NS-Dokumentationszentrum

This is a must see if you are in Köln. This museum wasn't too crowded with people and is off the beaten path. The history that is held in this museum is eye opening and heart wrenching.

Admission is very cheap, especially if you have a student ID, plus a majority of the museum's explanations and description of items were written in both German and English.

If you have time in Cologne, I highly recommend checking out the NS Documentation Centre. This is a former prison during World War II and is the largest regional memorial site for victims of the war. The cost to visit the center is only 4.50 Euros and you can rent an audio guide for 2 Euros (this is definitely need on the top floors of the museum where there are no English captions, we didn't realize this at all beforehand).

From 1935 the building served as a residence to the secret police and was spared of much bombing damage during the war. The basement of the documentation center is actually the former Gestapo prison. The museum provides information about how the prison was run, where individuals were tortured, and who some of the prisoners were. In many of the former prison cells the writings and drawings from the prisoners have been preserved on the walls. The prison is depressing since many barbaric acts were carried out here against prisoners, particularly international prisoners. Outside of the prison there is a courtyard where an estimated 400 individuals were executed during World War II.

While walking upstairs one of the volunteers started talking to use and we really lucked out by this since the nice volunteer took us on basically our own private tour of the top floor of the museum. The top floor is primarily all in German, but is the memorial to victims of the war and includes much information about the secret police. The man who took us around provided a lot of information and explanations about World War II in Cologne. One thing that was really interesting was he knew some of the individuals in the photos in the museum and a few were still alive to this day. We so lucked out that he spent time with us and showed us around the museum. He really added to the overall experience here. There were about 12 to 15 rooms to walk through with many pictures, former paraphernalia, and local artifacts from the war.

Most of Cologne was destroyed in WWII this building survived. Worth a trip to see. Get the "self guided tour". It's is English. Bring your earbuds, your arm will thank you.
We found little reminders of the war in our travels of this area. This museum is a poignant reminder. Pulled no punches and described the truth.