During World War II, various concentration camps were established by the Nazis to imprison and exterminate millions of people. One of the most infamous camps was Konzentrationslager Sachsenhausen, which was located just north of Berlin in Oranienburg, Germany. In this blog post, we will delve into the history and atrocities committed at Sachsenhausen and shed light on this dark chapter of human history.
The Origins of Sachsenhausen
The concentration camp, Sachsenhausen was developed in 1936 to become one of the primary models for other camps. It was used to detain political rivals, exterminate Jews and for performing forced labor. Oven its growth, the camp was expected to accommodate 6,000 prisoners, although the rate increased later on.
The conditions in Sachsenhausen were terrible and terrible tropical mistreatment was rained on the prisoners. It was impossible to escape from the camp since it was fenced, with watchtowers and a moat and was electrified. The guards were notorious in seeing to it that any prisoners within their charges received piteous beatings.
Prisoner assets also point to hate and injustice, sacchained in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Sachsenhausen subcategories included political prisoners, criminaloids, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Gypsies, and Jews. Sachsenhausen was a multinational camp because inmates from all over Europe were brought to this prison. Torture methods included, forced hard work, starvation, and often experimentation on prisoners.
Nearly 30,000-100,000 prisoners perished at Sachsenhausen and extreme conditions triggered deaths of the prisoners. I also find that the mortality rate was high due to death from diseases, malnutrition and additional factors, such as violence. Also, the camp was one of the laboratories where the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler tested the forms of the mass murder that would be used in extermination camps.
Some Peculiar Cases and Emancipation
Its existence is associated with several horrific events which occurred during the operation of the camp. In 1941 a large gassing chamber was installed and thousands of Soviet prisoners of war poisoned with carbon monoxide. Sachsenhausen also had a place of special hanging several thousand prisoners sentenced to death by firing squad or hanging.
The liberation of Sachsenhausen started on 22nd of April the same year by the Soviet Red Army. Fortunately, the prisoners who remained held there were liberated, and the camp stopped functioning as an instruments of terror. However for many survivors the liberation did not entail the freedom from suffering and pain for the rest of their lifetime they had to live with physical and emotional pain all their lives.
Sachsenhausen Today
Nowadays, Sachsenhausen is a memorial museum in which the histories of concentration camp’s underground and the death camp’s crimes are not only commemorated to the victims but also illustrated to those interested in the place. The structures that have been preserved, and the evidently original ones, are quite really giving an unpleasant look into what transpired in the past.
Coming to this concentration camp lets the visitors show their respect and guarantee that such things will never happen again. It makes people think about human rights, tolerance and the result of hatred.
Conclusion
Konzentrationslager Sachsenhausen is one of the symbols of human inhumanity, which was shown in the dungeons of the Second World War. Of course, any society searching for the possibility to avoid repeating the like should know the history and remember the victims.
Undoubtedly, the topic connected to Sachsenhausen is rather disturbing but frightening history must be discussed and acknowledged. It is only if the genocide andthe killing of the innocent people will be accepted, we can also create a world where all people will value and respect each other.
