With the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 (begun in 1938 after the Munich Conference) came repressive police actions. The Nazis needed somewhere to hold the growing numbers that they were arresting. Thus, in June 1940, the Small Fortress became a prison for the Prague Gestapo.

The Small Fortress is surrounded by tall brick walls which are covered with a green grass on top. To get to the entrance, you must walk across a bridge (over what used to be a moat) which leads you to an entrance surrounded by a black and white striped design. After walking through the small tunnel-like entrance, you bear left to begin the walking tour of the prison.

This is the administration court. To the left is the reception office (where the records of the prisoners were kept), the guards' office (where inmates were interrogated), and the prison commander's office.

During its tenure as a Nazi prison, the Small Fortress was run by only one prison commander, SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinrich Jöckel. He was greatly responsible for the terrible conditions within the prison, thus he was sentenced and executed in 1946.

The gate at the end of this courtyard states "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Makes One Free"), the same phrase that was repeated often by the Nazis within their concentration camps. Going through the gate, leads you to "Courtyard I."

To continue the tour, just click on the "Forward" button below.