The Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was in Oranienburg, Berlin, Germany and was one of the first and the longest running concentration camp during the Second World War. It was constructed in the year 1936 in order to function as prototype for other camps in the future and in order to demonstrate the alleged supremacy of the ‘Arian’ race.
1. The Purpose and Function
Sachsenhausen was to be a concentration camp for imprisonment and extermination of political prisoners, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, Sinti and Roma, and Jews. The chief function of the camp was not only imprisonment but also experimental and forced labor and extermination camps.
Another factor was the camp’s location, close to Berlin it was easy to get to and for this reason, it served the Nazi regime’s central purpose. It was planned to have under its roof about 4979 prisoners but later on capacity increased to over 30000 inmates.
2. Living Conditions
Living condition of the camp consisted of unendurable pain sweat and shame. Conditions included extreme overcrowding in the so-called barracks, very low ration allowance, sickness, and especially mistreatment by the camp staff. They were tortured through slave drive, where most of them had to work under great physical pressure that was draining. This camp had also different parts of the camp, such as the punishment blocks, isolation cells, and medical extermination area.
3. Experimentation and Medical Perfidy
The concentration camp among all the others is Sachsenhausen and this camp was involved in medical experimentation on the prisoners. The Nazi committed …sound harrowing experiments for the purpose of proving their fabled science and propagating their war agenda. These experiments consisted of different diseases affectation, vaccinations, sterilization and operation which many time proved fatal for the patients.
4. The Role of Forced Labor
Slavery became a major component of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. The prisoners were freely used both by the Nazi government and private firms as cheap means of workforce. They had to work in factories, constructions sites and even in the camp’s own production lines. Imprisoned inhabitants often did not survive because the work they were forced to do was very challenging and risky.
5. Liberation and Memorial
This horrible concentration camp was liberated by Soviets on April 22, 1945. They had been through trauma of facing death, exploitation and loss of their dear ones and now they had to undergo the ordeal of physical as well as emotional healing of the losses that they had to bear. Now the place is a memorial and museum, so people can get the idea what was done to them and recall the victims.
This is specially felt whenever one visits this memorial and pays respect to the holocaust victims and learn more about them. Through preserved structure and various monuments, a clear indication of the events executed during one of the worst eras in human history is marked. It is an important site for people who need to learn the price of hatred and discrimination.
Conclusion
These concentration camps are considered to be the most cruel places that existed during the period of the Nazi Germany and one of them is the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp . It has been established that memorizing the past events like thoseurring of Sachsenhausen is very vital in that society so that similar incidents can be prevented in the future. And that is why to move toward the future, we must accept and learn for ourselves to become more tolerant.
