Here stands the Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg. This isn’t just any prison. It’s a place holding a dark history within its walls. The Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg, or UHA, has been a part of Hamburg’s justice system since 1881. Initially known as the Mutteranstalt, or mother institution, prisoners often called it Dammtor.
Imagine thousands of people passing through this facility each year. All those arrested in Hamburg are first brought here. The Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg serves many roles. It functions as a pre-trial detention center and a police prison. It also handles civil imprisonment cases and court appearances. A specialized hospital, Zentralkrankenhaus or ZKH, is also here. Underground passages connect this building to the criminal court.
The UHA can accommodate many. It has 482 prison spaces and 47 hospital beds. Around 400 people work here. The original design of the Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg was quite innovative. Its panoptic layout allowed guards to view all sections. Initially, all cells were designed for single occupancy.
Fritz Schumacher expanded the prison between 1927 and 1929. This included the gatehouse at Holstenglacis. He added a service wing, a women’s prison and administration buildings. The central building gained additional communal cells. By 1930, the reception area, women’s section, and a new wing were completed. This new wing featured larger rooms for up to eight prisoners.
But there is a darker side. The Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg became a central execution site during the Nazi era. In 1936, the justice ministry designated it for executions. A guillotine was installed in 1938. By 1944, 468 people were executed here. Among them were the Lübeck Martyrs. These included priests Johannes Prassek, Eduard Müller, Hermann Lange, and pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink. They were beheaded in 1943. Memorials outside honor these victims. Plaques and Stolpersteine commemorate those who died. Suzanne Masson and France Bloch-Sérazin, French Resistance members, were also executed here. The last three executions took place on December 15, 1944. After that, the guillotine was moved to Bützow-Dreibergen prison.
After World War II, the British continued using the Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg for executions. From 1945 to 1949, fifteen men were executed for crimes. These included murder, weapons possession, and war crimes.
The Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg has seen numerous renovations. These occurred in the 1950s, 1960s, 1990s, and 2000s. The Zentralkrankenhaus was rebuilt. Later, the remaining wings were modernized. These improvements enhanced living conditions. Yet they preserved the original character of the institution. In 2009, the renovated A-wing reopened. By 2018, the B-wing was also modernized. Now all sections of the UHA have been renovated at least once. Every cell now has electricity.
The Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg has a specific jurisdiction. It holds adult male and all female pre-trial detainees. Juvenile male detainees go to JVA Hahnöfersand. Unlike other states, Hamburg houses all pre-arraignment detainees here. This is unique because police transfer them to the justice system before a warrant is issued.
The Zentralkrankenhaus within the Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg provides medical care. Doctors and nurses work here. They perform surgeries, dental work, and offer X-ray services. Monitoring like EKGs and EEGs are available. They also conduct gastroscopies. Specialists provide consultation services. Prisoners from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Lower Saxony receive treatment here. Inmates requiring more specialized care are transferred to external facilities. The Untersuchungshaftanstalt Hamburg is more than just a prison. It is a complex institution with a long and often dark history.