Silenced stories linger within these walls. We are standing before the Women’s Penitentiary in Berlin Lichtenberg District. This penitentiary isn’t just a building. It’s a place where the past and present intertwine. The Women’s Penitentiary in Berlin Lichtenberg District has a history that many would prefer to keep hidden.
The attempt to make the Women’s Penitentiary in Berlin Lichtenberg District invisible is not new. Not far from here around Magdalena Strasse the Stasi neighborhood hides a secret. Plenty of touristic information signs highlight the buildings and infrastructure of the Stasi. However the Women’s Penitentiary in Berlin Lichtenberg District is made completely invisible. It is only mentioned as the former Magdalena Strasse Prison.
The Magdalena Strasse Prison was a place of Stasi custody. People were interviewed here. Some were sentenced to death. Others were murdered. “Magda” even became a nickname for Stasi repression. Yet not a single word is said about this prison still being in use today. It is still a women’s prison.
Men’s jails like Moabit are made visible. People should not forget what will happen if they get subversive or criminal. Women’s jails are silenced. They are made invisible. The myth of submissive harmless women can then be perpetuated. This includes cis and trans women. It also includes intersexual and non binary persons.
It’s disgusting to see the continuity of repression wiped out of history. Our friends companions and every other prisoner held in the Women’s Penitentiary in Berlin Lichtenberg District deserve better. Radical tourists took a pen and some paint. They added the current jail Lichtenberg to every single touristic sign and to a wall close to the jail. They expressed solidarity to prisoners. This act made them feel better.
The Women’s Penitentiary in Berlin Lichtenberg District stands as a stark reminder. It shows how society often prefers to ignore the incarceration of women. We must remember those within these walls. We should challenge the narratives that seek to erase their existence. Their stories deserve to be heard.