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Concentration Camps In Germany To Visit Near Berlin

by | Mar 7, 2024 | Concentration Camp

Want to explore sachsenhausen concentration camp? Come and join us on the Original Berlin Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour.

Want to explore sachsenhausen concentration camp

Concentration Camps In Germany To Visit Near Berlin

Germany has its history of the concentration camp during the Nazi regime in the world. These camps served to imprison, terrorize and kill Jews, Gypsies, and other minorities in concentration camps during the Second World War. Some of these have however been developed into memorials, monuments or museums so that the millions of victims who perished in these concentration camps can be remembered.

For those who would like to visit the camp and pay tribute to the victims of the holocaust there are other concentration camps in Germany that are easily accessible from Berlin. Below, we will look at some of the best concentration camps in Germany and around Berlin, understanding their history and how to get there.

What concentration camps were?:

Let me explain what concentration camps were before going further to the concentration camps in Germany near Berlin. Second, concentration camps were first developed by the Spanish in Cuba in 1896 with intention of holding political prisoners. But these camps were not employed extensively by Nazi Germany until the Second World War whose main purpose was to incarcerate and exterminate Jews, Gypsies and other needy groups.

The concentration camps were divided into three categories: internment camps, assembly camps, and killing centers. Concentration camps were established to detain Jewish as well as other minority individuals and detain them in workplaces under deplorable circumstances. Using the prisoners, transit camps served as detention zones that would hold people until they could be taken to an extermination camp. Finally, extermination camps where individuals were gassed and burned in the gas chambers, crematoriums.

List of Top Concentration Camps Near Berlin

As concerned citizens of the world and lovers of history it is now that we try and improve our knowledge of what concentration camps were and how Jews and other minorities were persecuted in during the holocaust period.Some of the best concentration camps near berlin to visit are;

1. Bergen-Belsen

Bergen-Belsen was one of the few camps that became disastrously infamous during the Nazi management of the Second World War holocaust. This camp is found around 80km from Berlin and was at first developed in 1940 as prisoner-of-war camp. However, by 1944, the Warburg had been turned into a Concentration and extermination camp for Jews and Gypsies taken from other countries.

Thanks to the nearness to the capital of Germany, Bergen-Belsen is considered one of the most visited concentration camp today in Germany. Today one may take a tour around the camp or go to the memorial area with more than 6.000 graves where people, who died in the camp, were buried. Also there is a museum here what is showing personal belongs and documents of the people who were shipped to Bergen-Belsen during the war.

2. Sachsenhausen

Sachsenhausen was one of the largest concentration camps in the Third Reich also. This camp was created in 1936 and is situated only 30 kilometers from Berlin The camp was initially designed for political prisoners — adversaries of the Nazi regime. Later it was converted into a concentration camp where Jews and other minority groups were taken from other nations.

Sachsenhausen is currently visited by tourists more often than many camps in Germany because of the proximity to Berlin. Present day there is an organized tour going round the camp or visiting a memorial site with more than 10 thousand burials of people who perished in the camp. Moreover there is a museum on the place which exhibits belongs to the people who were deported to Sachsenhausen during the war.

3. Ravensbrück

Another significant camp was developed during the same period – Ravensbrück camp. This camp was established in the year 1939 and is situated just 90 kilometer from Berlin; although it started off as a camp for women and children who where termed enemies of Germany by the Nazi, But although after some time it was changed into a ghetto and was for Jews and other minorities who were brought there from other countries.

Ravensbrück is one of the concentration camps that attract a lot of people today because of the location of Germany’s capital, Berlin. Today people can go through the guided tour of the camp or can visit the memorial with the area of 30000 sq meters, where there are more than 11000 burials of those who perished in the camp. Further there is a museum also here which exhibits various items belonging to the victims who were shifted to Ravensbrück during the second world war.

How one can get to the concentration camps near Berlin

Tourism found nearby concentration camps can be rather stressful and even at the places near Berlin they have rather mournful history behind them. Visiting should be well-prearranged and you need to spend time mentally preparing yourself so that you honour and appreciate the significance of these sites.

Thus, the only helpful way, in this case, is to take guided tours or go to the memorial and museums, which are situated onsite of the camps. Luckily, there are many guides that conduct tours of such places in both the English and the German languages. Which are specific for the protective elements of the site that have to be respected, it has to be pointed out that these places are holy to many so honoring those who perished and died here has to be respected all the time.

Also one should remember that many of them may be closed because of their age and the state of preservation of some monuments, so it will be useful to prepare for any hiking or walking at the territory of the objects.

Conclusion

The concentration camps near Berlin are keep so that people will never forget what happened in the Second World War and pay respect to the victims of the camps which were death traps for those who were taken there. As will be observed, many of these sites are emotionally neutral experiences that will require a person to mentally and emotionally fortify him or herself before going on the tour.

self-organized visiting of the sites on offer through a guided tour, visiting memorial sites, and/or museums onsite will allow the appreciation and respect for such places together with augmenting knowledge about their history and CHV, as seen from their perspective.

Want to explore sachsenhausen concentration camp? Come and join us on the Original Berlin Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour.

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Concentration Camps In Germany To Visit Near Berlin

Mar 7, 2024