Wolvenplein Prison
Wolvenplein 27
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This prison, Wolvenplein, was one of the places where the war was at its rawest in the city. The German occupiers called it the Untersuchungs- und Strafgefängnis, the Investigation and Punishment Prison. Nothing lied about that last word in particular. Those who were prisoned here had a tough time. There was actually room for 172 prisoners, but at one point there were already more than 500 people imprisoned in poor conditions. You could end up here by doing something for the resistance, or by having forbidden books and newspapers in your house, or by withholding items such as radios, which had to be turned in. It sounds obvious, we are used to it from World War II; anyone who did something wrong was imprisoned. But if you think deeper, you realize how intensely fearful, unfree and oppressed society must have been if even for reading a newspaper - which was regularly even thrown through your mailbox uninvited - you could end up in outright hell without a fair trial. It was also unsure how you well you were physically and mentally when you were released, if at all. Corporal punishment was sometimes used in interrogations, and prisoners were mistreated. Sometimes prisoners were executed, especially resistance fighters. This did not happen in the prison itself, but at Fort de Bilt and Fort Rhijnauwen (near Utrecht), or somewhere else in the Netherlands. This prison has existed since 1856, so it was not built by or for the German occupiers. Before and after the war, this was a "normal" Dutch prison, but not anymore. In 2014, the last prisoners left and Wolvenplein has not been a prison since. Since 2022, the cells have been rented out as offices and student rooms.
