Before the fall of the Eastern Bloc, Berlin’s Stasi Prison was the site of unimaginable horrors. The former secret police hub as been shot many photographers since it became a memorial and museum, but these unsettling images capture by Philipp Lohöfener do an excellent job of conveying just how haunting the space remains over 20 years later. “When you walk through these cells and rooms, it is not only the visual experience that is scary; it’s the smell, and how your footsteps sound, too,” Lohoefener told Wired back in 2010. “You get an uncomfortable feeling. I wanted to put over this discomfort in my images.” From the wood-paneled interrogation rooms to the stark prisoner cells to a “special emergency phone” that connected Comrade Erich Mielke with other secret police chiefs, click through to see a selection of photos from this thought-provoking series.
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener. Spotted via Faith is Torment
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener
Photo credit: Philipp Lohöfener