Germany holds a significant place in world history, including the dark period of the Holocaust during World War II. Berlin, being the capital city, witnessed many tragic events during that time. If you’re a beginner in exploring this topic, you might be wondering whether there are any concentration camps near Berlin. In this blog post, we will delve into this question and provide you with helpful information.
Understanding Concentration Camps
Well I am going to attempt to answer that question but first let me try to explain to you what a concentration camp is. The Nazi administration set up concentration camps, solely for holding prisoners during the Second World War. They were concentration centers where millions of ordinary people, with Jews in the forefront, were detained, and killed.
Such camps were located in the territories occupied by Germans and in neighboring countries. However, during that period, Berlin was an important center for such business, but it had no concentration camps. More of them were found in other parts of Germany and in Poland.
Berlin Concentration Camps
The author wants to stress, though, that despite the absence of major concentration camps in Berlin, there were other forced labor and concentration camps in and around the city.
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was a Nazi and Soviet forced labour camp and prison located in Oranienburg just North of Berlin.
A famous camp is the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp which is situated 35 kilometer north of Berlin. This was founded in 1936, and most of the prisoners detained were political prisoners consisting of members of the opposition, intellectual, and activists.
As the present day tourist can visit the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and be informed about the evil that was occurred there and pay respect to the victims. Tours accompanied by guides and exhibitions contain descriptions and deliver a gloomy look at the place and its operative history.
Gross Rosen subcamp Oranienburg
Other camps near Berlin are the Oranienburg Concentration Camp. It is in a city outskirts and was the earliest official NanzIConcentration camps that was opened in 1933. Founded as a camp for holding political prisoners the camp was later developed to accommodate the other persecuted categories.
Contemporary, the area is covered by Stutthof memorial and museum that makes it possible for the people to know the little history of the camp and the hard fate of the prisoners. It is especially important that the exhibits and cast iron memorial tablets were created to honor the memory of people who died in the camp due to inedible conditions.
Planning a trip to Concentration Camps near Berlin
If you are interested in visiting the concentration camps near Berlin, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
Plan ahead: Ensure you know when the landmarks are open to visitors, whether there are guided tours and if there are any restrictions to accessing it.
Be respectful: Concentration camps are holy grounds, do not take inappropriate poses and do not touch anything that is restricted.
Educate yourself: It wise to get as much information as possible about the camp before you visit. This will help to improve your experience and the knowledge that one gets from the experience makes it even better.
Consider a guided tour: Entrance to unhistorical sites may require the services of a guide, who helps the visitor to understand the history of the camp.
Conclusion
Berlin itself, however, having been a major city during World War II, could not boast of an important concentration camp. It must also be said that there are not very big concentrations in the outskirts of the city, for example, Sachsenhausen and Oranienburg where people can study entire history of the cruel period.
Our wishing to pay tribute to the victims and make the world aware of such barbarisms that existed in the past is possible through the identified sites. Just turn to the topic with respect and wish to gain knowledge since only with knowledge, we CAN try to create a better tomorrow.
