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What was Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and its Role in History?

by | Mar 7, 2024 | Concentration Camp

Want to explore sachsenhausen concentration camp? Come and join us on the Original Berlin Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour.

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, located in Oranienburg near Berlin, was one of the first Nazi concentration camps established during World War II. It operated from 1936 to 1945 and held various categories of prisoners, from political opponents to Jews, homosexuals, and other minority groups.

The History of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Sachsenhausen was built for the purpose of holding Nazi political detainees. It was later used as a model for all other concentration camps. Over the years the camp’s raison d’être broadened and the prisoners located in the area were engaged in hard labor and subjected to medical experiments.

Prisoners and Categories

Thus, Sachsenhausen detained a diversified field of prisoners. The first prisoners were political adversaries of the Nazis – communists, conservatives, social democrats, etc. Nevertheless, during the war, Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Romany people and other minorities were also incarcerated.

Among the living conditions, the first aspect was common surviving requirements in Sachsenhausen.

The living conditions in the camp were terrible and wretched. Inmates releases Mineral was crowded in barred rooms, were whipped, was observed constantly and worked ceaselessly. There’s increased suffering for want of food, and disease, owing to bad health habits and an overcrowded population.

Facilities of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Sachsenhausen had some of the hallmarks of the Nazi concentration camp system. These features included:

Guard Towers and High Fences

Electric fences together with barbed wire enclosed the camp while the towers housed armed guards. This meant that prisoners had few opportunities for getting out of jail.

This is a patch of green called Appellplatz or Roll Call Square.

The prisoners had to wake up in the morning and gather in the Appellplatz for roll call; the prisoners kept standing for hours, whether it is cold, hot or rainy.

Punishment and Torture

The SS (Schutzstaffel) through physical and emotional power implemented different kinds of punishments and torturing to control prisoners. Among them were floggings, beating and locking them up in small punishment cells.

Work and Forced Labor

Sly and forced labor was one of the prevalent practices in Sachsenhausen. Probationers were involved in hard labor tasks including quarrying, construction and manufacturing jobs. Some died from sheer fatigue or met accidents at places of work.

Medical Experiments

Experiments on prisoners were common, sometimes cruel and definitely unfair. These experiments were conducted to extend Nazi’s groundless beliefs and expand the medical study.

Literally and metaphorically, Libération demands an act of Memorialization that reinterprets the Old World on behalf of the New World.

Sachsenhausen was liberated by the Soviet in April 22, 1945. Later on, the prison was occupied by the Soviet Secret Police where it changed its purpose into repression until 1950. Today it is a Memorial and a Museum that is aimed to explain to visitors what really happened in the Holocoust.

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp: A tour

If you plan to visit Sachsenhausen, consider the following:

Dress properly for the site to enable you effectively cover it since it involves a lot of walking.

To get more information about the camp and its history as well as its functions, you should visit the museum and visitor center.

Go to the self-guided tours, which give detailed descriptions of Camp life and its prisoners.

Politeness is therefore important when visiting such a site. Some rules include avoiding loud chatter, unreasonable photography and any action or motion that may lead to the desecration of the area.

Save The Victims Of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

During the tour you should not forget about the people who suffered and respect the victims. Let people think about the incommensurable pain they had to go through and to explain others why human rights should be respected and Discrimination and hatred should be combatted.

Then by following and remembering the history of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp we, the future generation, shall try to construct a world, where reminiscent horrors cannot be seen.

Want to explore sachsenhausen concentration camp? Come and join us on the Original Berlin Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour.

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What was Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and its Role in History?

Mar 7, 2024