In Oranienburg, Germany the Museo de Sachsenhausen is a museum that pays tribute to the Holocaust in one of the concentration camps that was built. This camp for the concentration of Jews, Gypsies, and other ‘undesirable’ people during World War II provides the tourists uggestion about how the Nazis acted and the victims they produced. However, you might be wondering what you will find on arriving at the Museo de Sachsenhausen?

The History of Sachsenhausen

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was built in 1936 and it was designed to meet ideals set in other concentration camps. Originally designed and constructed for political prisoners, it developed into a work camp, an experimental station for disease remedies, and a death camp. This part of the museum seeks to describe the history of the camp to make visitors understand the kind of situation prisoners had during that time.

The Living Conditions

There were horribly scant living conditions at Sachsenhausen. Prisoners lived in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions in barracks; they also starved and moreover suffered indignities. The museum exhibits resemble actual daily life of prisoners where the visitors can better grasp how bad it was.

Medical Experiments

Among all other methods of torturing the prisoners, one of the most terrifying ones was medical experiments. Essential topics of this part of the museum are the evil things that people have done trying to learn more about other people, and ethical dilemmas of these actions.

The Death Marches

In the final stages of World War II the camp was liberated by the Allies, and towards the last months and days Sinti and Roma in particular were sent on so-called Death’s-head marches from Sachsenhausen and other camps. These forced marches lead to thousands of prisoners’ deaths. The museum offers social histories of the marches and their effect on people’s lives in an elaborate manner.

Remembering Victims of Sexual Violence and Celebrating Survivors

Although the exhibits help the museum to remind people of the sufferings that people went through during the holocaust, it also honors the lives of those who were killed at Sachsenhausen. There is a site, dedicated to the victims of the camp located in its territory as a memorial. Which gives an opportunity to visitors to pay the respect, so that no one can forget about their sacrifices.

Further, the museum also informs about the living witnesses who were able to overcome the odds for themselves and bring the memories into the contemporary world. Survivors’ stories give insight into the survivor’s endurance but also the endurance of the human soul at its best.

Tours and other Education Activities

In order to provide you with the incredible experience of the Museo de Sachsenhausen, guided tours are available. Such visits are informative being accompanied with guides who can add extra information to what is being observed or discussed and full questions. Additionally, there is an educational resource for schools and groups which means the lessons of the past will be passed to the future.

Final Thoughts

It becomes a profound seeing to pay a visit to Museo de Sachsenhausen. It is a good opportunity for people to remember themselves of the events of World War II and need to remember the victims of the war.