Cape Arkona Bunker in Putgarten on Rügen
Cape Arkona, on the island of Rügen, was the northern-most spot in the GDR and thus a location of military significance. Directly adjacent to the two lighthouses on the cape, there are two military bunkers. One of them, the Arkona Bunker, was built and used by the Wehrmacht in the Third Reich. In the GDR, it was the the headquarters for the 6th Border Brigade Coast. The second bunker, erected between 1979 and 1986, may be explored in guided tours today. An exhibition informs visitors about the history of the 6th Flotilla/Bow and the People’s Navy of the GDR, and displays former bunker equipment and a photo series about the People’s Navy. The second, larger bunker used to serve as command post for the People’s Navy and the United Baltic Sea Fleet. Two entrances lead from the main central corridor to various independent individual bunkers. Spreading over an area of 2,000 square meters, they were connected to the main corridor via air locks. Several bunkers were equipped with sleeping berths on a sub-level and emergency exits. Each year, 50 to 70 soldiers reported for duty in the bunker for fleet maneuvers. The standard crew consisted of four men. On the day of the German reunification, October 3, 1990, the entire facility was put out of service.
The Political Memorials Association
The association „Politische Memoriale e.V.“ was established in 1996 as „Project Group Memorial Service in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania“. Its main fields of operation include the consultation of the state and all associations, initiatives and individuals active in the field of memorials on the one hand and educational measures on the other hand. Over the course of a decade, the association has contributed to setting up a network connecting memorial-related activities in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. They strive to preserve the network of historical locations as vivid, social reminders of oppression, prosecution and resistance.
Rostock BStU documentation and memorial site inside the former remand center
Much like in other East-German cities, a broad protest movement against the reign of the SED was formed in Rostock. The first demonstration in Rostock downtown took place on October 1989. On December 1989, a group of citizens forced their way into the Stasi central, and a committee of citizens took over control together with the police and the public prosecutor’s office. The Stasi central was later used by institutions such as the judiciary and the university. In 1998, the documentation center for the victims of German dictatorships was established. The former Stasi remand center presently houses the documentation center and research library on GDR history, as well as the documentation and memorial site of the BStU (Office of the Federal Commissioner Preserving the Records of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR). The staff of the Rostock branches of the BStU accompanies school projects and offers tours through the documentation and memorial site. They also organize lectures, speeches by witnesses of history and traveling exhibitions.
