The visitor information centre also forms the main entrance to the memorial site. Here you can get information for your tour of the exhibitions. The building is additionally used for educational projects on historical topics and for regular evening events.

The exercise cells in the courtyard of the prison were built in the late 1950s. They consisted of high fences with a net of barbed wire covering the opening to the sky. The prisoners were let into them for thirty minutes each day. They were forbidden to talk to each other. The prison warders patrolled along a corridor between the cells and monitored the inmates.

The prison stood at the centre of a restricted area belonging to the secret service. A scale model cast in bronze allows visitors to get a good idea of "Military Town No. 7" in its historical and topographical contexts. The most important buildings in the secret service base and its security fences and barriers, as well as other historically important places in the vicinity, are labelled and explained in four languages (German, English, Russian, Braille).

At the heart of "Military Town No. 7", which was itself already heavily secured, was a high-security zone. This contained the prison, the headquarters of the investigation department, and the guardroom. It had a high wall, barbed wire and watchtowers at all four corners to foil escape attempts.

The rooms of the east wing are regularly used for temporary exhibitions on particular aspects of the place's history, prisoner groups and broader related topics. You can find an overview of current and past exhibitions on our website.

The visitors get into the former prison building and the main exhibition of Leistkowstraße Memorial by the former side entrance of the villa.

A tour of the exhibition starts on the upper floor.

The identifying characteristics of newly arrived internees were recorded as part of the admission procedure. Prison staff searched them for personal belongings, which were confiscated, and took their fingerprints. Their mug shots – identification photos that were subsequently included in the prisoner's case file – were taken against the north façade of the building, recognisable from the pattern of dummy joints incised in the plaster.

The memorial plaques on the west side of the building were unveiled in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Commemorative events are regularly held at this location.