The acclaimed drama about a Stasi officer surveilling a playwright in communist East Germany was filmed in Berlin itself – among the real streets, prisons and theatres of the divided city where the story unfolds.
Where was The Lives of Others filmed?
The Lives of Others was filmed in Berlin, Germany – the former East Berlin, including Karl-Marx-Allee and a real Stasi prison.
Every Lives of Others location, explained
East Berlin – Karl-Marx-Allee
The socialist city used the grand boulevard of Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin.
The Stasi prison – Hohenschönhausen
The surveillance and interrogation scenes used the real Hohenschönhausen Stasi prison, now a memorial.
The theatre – the Volksbühne
The playwright’s world used the Volksbühne and other Berlin theatres.
The divided city
The film is steeped in the atmosphere of 1980s East Berlin.
Planning a visit
Berlin – including the Hohenschönhausen memorial and Karl-Marx-Allee – is a real, accessible, deeply historic city behind the film.
