Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights

Former KGB headquarters now a museum of Soviet repression and Lithuanian resistance

The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights occupies the former KGB headquarters on Gedimino Avenue, a building that served as the Gestapo's base during the Nazi occupation and then the KGB's during the Soviet period. The building's basement prison — where Lithuanians were interrogated, tortured, and in some cases executed — is preserved in extraordinary detail, with solitary confinement cells, interrogation rooms, and the execution chamber.

The museum covers the full period of Soviet occupation: the mass deportations of 1941 and 1949, the partisan resistance movement (the Forest Brothers), and the eventual restoration of independence in 1990–91. The documentary archive is extensive. This is not a comfortable museum — the KGB maintained meticulous records — but it is one of the most honest and well-presented accounts of Soviet terror anywhere in the former Soviet sphere. Allow two hours. Aukų St. 2a / Gedimino Ave 40. Open Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00.

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The KGB prison cells in the basement were in active use until 1991. During the Soviet occupation, thousands of Lithuanians were interrogated, tortured, and executed here. The execution chamber, where the ceiling and walls were soundproofed to muffle the shots, is preserved as found. It is one of the most disturbing rooms in Europe.

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