The former “Hotel Silber” in Stuttgart was a place of organized Nazi terror and within the political systems before and after a police base.

Originally built as a hotel in the middle of the 19th century, it became an administrative building after the First World War. From 1928 the building housed the police headquarters and subsequently in second world war the headquarters of the Secret State Police Gestapo for Württemberg and Hohenzollern. The building was still used to house parts of police authority until far into the 1980s. Only due to great engagement of a citizens initiative, the decision was made to preserve the building for memorial purpose and create a museum within. In order to enhance the visibility of the new use as a place of remembrance, concrete tablets in-scripted with keywords referring to its adversepast have been installed in certain window openings. Reflecting the difficult content, these elements create an enclosed, tight feel, while filtering diffuse light into the exhibition space.