Fates of imprisonment

Biographies of former prisoners

Between 1945 and 1989, more than 20,000 people were imprisoned at Hohenschönhausen. You can read about the fates of some of the prisoners in our biographies.

1945-1946: Sowiet special camp

Heinrich George

* 1883 † 1946

In prison 1945-1946

Heinrich George was born Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz in Stettin in 1883. The actor Heinrich George is probably the most prominent (…)

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Heinz-Joachim Schmidtchen

* 1928

In prison 1946-1954

Heinz-Joachim Schmidtchen was born on 8 December 1928 in Schwiebus (Brandenburg). At the age of 17 (…)

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1947-1951: Central remand prison for the Soviet secret service

Kurt Müller

* 1903 † 1990

In prison 1950-1955

Kurt Müller, born in Berlin in 1903, was one of the leading communist politicians in the Federal Republic of Germany. (…)

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Helmut Brandt

* 1911 † 1998

In prison 1950-1958

Helmut Brandt was born in Berlin-Spandau in 1911. With a doctorate in law and economics, he was one of the co-founders (…)

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Horst Jänichen

* 1931 † 2020

In prison 1946-1948 and 1951-1959

Horst Jänichen was born in Berlin in 1931. He was arrested by the Soviet secret service (MGB) (…)

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1951-1989: Central remand prison for the Ministry of State Security

Arno Drefke

* 1934

In prison 1953-1962

Arno Drefke was born in Wittstock (Brandenburg) in 1934. From 1948 to 1951, he trained as a chemist in (…)

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Peter Rüegg

* 1933 † 2021

In prison 1959-1963

Peter Rüegg was born in Berlin in 1933. He moved to East Berlin in 1948 and became a full-time youth functionary (…)

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Lutz Hildebrandt

* 1947

In prison 1967-1968

Lutz Hildebrandt was born in Berlin in 1947. He learned the trade of dressmaker. On the occasion (…)

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Hans-Jochen Scheidler

* 1943

In prison 1968-1969

Hans-Jochen Scheidler was born in 1943 in Wollhaus in what is now Poland. After studying physics at the Humboldt University (…)

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Reinhard Fuhrmann

* 1948

In prison 1972-1973

Reinhard Fuhrmann was born in Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg) in 1948. In 1968, he began studying philosophy and history (…)

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Friedemann Körner

* 1945

In prison 1974-1977

Friedemann Körner was born in Dresden in 1945. He studied at the Dresden Academy of Music (…)

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Edda Schönherz

* 1944

In prison 1974-1977

Edda Schönherz was born in Bad Landeck (Silesia) in 1944. From 1963 to 1969, she trained as a journalist (…)

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Ret Langmeier

* 1959

In prison 1980-1981

Ret Langmeier was born in East Berlin in 1959 and grew up in Berlin-Mitte. After leaving school (…)

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Christian König

* 1961

In prison 1980-1981

Christian König was born in January 1961 and grew up in East Berlin. After leaving school, he began (…)

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Henry Leuschner

* 1962

In prison 1981-1982

Henry Leuschner was born in Leipzig in 1962. From 1978 to 1980, he trained as a roofer in Jena. He then (…)

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Sigrid Grünewald

* 1945

In prison 1981-1982

Sigrid Grünewald was born in 1945 in Kahla (Thuringia). She grew up in a social democratic family (…)

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Thomas Lukow

* 1959

In prison 1981-1983

Thomas Lukow was born in Potsdam in 1959. He grew up in East Berlin and completed (…)

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Thomas Raufeisen

* 1962

In prison 1981-1984

Thomas Raufeisen was born in Hanover in 1962 and lived there until he was 17. His father (…)

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Matthias Leupold

* 1959

In prison 1982

Matthias Leupold was born in East Berlin in 1959 and grew up in a well-off, artistic family in Prenzlauer Berg. (…)

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Michael Bradler

* 1961

In prison 1982

Michael Bradler was born in East Berlin in 1961 and trained as a precision mechanic. (…)

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Harry Santos

* 1955

In prison 1982-1983

Harry Santos was born in Leipzig in 1955 and grew up in Thuringia from the age of eleven. (…)

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Monika Schneider

* 1956

In prison 1983-1985

Monika Schneider was born in Freital (Saxony) in 1956. She trained in the region as a skilled worker in clothing technology (…)

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Porträt Thorsten Rupnow — Thorsten Rupnow

Torsten Rupnow

* 1966

In prison 1985-1986

Torsten Rupnow was born in East Berlin in 1966 and grew up in the district of Lichtenberg. After leaving school, he trained (…)

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Gilbert Furian

* 1945

In prison 1985-1986

Gilbert Furian was born in 1945 in Görlitz, Saxony. At the age of 16, he was expelled from the Free German Youth (…)

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Hans Schulze

* 1952

In prison 1986-1987

Hans Schulze was born in Falkensee (Brandenburg) in 1952. He worked for a West German (…)

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Mario Röllig

* 1967

In prison 1987

Mario Röllig was born in East Berlin in 1967 and trained as a restaurant specialist from 1984 to 1986. At the age (…)

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1945-1989: Prisoners at other detention centres for the Ministry of State Security in the GDR

Porträt Karl-Heinz Richter — Karl-Heinz Richter

Karl-Heinz Richter (Kopie 2)

* 1946

In prison 1964

Karl-Heinz Richter was born in Schwarzheide (Brandenburg) in 1946. After finishing secondary school, he began (…)

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Erhard Neubert

* 1946

In prison 1964-1966 and 1972

Erhard Neubert was born in Suhl in 1946. Even as a teenager, he (…)

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Hartmut Richter

* 1948

In prison 1966 and 1975-1980

Hartmut Richter was born in Glindow (Brandenburg) in 1948. He was 13 when the Berlin Wall (…)

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Rainer Dellmuth

* 1948

In prison 1967-1968 and 1971-1972

Rainer Dellmuth was born in Berlin in 1948 and comes from a Christian family. (…)

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Michael Brack

* 1949

In prison 1968

Michael Brack was born in Berlin-Neukölln in 1949. In 1954, his family moved to the East Berlin district (…)

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Hans-Joachim Lietsche

* 1950

In prison 1978-1979

Hans-Joachim Lietsche was born in East Berlin in 1959 and grew up in Prenzlauer Berg. During his apprenticeship as a (…)

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Lothar Schulz

* 1950

In prison 1978-1979

Lothar Schulz was born in 1950 in Alt Ruppin, Brandenburg. In 1972, he completed his studies (…)

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Porträt Hansjörg Schößler — Hansjürg Schößler

Hansjürg Schößler

* 1963

In prison 1979 & 1980

Hansjürg Schößler was born Hansjürg Neß in Erfurt in 1963 and grew up in a Christian family. (…)

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Holger Krug

* 1962

In prison 1985-1986

Holger Krug was born in Markkleeberg (Saxony) in 1962. From 1979 to 1981, he (…)

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