Missing House

The Basics

Before the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1930s, Grosse Hamburger Strasse (and the surrounding Mitte district) was home to a thriving community of both Jewish and non-Jewish families. The street was bombed in the final months of the war, and the city of Berlin decided not to rebuild the “missing house,” instead leaving a space vacant.

The space was transformed into a more formal memorial in 1990, when French artist Christian Boltanski researched the identities of the people who had been living in the building and added their stories to the site. Visit the memorial on a guided walking tour to learn more about life in Berlin during the war.

Things to Know Before You Go

• There is no admission fee to see the Missing House.

• Located in central Berlin, the site is surrounded by cafés, restaurants, and other amenities.

• The memorial is just up the street from the Old Jewish Cemetery (Alter Jüdischer Friedhof), Berlin’s oldest Jewish cemetery, and other sites of interest for visitors who want to learn about the city’s Jewish history.

How to Get There

The Missing House is located on Grosse Hamburger Strasse in central Berlin. The nearest U-Bahn stations are Weinmeisterstrasse and Rosenthaler Platz. A variety of buses and trams, and the S-Bahn train, also stop at the Hackescher Markt station, located to the south of the site. The Missing House is a short walk any of these three stations.

When to Get There

Located in the middle of a residential street, the Missing House is open and available to the public at any time. It’s often included on Jewish Heritage walking tours that include Berlin’s old Jewish quarter and other landmarks.

Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind Museum

Learn more of Berlin’s Jewish heritage with a visit to the nearby Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind (Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt), a moving tribute to an everyday hero. The museum (which does not charge admission) occupies the building where Otto Weidt, a factory owner, not only employed blind and deaf Jews to make brooms and brushes but also went to great lengths (and personal risk) to protect them from persecution and deportation during the Nazi era.