Concentration camp known as Sachsenhausen sits just outside Berlin, Germany and has great involvement in the nation’s history during world war two. This camp was in existence from year 1936 to 1945and was in the first instance built to be a showpiece for the Nazis so that they could portray a hospitable environment to the outside world. Still, it turned into the realm of incredible suffering and perils in no time.

The Purpose of Sachsenhausen

Several uses were planned for the camp, the most important of which was to act as an training site for the guards of the SS and also as a means to detain the enemies of state, professionals, philosophers, artists and other people unwanted by the Nazis. It was also a place for people of many different categories of criminals, starting from Jews and homosexuals up to communists and trade unions members.

This camp design was carefully planned where the whole camp in triangular in shape with an administration block in the center and the prisoner’s barracks in different zones according to their classifications. Sachsenhausen introduced Nazi regime’s future concentration and extermination camps proclaiming the effectiveness of what would later turn into the Holocaust.

Standard of Living of the Camp’s Inhabitants

Thus, life in Sachsenhausen was only a nightmare. Says about the process prisoners suffered from overcrowded barracks, hunger, routine physical and psychological torture. Work was an encompassing activity in the camp, where prisoners received extremely heavy working tasks with no regard for their physical and Mental health where they were forced to work in other related factories or construction joints.

On this note, those who failed to meet those extreme labor demands were tortured and or flogged, and in some cases summarily executed. Medical experiments were also performed on the prisoners and they were tortured to their brain-racking point.

Resistance and Liberation

However, it can be said that opposition in Sachsenhausen was possible and even frequently occurred. The prisoners in the holocaust secretly began to form underground movements in order to share information, and care for one another. These were small acts of defiance and solidarity but they sustained the feel of hope in people’s hearts.

Finally, on 22 nd of April 1945, the camp was liberated by the Soviet forces. The details which were revealed in the course of the liberation of the Sachsenhausen shocked the world and established the place of the camp in history.

Visiting Sachsenhausen Today

Sachsenhausen today is a memorial and museum, which offers rather serious and informative tourism. It will also help in the remember the feat during the Nazi period and make sure that people do not repeat those same actions.

On visiting Sachsenhausen area there are several structures in the camp that were built such as the infirmary, workshop and many barracks. The museum has delves into grim facets of human history through programs, documentaries, photograph, and some recorded testimonials of the survivors.

One has to remember that visiting a place like Sachsenhausen requires understanding and respect to the victims of this crime. Bear in mind that it is a sad place where probably most visitors come to pay their tributes. Spend time to read the stories and pay your respect to the people who had suffered in the given building.

Tips for Visiting Sachsenhausen:

Visitor should make their schedule in advance including transport to the site and back.

It might be useful to participate in group tour to get more detailed information about the history of the camp.

Get ready for the worst if your experience will be a traumatic one.

Dress properly because the area has split gravel trails and has an inclined surface.

Remember that it is a mourning area and follow all signs and policies.

Ponderously digest the information and ask yourself what it is you’ve ingested.

Conclusion

Sachsenhausen is slavery’s shocking testament and it sounds and feels so in the darkest corners of the universe. A visit to this place will be an important message on how some people in the society indulged in the genocide of many lives and therefore deserves respect and we should learn from it. Only by invoking and recalling the experience of Sachsenhausen, people are tried to make sure that similar inhuman actions are not committed anymore.