Prison in Germany - Locked Away for Decades
Locked away for decades, convicted of a capital crime. Nearly 1,800 inmates are currently serving life sentences in Germany. What is their daily life like? Two murderers, a serial bank robber, and a female murderer talk about their crimes, their imprisonment, what they think, do, and feel in prison – and what hopes they associate with the distant day of their release. But this day requires careful preparation. Murder under Section 211, a capital crime punishable by life imprisonment in Germany.
Of the 40,450 prisoners in Germany, 1,769 are currently serving life sentences. What is their daily life like in prison, and what happens behind bars to these capital offenders? The film crew visits three prisons in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony and speaks with inmates serving life sentences. “I’m a convicted murderer, I’ve been in prison for 18 years,” says Uwe H., 53 years old and incarcerated in Aachen Prison for over a decade.
Stefanie N. also has that “prison stare.” The 53-year-old is a convicted murderer and has been in the women’s prison in Vechta for five years. The mother of three is serving a life sentence and is one of 109 women serving life sentences. “Yes, I’m a convicted murderer,” explains Stefanie N. It’s a verdict she still struggles to come to terms with. “It’s difficult; you have to digest the verdict. When do you ever digest it? Basically, never.” The former alcoholic killed a man with her drinking buddy.
Both were sentenced to life imprisonment. She even married her accomplice, who is incarcerated in Bremen Prison, while she was incarcerated. A wedding behind bars, an emotional high point, but otherwise, prison life is a dreary routine with a lot of time spent in cells. Uwe H. is also familiar with this recurring prison life. For a long time, he numbed himself with drugs, even in prison, repressed his brutal crime, and refused to confront it: "There was a monster inside me," he says of himself.
Then, finally, something clicked, and he began therapy. Since then, he has been in the treatment unit for violent offenders in cellblock 2. "This isn't a girls' boarding school; this is hard work for the offenders. We literally lay ourselves bare here," explains officer Frank Merzbach, describing the concept of the treatment unit. They can't have anyone who denies their crime there, because therapy isn't an end in itself, but rather part of the legally mandated rehabilitation process. All these measures are based on one fundamental principle: Only those who understand their actions and recognize the underlying reasons that led to them can change.
Because even murderers eventually get out of prison. According to criminological statistics, offenders sentenced to life imprisonment remain incarcerated for an average of about 19 years, but many are behind bars for considerably longer. "We also have some who have been here for 30, 40 years," explains Dr. Jörg Uwe Schäfer, head of the Aachen prison. Decades behind bars change the prisoners.
Some develop prison-induced cabin fever, others suffer from the trauma of incarceration. "Some become aggressive, some depressed," says an officer who has worked with many inmates. Other lifers lose touch with freedom and realize: "I'm in the prison universe. Prison is my home, and yes, I have the trauma of incarceration," says Elmar M. about himself. The serial bank robber has been incarcerated for more than 20 years. Together with Hubert B., he spent years in closed prisons, moving from one correctional facility to another, before both were recently transferred to Euskirchen Prison.
There, in the open prison system, they are gradually being reintroduced to freedom. In the so-called transitional unit, offenders serving very long sentences relearn everyday skills such as using a cell phone, shopping, and online banking. All of this is aimed at reintegrating those serving life sentences into society. One thing is clear to the offenders: the stigma and the life sentence remain. "I am a murderer, I am always a murderer, and I will always be a murderer," says Uwe H., because he knows how people on the outside think of him.
Broadcasting on 01st of April 2026 at 00.00pm on ZDFinfo/ZDF
Music: POPVIRUS Library