For historical buffs, who wish to visit Berlin, Germany, a visit to Sachsenhausen can be quite significant. There is Sachsenhausen – a former Nazi concentration camp situated in Oranienburg near Berlin which is shocking for all the world. In this blog post, we will show you how to visit Sachsenhausen from Berlin responsibly and with a full understanding of the results of the crimes committed during WDN.

Getting to Sachsenhausen

Sachsenhausen is situated roughly 35 kilometer to the North of Berlin in a city called Oranienburg. There are a few convenient ways you can make your way to Sachsenhausen from Berlin:

By Train

By far, the most convenient and safest means of getting to Sachsenhausen is by rail. From Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof (central train station) you need to take the RE5 regional train in the direction of Stralsund/Rostock. It will take about 25 minutes and it will take the train to stop at Oranienburg. From there one can either walk for 20 minutes or take a bus to the memorial site.

By Guided Tour

If you want to be better prepared and want your visit to be synchronized with other tourists then joining a guided tour can be helpful. Most tour agencies in Berlin are able to arrange for a one day tour to Sachsenhausen where a professional guide will take you through the camp as he also explains the history of the place. I am quite sure that it will add more informative notes to your visit and will be helpful for obtaining the deeper insight into the historical outline of Sachsenhausen.

Exploring Sachsenhausen

Once in Sachsenhausen, you’ll realize that there is a perfect, well-maintained memorial encompassing, which provides a solemn, reflective experience. Here are some recommendations to ensure a meaningful visit:

Visitor’s Center

Your first stop should therefore be the Visitor’s Center where you can pick an audio tour guide or a guided tour. The latter is an audio guide that gives step by step description and information concerning different facets of camp’s history while the former is a guided tour that involve physical movement.

Exhibition Hall

The Sachsenhausen memorial complex includes the Issue Exhibition and the Memorial Exhibition of liberated countries and those occupied by the fascists. It contains information concerning the prisoners, the living conditions in the camp, as well as the system of terror applied by the Nazis. Spend some time walking through them, read the stories from the individuals, as well as look at the photographs of that era.

Memorial Site

Stroll around the memorial to visit different parts of the camp, prison houses, punishment cells and the bare Roll call square. The seriousness of the setting and structures retain to make you perceive the circumstances all the prisoners had to face.

Tips for Your Visit

Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your visit to Sachsenhausen:

As the cobblestone walkways cover a rather large area it is advisable to wear comfortable footwear.

It should be sufficient to enable the individual to take a leisurely stroll through the site, and, in the process, to grasp the historical magnitude of its meaning. You should expect to spend at least 3-4 hours in the park.

Take bottles of water or sports drinks at the site as there are no restaurants or shops within the sites.

Do not run and be very careful not to talk loudly; this is a sacred space.

It is recommended to go there during weekdays because weekends are normally full of tourist.

By adopting these tips, one will have a good and honourable tour in Sachsenhausen and change the sympathy they have towards one of the worst marks in history.

And as always it is very important to be polite and considerate towards the victims of the camp during the visit. Sachsenhausen is a reminder of the World War II crimes that occurred and must always remain a memorial.

If you are intending to visit Berlin it would be pertinent to visit Sachsenhausen. It is one that will ensure that such occurrences are never erased from memory and thus prevent its recurrences.