The prison was built in 1876. It initially served as a military detention center. From 1919 it was also used for civilian inmates. It held up to 600 inmates at that time.

On July 18, 1947 seven Nazi war criminals were brought to the Spandau Prison. They were sentenced at the Nürnberg Trials.

Rudolf Hess, Walther Funk, and Erich Raeder faced life sentences. Albert Speer and Baldur von Schirach faced a 20 year sentence while Konstantin von Neurath had to serve 15 and Karl Dönitz 10 years in the prison.

Dönitz, Speer, and Schirach served their full sentences. Neurath, Raeder and Funk were released earlier due to their ill health.

From 1966 on Rudolf Hess remained the only prisoner at the Spandau Prison. The four powers took turns in guarding the prison. Despite the tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviets the guard duty at the Spandau Prison was never interrupted.
The guarding platoon, made up by 37 soldiers and one officer, changed monthly with a change of the guard ceremony in front of the prison.

February

June

October

Each of the four powers appointed a medical officer to oversee the health of prisoners. Doctors periodically examined the prisoners and prescribed the necessary treatment in agreement.

To work inside and outside the Spandau prison, service personnel were hired from among citizens of UN member countries, except for allied countries and Germany. Service personnel, with the exception of the male nurse, were strictly prohibited from contacting prisoners.

The main costs of maintaining the Spandau Allied Prison were borne by the West Berlin Senate. In recent years, the Senate has annually allocated 500-700 thousand West German marks for the maintenance of the prison, staff and prisoners.

The four-story prison building was cross-shaped and was designed to hold 600-800 prisoners. Prison had 132 solitary confinement cells, 4 punishment cells, 10 general cells for 40 people each. However, since 1947, only the 1st floor and basement were used. The prison area was surrounded by a stone wall about 6 meters high and a fence made of metal mesh. Along the perimeter of the wall there were 6 watchtowers, on which armed sentries were constantly stationed. The prison had only one entrance gate on the Wilhelmstrasse side.

The office of the senior duty warder in the cell block of Spandau Prison

After the death of the Hess, the building of the Spandau Allied Prison was destroyed , and in its place a shopping center and a parking lot were built. Today, only centuries-old trees – witnesses of history, some buildings preserved behind the former prison wall, and old photographs on the Internet – remind us of the past. The street and the lamppost that stood at the entrance to the Spandau prison also remained unchanged.

1987. View of Spandau Prison

2019. A new building was built at the entrance to Spandau Prison. Nothing reminds us of the old days except the old lamppost

The territory of the former Spandau prison on the Google map of modern Berlin

Spandau Prison now a Department Store

My Video and Photos of How Spandau looks now in 2025 coming soon!