joseph Müller, Catholic priest, executed on 11 September 1944 * Kurt Müller, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 26 June 1944 *

Theodor Neubauer Dr. Theodor Neubauer (12 December 1890, Ermschwerd – 5 February 1945, Brandenburg an der Havel) was a German communist politician, educator, essayist, historian and anti-Nazi resistance fighter. Biography Early life Neubauer was born in th ...

, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 5 February 1945 *

Hans Neumann Hans Neumann (a.k.a. Hans Newman) (18??–1919(?)) was a founding member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain. Neumann had previously been very active in the Social Democratic Federation, being a public speaker for that party and secretary of i ...

, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 20 November 1944 * Erwin Nöldner, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 6 November 1944 * Stanislaus Peplinski, Polish forced laborer from Waldsee and member of , executed on 19 March 1945 *, Norwegian Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 30 May 1944 * Siegfried Rädel, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 10 May 1943 * Franz Reinisch, Catholic priest, executed on 21 August 1942 * Paul Rentsch, dentist, member of the European Union (resistance group), beheaded on 8 May 1944 *

Fritz Riedel Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin ...

, Resistance fighter, executed on 21 August 1944 *

Wilhelm Rietze Wilhelm Rietze (10 October 1903 – 28 August 1944) was a German communist and German resistance to Nazism, resistance fighter against Nazism. Biography Rietze was born in Köpenick, Berlin-Köpenick. A metal worker by profession, he was at ...

, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 28 August 1944 * Kurt Ritter, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 28 August 1944 * Friedrich Rödel, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 5 February 1945 *

Beppo Römer Josef "Beppo" Römer (; 17 November 1892 – 25 September 1944) was a member of the Freikorps Oberland, one of the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. He was later an o ...

, Resistance fighter, executed on 25 September 1944 * Axel Rudolph, author of adventure and crime stories, guillotined on 30 October 1944 * Jakob Schultheis,

Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

and member of , executed on 19 March 1945 *

, Communist and co-founder of

, executed on 18 September 1944 *

Willi Sänger Heinrich Max Willi Sänger (; 21 May 1894 in Berlin, Germany – 27 November 1944 in Brandenburg, Germany) was a German Communist and resistance fighter against the Nazis. Life Willi Sänger, was the son of a carpenter. After school, he comple ...

, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 27 November 1944 * Johann Schellheimer, Communist and Resistance fighter, on 5 February 1945 * Otto Schmirgal, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 15 December 1944 *

Martin Schwantes Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austra ...

, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 5 February 1945 *

Bernhard Schwentner Bernhard Schwentner (28 September 1891 in Schwerin – 30 October 1944 near Brandenburg-Görden) was a German Catholic clergyman. Life Bernhard Schwentner was born in Schwerin in 1891. After finishing '' Gymnasium'', he studied in Münster begi ...

, Catholic priest, executed on 30 October 1944 *

Werner Seelenbinder Werner Seelenbinder (2 August 1904 – 24 October 1944) was a German communist and wrestler. Early years Seelenbinder was born in Stettin, Pomerania (modern-day Poland), and became a wrestler after training as a joiner. He had connections wi ...

, athlete and Communist, executed on 24 October 1944 * Fritz Siedentopf, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 28 August 1944 *

Max Sievers Max Georg Wilhelm Sievers (11 June 1887 in Berlin – 17 January 1944 in Brandenburg an der Havel) was chairman of the German Freethinkers League, writer and active communist. Life Politics Max Sievers opposed the first world war and was an un ...

, Freethinker, executed on 17 January 1944 * Arthur Sodtke, worker, athlete and Communist, executed on 14 August 1944 *

Robert Uhrig Robert Uhrig (; March 8, 1903 – August 21, 1944) was a German communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism. Background Born in Leipzig, the son of a metalworker, Uhrig grew up to become a journeyman toolmaker. He joined the ...

, Communist and Resistance fighter, died on 21 August 1944 * Franz Virnich, jurist and Catholic Verbindungsstudent ( CV), died on 5 April 1943 * Ernst Volkmann, Catholic conscientious objector, executed on 9 August 1941 * Alfons Maria Wachsmann, Catholic theologian, executed on 21 February 1944Short biography of Alfons Maria Wachsmann
German Resistance Memorial Center, Berlin. Retrieved March 25, 2010 * Arthur Weisbrodt, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 6 November 1944 * Martin Weise, Communist and Resistance fighter, executed on 15 November 1943 * Hans Wölfel, jurist and Catholic Resistance fighter, executed on 3 July 1944 * Johannes Wüsten, author and Communist, died on 26 April 1943 * Konstantin Zadkevic, Resistance fighter and Dr in chemistry, leaked information related to the Nazis Nuclear program, executed on 30 October 1944 *

Walter Zimmermann Walter Zimmermann (born 15 April 1949) is a German composer associated with the Cologne School. Born in Schwabach, Germany, Zimmermann studied composition in Germany with Werner Heider and Mauricio Kagel, the theory of musical intelligence at ...

, resistance fighter (

), executed on 8 January 1945 * Johannes Zoschke, metal worker, sailor, sports enthusiast and anti-fascist Resistance fighter, executed on 26 October 1944

References

External links

Brandenburg Prison Museum and Documentation Centre
Blog post, with photos of prison. Retrieved March 24, 2010
"Zuchthaus Brandenburg - Görden in Brandenburg an der Havel"
Landtag Brandenburg. Official website of the German State of Brandenburg. Retrieved March 17, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg-Gorden Prison Buildings and structures in Brandenburg an der Havel Political repression in Nazi Germany Nazi concentration camps in Germany Prisons in Germany