The Stasi Prison
Contemporary Witness Michael Brack, The Stasi Prison - Gedenkstätte Berlin Hohenschönhausen
On 1 October 2025, Michael Brack, who guides visitors through the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, will receive the Federal Cross of Merit in recognition of his socio-political commitment and his work as a contemporary witness to the injustices of the SED regime.
Last year, the former Hohenschönhausen Remand Prison in Berlin received 342,052 visitors, primarily school groups.
“Through my work, I aim to convey the value of our democracy to visitors,” he says. “The tours of the remand prison have helped me to process the traumas that have accompanied me throughout my life.”
Born in Berlin Neukölln in 1949, Michael Brack was ostracised for the same reasons as many young people in the West: long hair and rock music. The desire for a free life. He painted a slogan against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by NVA troops on a wall.
The result was imprisonment and the destruction of his career prospects. He never progressed beyond working as a cemetery gardener and swimming pool attendant. During the peaceful revolution, he joined the New Forum and, after reunification, he was elected mayor of Hartmannsdorf, near Berlin, where he still lives today.
Last year, Brack was a guest of honour in South Korea, where he delivered a lecture and visited the border with North Korea. He has now been invited to Prague to mark the anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. On 3 October, he will officially participate in the unity celebrations in Saarbrücken.
On 1 October 2025, Michael Brack, who guides visitors through the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, will receive the Federal Cross of Merit in recognition of his socio-political commitment and his work as a contemporary witness to the injustices of the SED regime.
Last year, the former Hohenschönhausen Remand Prison in Berlin received 342,052 visitors, primarily school groups.
“Through my work, I aim to convey the value of our democracy to visitors,” he says. “The tours of the remand prison have helped me to process the traumas that have accompanied me throughout my life.”
Born in Berlin Neukölln in 1949, Michael Brack was ostracised for the same reasons as many young people in the West: long hair and rock music. The desire for a free life. He painted a slogan against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by NVA troops on a wall.
The result was imprisonment and the destruction of his career prospects. He never progressed beyond working as a cemetery gardener and swimming pool attendant. During the peaceful revolution, he joined the New Forum and, after reunification, he was elected mayor of Hartmannsdorf, near Berlin, where he still lives today.
Last year, Brack was a guest of honour in South Korea, where he delivered a lecture and visited the border with North Korea. He has now been invited to Prague to mark the anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. On 3 October, he will officially participate in the unity celebrations in Saarbrücken.
