Swimming in the Plötzensee: relaxation meets dark history

Swimming in the Plötzensee: relaxation meets dark history

Imagine a place that represents both relaxation and remembrance. Here in Berlin, at Plötzensee, exactly this duality comes to life. With its 7.7 hectares, the Plötzensee is not only a popular destination for swimmers - up to 10,000 people swim there every year, sunbathe on the sandy beach or enjoy the opportunities for water sports. But the lake also has a dark history: During the National Socialist era, over 2,900 executions took place here. This shocking truth is made visible by the nearby Plötzensee Memorial, which commemorates the estimated 3,000 people executed here by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945, including many who resisted the regime.

The memorial, just a few steps away from the lido, is an impressive place of remembrance. Historians emphasize the importance of this combination of leisure and commemoration. It is a unique concept of remembrance culture that does not ignore the past, but actively integrates it. At Plötzensee, visitors not only come to swim, but also enter into a dialogue with history. Many have set themselves the goal of promoting this awareness. Those responsible are planning measures such as information boards that will provide information about the history of the place and a careful modernization of the infrastructure.

The memorial and its history

The Plötzensee Prison was built between 1868 and 1879 and from 1933 onwards was increasingly used to arrest and execute political prisoners. The executions usually took place in the prison yard by guillotine or, from 1942, in the execution room by hanging. Among those executed were members of the Red Orchestra and participants in the failed coup of July 20, 1944. It is striking that almost half of those convicted were not Germans.

The memorial was established in 1951 and opened in 1952 and is dedicated to the victims of Hitler's dictatorship. The room where the executions took place has been transformed into a memory room and also includes an exhibition documenting the Nazi court system and the fates of those persecuted. Here memory is actively lived, not in the form of forgetting, but through constant exchange about the events of the past.

A place for the future

The memorial's caretakers have a good sense of how to deal with the site's complex history. They see the connection between the resort and the memorial not only as a challenge, but as an opportunity to further expand the activities. The Path of Remembrance connects the Plötzensee Memorial with various churches that also commemorate the resistance against the Nazis, including the Paul Hertz Settlement, which features works by Alfred Hrdlicka and artistically expresses the stories of the victims.

With the memorial's open doors and regular opening hours daily from March to October from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and from November to February from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the Plötzensee invites you to both listen to its stories and relax in its beauty.

If you want to find out more about the impressive history of Plötzensee, visit the memorial's official website visitBerlin or the informative website [journee-mondiale].