There are several former Nazi German concentration camps you can visit today while in Germany, including Bergen Belsen, Neugamme, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück, Dachau, Flossenbürg, and Buchenwald.
Nazi Camp Origins
Starting in March of 1933 Hitler’s regime 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 in these camps suffered from overcrowding, poor hygiene, and lack of decent food and were therefore susceptible to die from disease, exposore, malnutrition and violence.
Through a network of concentration camps, the National Socialists could exercise power over persecuted individuals lives. In the begginning the camps held early opponents of the regime, mostly communists, members of labor unions, and socialists, but later many groups were sent to camps including Jews, Sinti and Roma, Jehova’s Witnesses, Homosexuals, Free Masons, and anyone considered “work shy,“ or “Asocial.“
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 persecuted prisoners from other nations as well. over 120,000 prisoners were marched through the camps gates and at least 40,000 prisoners perished there, including Anne Frank and her sister Margot. The camp can be visited today and it is situated about 75 kilometers north of Hannover, Germany.
Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Buchenwald Concentration Camp is situated near Weimar, Germany. The camp opened in 1938 and was in operation until 1945. Over 200,000 prisoners were marched through the camps main gate, of which over 45,000 were killed there. The camp can be visited from Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 to 18:00. The memorial today offers tours for groups of 15 or more, several times a day, or you can pay 5€ to take an audio tour using one of their listening devices, or upload a buchenwald memorial app and explore the camp using your phone.
Dachau Concentration Camp
Dachau first opened on the 22nd of March 1933. It is estimated about 200,000 prisoners were marched through its gates, and at least 30,000 were killed at the camp.
Today, tourists visit Dachau concentration camp daily and can take an audio tour, and learn more information about the camp’s history. The camp is ca. 30 minutes drive northwest of Munich. The camp can also be reached by public transport.
Flossenbürg Concentration Camp
In Bavaria near the Czechia border. The camp first opened in May 1938 and was in operation until April 1945.
Around 80,000 prisoners marched through its gates and as many as 30,000 were killed there. Prisoners were used as slave laborers for the benefit of many companies and organizations including Messerschmitt and the SS owned and operated company German Earth and Stone Works/ Deutsche Erd und Steinwerke GmbH. Around 80,000 prisoners marched through its gates and as many as 30,000 were killed there.
Mittelbau – Dora
Mittelbau – Dora was a former concentration camp near Thuringia, Germany. It first opened in 1943 originally as a satellite camp of Buchenwald Concentration Camp. After the British bombed the German missile developement facility at Peenemünde (known for the infamous V-2 rocket) in 1943, bomb production needed to be moved elsewhere, and so weapon manufacturing machinery and personnel were transferred to Mittelbau – Dora. By 1944 Mittelbau had grown in prisoner population, and in importance, and so it was promoted to Main Camp status. Around 60,000 prisoners were sent to the camp and about 20,000 lost their lives there from exposure, fatigue, sickness, malnutrition, and violence.
Today the camp is open to visitors. Visiting hours are from:
- Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 – 18:00 (March – October)
- Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 – 16:00 (November – February)
Neuegamme Concentration Camp
In 1938 Neuegamme was originally opened as a satellite camp of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. In 1940 the camp was transformed from satellite to a main concentration camp. Over 40,000 people were killed at the Neugamme Concentration Camp and at the satellite camps affiliated to it. The memorial is situated 26 kilometers southeast of Hamburg. The memorial offers guided tours today. There are also several exhibits throughout the camp and information is well documented if you choose to just explore the camp on your own.
Ravensbrück Concentration Camp
Ravensbrück Concentration Camp is about 80 kilometers north of Berlin in a town called Fürstenberg. The camp first opened in May of 1939. It was the only specifically female concentration camp in the nazi system. There was a small male section to the north of the main camp, and a small youth section to west of the main camp as well. Visitors today may learn that over 800 babies were born at the concentration camp, and starting in 1942, women from the camp were being used in brothels in 10 other concentration camps. Ravensbrück was liberated by the Soviet Army on April 30th, 1945. At least 40,000 women were killed at Ravensbrück. Guests today can pay to take a self guided tour scanning QR codes with your smart phone.
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Situated 25 kilometers north of Berlin (the capital of Nazi Germany) Sachsenhausen was a very important camp. The I.C.C./Inspectorate of Concentration Camps building just outside the main camp was the head administrative building responsible for up to 32 main camps and about 1,000 satellite camps. Many decisions regarding prisoners daily lives were decided here, e.g. “how many calories to feed them“, and how some would be “exterminated through work.“ The Zyklon – B (prussic acid, used in gas chambers) was ordered from here. The I.B.M. subsidiary Dehomag Hollerith Punch Card machine was situated here. The machine helped greatly expedite access to information, like census records and other prisoner personal data.
Sachsenhausen was in operation from July 1936 until the camp was liberated in April of 1945. Around 200,000 prisoners were marched through its gates and at least 30,000 were killed there. Shortly after the camp was liberated it was used by the N.K.V.D. (Soviet Secret Police) from August 1945 until January 1950, in that period another estimated 60,000 prisoners were marched through its gates and an estimated 12,000 perished there as a result of sickness, malnutrition, exposure and violence. There is also a 30 minute long movie about the camps history inside the former camp kitchen. There is also a library at the camp, but it is by appointment only.
Guests today can pay to follow a guided tour, or pay to take an audio guide at the memorial for 3.50€. The camp is open to visitors daily from 8:30 – 17:00.
Preparing Your Trip To A Concentration Camp
If you wish to visit a former camp memorial, It is important to remember that many people suffered and even lost their lives at the site, so it is important to try to behave in a respectful manner and try to follow the camps rules. If you see signs that say, “no photography permitted“ or designated areas that are closed off to pedestrians, please try to respect them. You should understand that these memorials are not suitable for small children, and some camps do set age limits. Also note that memorials close on public holidays.
Conclusion
A visit to one of these former concentration camps is an important opportunity to learn more about the past, but also as a warning, or reminder, so that we do not make the same mistakes ever again. So that those evils are never repeated against anyone.
