German Resistance Memorial Center: Visiting the Bendlerblock

Hours, Admission and Getting There

The figures below come from the memorial's own visitor page.

The building sits in Berlin-Mitte. Bus M29 stops directly at the memorial. The U1 and U2 as well as the S1, S2 and S25 are within walking distance, and M48 and bus 200 also serve the area. A single AB ticket costs €4 (reduced €2.50) and is valid for 2 hours.

What to Expect on Site

The permanent exhibition occupies three floors of the Bendlerblock and was renovated before reopening in 2014. A bronze by Richard Scheibe showing a bound young man was unveiled here in 1953, and the courtyard was redesigned in 1980. Audio guides in several languages help visitors who do not read German, and the free public tours on the first and third Sunday of the month give a structured overview.

The first Sunday tour is in German, the third Sunday tour runs in German and English.

• The address is Stauffenbergstraße 13-14, in the Bendlerblock.
• Take an audio guide if you visit midweek, when the free public tours do not run.
• Combine the visit with the Silent Heroes Memorial Center in the same building, which is also free and keeps the same opening hours.

The Failed Coup and the Courtyard Executions

Stauffenberg and other participants in the plot of 20 July 1944 were executed without trial in the courtyard of the building.

Five men from this circle are commemorated at the memorial: Ludwig Beck, Friedrich Olbricht, Claus von Stauffenberg, Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim and Werner von Haeften. The first memorial exhibition on the site opened in 1968, the courtyard was redesigned in 1980 and the full exhibition opened in 1989.

• The executions took place in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock.
• The commemorated victims are Beck, Olbricht, Stauffenberg, Mertz von Quirnheim and von Haeften.
• The Silent Heroes Memorial Center shares the building.

More Than 5,000 Items in the Collection

The collection holds more than 5,000 items, and the museum was established in 1980. The renovated permanent exhibition reopened in 2014 and spreads over three floors.

• More than 5,000 items in the collection, in an exhibition over three floors.
• Museum since 1980, renovated permanent exhibition reopened in 2014.
• Free admission, audio guides in several languages, free public tours on two Sundays a month.

Plötzensee Memorial, the Execution Site

The Plötzensee Memorial at Hüttigpfad 16 is a related site. Admission is free. Opening hours are given differently by source: one lists 9:00-17:00, while other sources give 9:00-16:00 for the months from November to February, so allow for the earlier closing time in winter. The memorial is closed 24-26 December, 31 December and 1 January. More than 2,800 people were executed at Plötzensee prison between 1933 and 1945.

Other sites connected to the period, including the Topography of Terror and the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, are covered on the pages for WW2 sites in Berlin and WW2 museums in Berlin.

The Private Walk That Covers the Resistance Headquarters

The private walk costs $194.12 and lasts 3-4 hours. Its route lists Hitler's Bunker site, the German Resistance headquarters and July 20, 1944 plot site, the Reichstag, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Topography of Terror. The guide meets you in the foyer of your hotel, and hotel pickup and drop-off are included in the inclusions.

Note that the booking platform lists $194.12 per person for the 3-hour and 4-hour private options, so check at booking which option and which party size the figure covers. Food, drinks and gratuities are not included. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the start.

This is the only listing in the comparison that names the Resistance headquarters directly.

The Historian-led Walk and the Elser Story

The historian-led walk costs $51 and lasts 2.5 hours with a maximum of 10 guests. A military historian leads the group through nine sites, from the Reichstag to Hitler's Bunker site and the Topography of Terror, and the route includes the Johann Georg Elser Memorial. The Elser Memorial is the resistance stop on this route.

Indoor museum exhibitions are not included because the tour is outdoors, so you would visit the Bendlerblock exhibition on your own afterwards. The shared group walks do not list the Bendlerblock. Compare them all in the comparison table of every tour.

Plötzensee Memorial

The Plötzensee Memorial at Hüttigpfad 16 in Charlottenburg stands beside the execution site of Plötzensee prison. More than 2,800 people were executed here between 1933 and 1945, among them many sentenced for resistance against the Nazi regime. Admission is free.

Opening hours are given differently across sources: some list 9:00 to 17:00, others list 9:00 to 16:00 for the months November to February. Plan to arrive before mid-afternoon to be safe. The memorial is closed 24 to 26 December, 31 December and 1 January.

Plötzensee sits in a quiet residential area and is not a quick stop from the Bendlerblock. Its history, and how to reach it, is covered with the other sites on the Berlin WW2 tours homepage under the WW2 sites section. For the wider museum picture, see WW2 museums in Berlin.

Johann Georg Elser and the Historian-led Walk

Johann Georg Elser tried to kill Hitler with a bomb at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich on 8 November 1939 and was executed at Dachau. In Berlin he is commemorated at the Johann Georg Elser Memorial, and his story is one of the stops a trained historian tells on foot through the former government quarter.

The walk that covers him is the historian-led walk at $51 for 2.5 hours with a maximum of 10 guests. It runs outdoors and passes the Reichstag, the Soviet War Memorial, the Holocaust Memorial, Hitler's Bunker site, the Elser Memorial and the Topography of Terror. Entry to indoor exhibitions is not included, and there is no hotel pickup or public transport ticket, so you carry your own costs.

If you prefer a private walk that reaches the resistance theme directly, the private Third Reich walking tour at $194.12 visits the German Resistance headquarters and the July 20, 1944 plot site, with hotel pickup and drop-off included and a duration of 3 to 4 hours.

Neue Wache and a Walking Route from the Bendlerblock Area

The Neue Wache on Unter den Linden was built 1816 to 1818 by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Since 1993 it has been the Central Memorial for the Victims of War and Tyranny. Under an open oculus stands an enlarged Käthe Kollwitz sculpture, 'Mother with her Dead Son'. Entry is free.

It combines well with the sites near Potsdamer Platz and Wilhelmstraße. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is free and open around the clock, with the Information Centre open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00. The Topography of Terror at Niederkirchnerstraße 8 is free and open daily 10:00 to 20:00. From the Holocaust Memorial the walk to the Topography of Terror is about 1225 m, roughly 16 minutes on foot per the OpenStreetMap foot routing. From the Holocaust Memorial the Führerbunker site is about 451 m, about 6 minutes.

The Bendlerblock itself is easy to reach first by bus M29, which stops directly at the memorial, or by M48 and 200. A full day plan covering these stops and more is on the Berlin WW2 tours homepage under the itinerary guide.

How to Combine the Sites in One Day

Start at the Bendlerblock when it opens at 9:00 on a weekday, or 10:00 on weekends and holidays. Take bus M29 from Stauffenbergstraße toward Potsdamer Platz, then walk to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and continue on foot to the Topography of Terror, about 1225 m or 16 minutes from the memorial. If you want a guide for that stretch, the historian-led walk at $51 covers the ground in 2.5 hours.

Plötzensee and the Neue Wache sit at opposite ends of the route network, so give each its own half day. For opening hours and admission of every memorial on the do-it-yourself side, see the WW2 sites overview on the Berlin WW2 tours homepage. Detail on the exhibition halls nearby is in the guide to WW2 museums in Berlin.

Elser, Plötzensee and Neue Wache at a Glance

None of these three sites charges admission, which makes them easy additions to a Berlin itinerary built around remembrance. The table gathers the key figures in one place. Plötzensee is the hardest to reach and the most sombre, the Neue Wache the easiest, standing on Unter den Linden between the Berlin Palace and the Brandenburg Gate.

The Elser memorial in Wilhelmstraße can be folded into a government quarter walk on your own, or heard in context on the historian-led walk at $51 where a trained historian narrates his failed attempt and its consequences. Check the museum overview page for the wider opening hours of every site before you set out.