Places of (In)Visibility

How can places be invisible when they still exist? It’s not the places themselves that are invisible, but rather the many stories associated with them. "Places of (In)Visibility" focuses on the stories of people who, at different times and in various ways, came to Hamburg from East Germany (GDR). These stories span from 1953 to 1989. Tales of escape, emigration, and settling into a new city transform everyday, inconspicuous, or even touristy places into special sites of personal memory.

On five tours and at 16 different stations, you will learn what these places meant to people—and what they still mean today. The memories of contemporary witnesses form the heart of the audio walk. Their stories are contextualized and commented on. Additionally, there are numerous documents to discover at each station. Each tour takes you to three to four stations and lasts about 45 minutes. You can visit the places in person or listen from home—whether you live in Hamburg, are visiting the city, or are simply interested in these places.

The "Places of (In)Visibility" project is a collaboration between the Public History department of the University of Hamburg and the Hamburg State Center for Political Education. It is made possible and funded by the Federal Minister for Media and Culture under the "Youth Remembers" federal program and supported by the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship.

The so-called Lettow-Vorbeck Barracks was a central place of arrival for people from the GDR, especially in the 1950s. In search of accommodation, former barracks in Hamburg were used as transit camps for refugees. Over 5,000 people, who were actually assigned to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, were housed in the Lettow-Vorbeck Barracks. Tour two of the audio walk focuses on the organization, accommodation, and daily life in the barracks.