Hidden away in the Russian Compound north of Jerusalem's bustling downtown is a powerful reminder of the turbulent, violence-wracked recent history of the city: the Underground Prisoners Museum.

The long, low stone building was initially constructed in the 1800s as lodging for Russian women. During the period of the British Mandate, the shelter was converted into a prison for those deemed a threat by the Mandatory government, particularly members of the pre-state Jewish underground militias – the Hagana, the Irgun (Etzel) and the Lechi – who were imprisoned for crimes ranging from helping to smuggle in Jewish immigrants from Nazi Europe to terror and assassinations.

The prison's most famous episode came when Meir Feinstein, 19, and Moshe Barazani, 21, two underground fighters sentenced to death, blew themselves up with grenades hidden in oranges rather than ascend the gallows. Their cell has been preserved exactly the way it was. Other former cells contain original artifacts and documents detailing life behind bars in the Mandate.