KZ Columbia (1935–1936) and the monument (2024)

The only SS concentration camp in Berlin & a memory of a place of Nazi terror

From 1933, the Secret State Police (Gestapo) used a military detention facility in the Prussian barracks complex on Columbiadamm as a prison. Political opponents were imprisoned here. From 1935, the SS integrated it into the concentration camp system.

Until it was closed, 8,000 prisoners were housed in 156 cells under inhumane conditions, often for just a few days. Torture and murder took place.

In 1936, the Reich Aviation Ministry ordered the concentration camp to be closed to make way for the new airport. The prisoners were taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Since 2024, the lettering has no longer been visible and marks the memorial site for the concentration camp. It complements the monument opposite from 1994, which symbolizes a cell building.