NS-Documentation Center

The EL-DE House on Appellhofplatz was the headquarters of the Cologne Gestapo from 1935 to 1945. Its name became the epitome of the Nazi reign of terror in Cologne, but also for the way it dealt with and later dealt with the Nazi history of the city after 1945. The house was named after its builder, the Cologne gold and watch wholesaler Leopold Dahmen. From 1935 it served as the headquarters of the Secret State Police for the administrative district of Cologne and was largely spared bombs during the war. Today it houses the Cologne NS Documentation Centre with the memorial and a large area for permanent and special exhibitions.

The "Gestapo Prison" memorial in the cellar of the building is one of the best preserved detention sites of the Nazi era. Here, more than 1,800 wall inscriptions bear witness to persecution, torture and murder. 
The prisoner cells and inscriptions of the prisoners are the most immediate and most vivid reminders of the horrors of the Nazi era associated with the EL-DE House. As a memorial site, the former Gestapo prison forms the centre of the NS Documentation Centre and is a cultural asset of national and European importance.

The permanent exhibition in the EL-DE-Haus deals with the history of Cologne during the National Socialist era. It makes the main features of the Nazi system visible in their concrete local form. 
For the permanent exhibition and for the changing special exhibitions, the NS Documentation Centre has received several awards, including international awards. 

In the documentation and research area, the documents that were largely destroyed during and after the war are meticulously reconstructed.

Since May 2009, the National Socialist Documentation Centre has presented its memorial in a new form and expanded it by several areas. The permanent exhibition "Cologne under National Socialism" was also redesigned and supplemented by 31 media stations. These ultra-modern stations make it possible to integrate in-depth materials, the use of which visitors can now determine themselves.