Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
Italy • 9 days, 8 nights
Flavors of Italy: Roman Carbonara, Florentine Steak & Venetian Cocktails
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
1 day ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
2 days ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
2 days ago
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Brazil São Paulo Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo (Memorial of the Resistance)
AO Edited

Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo (Memorial of the Resistance)

The building that once housed the dictator's secret police is now a museum that documents the history of an oppressive regime and those who fought against it.

São Paulo, Brazil

Added By
Mictlān Tēcutli
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The memorial to the resistance of São Paulo building which was formerly the headquarters of the secret police   Mike Peel/CC BY-SA 4.0
The memorial to the resistance of São Paulo building which was formerly the headquarters of the secret police   Mike Peel/CC BY-SA 4.0
Art installation symbolizing the victims of the regime and the terror that was instilled by the three decade long dictatorship   Larissa Isabelle Herrera Diaz/CC BY-SA 4.0
Display of the intelligence gathering file cabinets and artifacts related to secret police surveillance   Larissa Isabelle Herrera Diaz /CC BY-SA 4.0
Prison cell from the dictatorship era of Brazil used to hold opposition to the Junta   Larissa Isabelle Herrera Diaz/CC BY-SA 4.0
Former prison cell to hold political prisoners arrested by the dictatorship   Mike Peel/CC BY-SA 4.0
A CIA backed millitary coup in Brazil in 1964 led to a brutal fascist dictatorship that lasted three decades   Unknown
Display documenting history of the site   Cecioka/CC BY-SA 4.0
Former prison cells used to hold political prisoners arrested by the secret police   Larissa Isabelle Herrera Diaz/CC BY-SA 4.0
Display documenting the dark history of the building   Cecioka/CC BY-SA 4.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Within a stone's throw of Luz station stands a building with an ornate facade and a dark history. Once the headquarters of the State Department of Political and Social Order of São Paulo, today this building is a memorial and museum dedicated to the victims of Brazil's fascist military dictatorship. 

In 1964, a coup d'etat against the government of President Joao Goulart was launched by right-wing extremists in the Brazilian military. The coup had been set in motion with the coordination and logistical support of the CIA and had the oversight of President John F. Kennedy. Goulart's drive towards presidential democracy, land and educational reforms, non-alignment with either of the Cold War superpowers and the nationalization of the countries natural resources such as oil had been interpreted by the Kennedy brothers and the CIA as being "potentially communist." 

After the coup, the CIA continued to back the military dictatorship and its advisors helped train the much-feared secret police of the Junta, the DOI /CODI, in "counter-insurgency" methods which included surveillance, interrogation, torture, and assassination. 

During the decades of the military dictatorship in Brazil, this building in the Santa Ifigênia neighborhood of Sao Paulo was the headquarters of the Brazilian secret police. It housed a jail and several torture chambers where political prisoners endured unspeakable pain and suffering. It is estimated that over 20,000 people identified as "subversive" by the dictatorship were imprisoned and horrifically tortured by secret police agents of the DOI /CODI between the years 1964 and 1988. 

For a person to be classed as a "subversive" and to be imprisoned, tortured, and "disappeared" by the secret police one only had to be overheard criticizing the rule of the military junta. Additional reports after the fall of the military regime suggest that there were at least 434 "disappearances" during this period—though it is likely that more occurred than were reported. Those who were courageous enough to speak out or act against the oppression of the dictatorship were at high risk of passing through the doors of the DEOPS headquarters to be interrogated, imprisoned, tortured, and possibly killed. 

Today the building is a museum with exhibits that showcase this dark period of Brazilian history. It offers visitors a reminder of how easily democracy and human rights can slip away and encourages citizens to stand up in the face of oppression and apathy.

Related Tags

Fascism Dictators Politics Memorials Museums And Collections

Know Before You Go

The museum is open from Wednesday to Monday (closed on Tuesdays) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance is free.

Community Contributors

Added By

Monsieur Mictlan

Published

December 1, 2021

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo (Memorial of the Resistance)
66 Largo Galeria Osório
Santa Ifigênia
São Paulo, 01213-010
Brazil
-23.534853, -46.638811
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Monumento Mãe Preta

São Paulo, Brazil

miles away

Museu da Tatuagem de São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil

miles away

La Madone de São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of São Paulo

São Paulo

Brazil

Places 33

Nearby Places

Monumento Mãe Preta

São Paulo, Brazil

miles away

Museu da Tatuagem de São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil

miles away

La Madone de São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of São Paulo

São Paulo

Brazil

Places 33

Related Places

  • The eternal flame.

    Chennai, India

    Perarignar Anna Memorial

    The largest funeral ever held was for one of Tamil's most influential politicians.

  • The Republican lamppost

    Madrid, Spain

    Republican Lamppost at the Royal Palace

    A small but stubborn relic of Spain’s turbulent past hides in plain sight.

  • Eskişehir, Turkey

    Uğur Mumcu Park

    This harrowing memorial remembers a murdered investigative journalist.

  • Taipei, Taiwan

    Dr. Chen Wen-chen Memorial

    A memorial honoring a mathematician likely murdered by Taiwan's authoritarian government.

  • A crowd of statues

    Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Garden of the Generalissimos

    A Taiwanese garden teems with the retired statues of the island's former dictator.

  • Rutherford B. Hayes exhibit

    Villa Hayes, Paraguay

    Museo Municipal de Villa Hayes

    How did 19th U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes become so beloved in Paraguay?

  • Tributes to Paul and Shiela Wellstone

    Eveleth, Minnesota

    Paul Wellstone Memorial

    A memorial to the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, who died at this location, along with seven others, in a plane crash in 2002.

  • Bratislava, Slovakia

    Ján Kuciak & Martina Kušnírová Memorial

    The site is dedicated to an investigative journalist whose murder triggered a political uproar that changed Slovakia forever.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.