Germany had its fair share when the holocaust occurred during the Second world war. At this time the policy of industrialization of death through concentration camp was actively undertaken and in those concentration camps Jews, Roma, and other so called undesirables were rounded up, tortured and or killed.

In today’s world, Germany has many concentration camps that current are given for tourists’ visits. To read these camps one feels the historical events related to the holocaust and certainly camps like these provide a view into the history of such a dark chapter in German’s history.

In this blog post, we will discuss the concentration camps that exists in Germany to this date. We will look at their background, activities and attractions that they have and how one would want to undertake a visit.

What Are Concentration Camps?

To start with, let us take time and discuss more on what really is a concentration camp, and why it was developed in the first place, before we get to know the concentration camps that one can be able to visit today in Germany. From the World War II, the Nazi Germany established concentration camps to hold Jewish, Roma, and other groups of people that it regarded as undesirables.

Living conditions in these camps were generally terrible, prisoners from these camps suffered from overcrowding, bad hygiene, and lack of decent food. Concentration also had camps that had other facilities like the gassing chambers, were prisoners were gassed to death or the execution grounds where they were executed in various other ways.

It was the way in which Nazis aimed to exercise power over individuals they considered to be of undesirable elements; they also tried to remove the Jews by making them emigrate or be eliminated by use of these camps. Finally, it is expected that about 6 million Jews lost their lives in concentration camps throughout the holocaust.

Dachau Concentration Camp

Among all the concentration camps of Germany, the Dachau concentration camp is also widely recognized. Originally opened in 1933 the camp was one of the initial detention and extermination centres of the Nazi regime. It was during the Second World War that Dachau prisoner confinement camp housed over 200,000 prisoners from different countries.

Today, there are tourists visiting the Dachau concentration camp and, for instance, taking a guided tour every day. There is more information about the camp’s history, its situation during the Second World War and the destiny of the prisoners. It also has a more permanent display, which provides the context of the camp and its inmates.

About the United States Of America Concentration Camp Bergen- Belsen

Bergen – Belsen was an extension of a war camp for prisoners and was later transformed into a death camp. In the initial stages it acted as transit camp for Prisoners of War, who were then transferred to other concentrations camps. But soon the camp started taking Jews and other undesirables from other nations as well or at least that’s what was rumored.

The camp has grown tremendously and had many deaths by 1945 due to diseases. The British forces set the camp free in April of that year and then they provided for necessary treatments for the prisoners. That, however, could have only been the case after the death of over 70,000 prisoners in Bergen-Belsen alone by that period.

Currently, tourists can hire guided tours to visit this camp and its accompanying museum that contains photos and items from the period. Also, the remains of the camp barracks and its vicinity are accessible to the visitors.

Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Mauthausen is well known as one of the biggest concentration camps of Germany in the time of the Second World War. Gassing began in February 1941, with the camp also containing a prisoner underground factory from May 1943, built near Linz, Austria in 1938 to hold political prisoners and Jews from across Europe.

Life in Mauthausen was not easy with very many prisoners being subjected to forced labor and poor nutrition hence they had high mortality rates. According to the data, more than 100000 people were killed at Mauthausen during the Second World War.

Currently, one can make a tour to Mauthausen camp and see some parts of this camp including barracks and crematoriums. The tour also takes the clients to the memorial area which honors all people who died in the camp.

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp .

Sachsenhausen considered one of Nazi Germany’s first concentration camps since the establishment in 1936 near Berlin. Originally, it was designed to accommodate political prisoners; it was then reorganized for the Jews and other groups undesirable to the Nazis regime.

Like other camps, the Sachsenhausen camp also has torture, force labor and other aspects of starvation. Sachsenhausen killing center is believed to have had more than 30,000 victims during the World War II.

As of today, the Sachsenhausen is tourist attraction which people can visit and get an organized tour which entailing shows different parts of the camp like the barrack and crematoriums. Besides, it has a museum here where tourists may get acquainted with the history of Sachsenhausen and its prisoners.

Preparing Your Trip To A Concentration Camp

That is why if you would like to travel to one of the concentration camps located in Germany there are several factors that you need to take into account.

However, when planning to visit any of the camps, one should first read up about the camps to get more information about them. Every camp has its own story and attractions for tourists, and therefore, one should decide on the camp which might offer what you want while visiting the camp. In addition each of the two camps has different opening time hence ensure that you visit them when they are opened.

It is also relevant to note that recipients of a tour may find a concentration camp emotionally charged. There is need for visitors to be polite when accessing this places since majority of the visitors may be there honoring the victims of the genocide rather than entertaining themselves or taking pictures.

Lastly the ever worrying issue of safety should not be overlooked when visiting a concentration Camp. Ensure that you do not get to a point of realize that there are some risky structures or animals around before getting to any area of the camp. Also most of the concentration they are filled with unexploded bombs that is why it is advisable to stick to the tourist path while on the concentration camps.

Conclusion

A trip to one of Germany’s concentration camps is an excellent chance to know more about this tragic part of world history and pay tribute to the victims of the Nazi regime. However, it does pay to do a search on each camp and ensure one knows what one risks as one tours concentration camps.

Visiting these sites today can help to protect the memories of these horrors and one day ensure that no one has to go through them.