Open Monument Day 2026: Moabit Freight Yard Memorial Site

NetzWERKE: Landmarks and Infrastructure

Der Gedenkort Güterbahnhof Moabit – Vogelperspektive auf den Gedenkort

The Moabit freight yard was built in the 19th century—and its architectural history already illustrates how infrastructure and power interests were intertwined: Military planning specifications, such as those formulated by the Prussian military’s General Staff, had a decisive influence on the layout and track configuration of the yard. Without these requirements, the parts of the station used for the deportations would never have taken this form. From the very beginning, therefore, the station was not a neutral structure but rather the result of institutional networks in which civilian and military interests were intertwined.

Under National Socialism, this infrastructure became part of a tightly knit system of state coercion. The Deutsche Reichsbahn played a central role in this: it organized and coordinated transports, provided railcars, and seamlessly integrated the deportations into its regular operations. Thus, a place for the transport of goods also became a hub in the system of persecution. Between 1942 and 1944, more than 30,000 Jewish men and women were deported from here to ghettos and extermination camps—after first being interned in assembly camps within the city and herded through the streets of Moabit to the train station, in full view of the public.

After decades of oblivion, a memorial was created at this historic site to keep the memory of the deportations alive. The redesign by raumlabor.berlin reveals what had long remained hidden: the physical traces of the railroad tracks, the topography of the site, and the spatial proximity of everyday life and crime.

As part of Open Monument Day on September 12 and 13, 2026, regional historian Andreas Szagun will offer guided tours ranging from the military origins of the station complex to the role of the Reichsbahn in the system of persecution and the creation of today’s memorial site —and will explore the scope of action available to the actors involved. The memorial site invites visitors to understand the seemingly mundane as part of historical networks of violence and to keep the memory of these events alive.Translated with DeepL

Meeting point: Ellen-Epstein-Straße, 10559 Berlin, next to No. 1 / Quitzowstraße, 10559 Berlin, across from No. 141

Next date:

• Date Saturday, 12/September/2026 15:00 bis 17:00 ( 1 more date )
• Venue Mitte Museum
• Address Pankstraße 47, 13357 Berlin-Wedding