The Konzentrationslager Berlin Sachsenhausen or commonly referred to as the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was to provide a grim necessity during one of the world’s worst eras. This article will thus focus on historical background, need, and importance of the camp as a means of unveiling the WW II history.

The Establishment and the Site of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

The Sachsenhausen concentration camp was organized back in 1936 when the Nazi controlled Germany. It was in the town of Oranienburg, about 35 kilometers north of Berlin. The camp was located as close to the German capital as possible so that the prisoners could be transported easily and the cooperation with the Nazi government to be effective.

The Function of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Sachsenhausen was initially constructed as a show piece concentration camp with an intention of being used to create other similar facilities. Its main goal was to detain political enemities, Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and other undesirables as far as the Nazis were concerned.

But they soon differed from merely being simply an internment camp because Sachsenhausen played a more complex role in exterminating the Jews as a race. It was also used to train new generation of SS officers, the methods of controlling and annihilating prisoners. It may be highlighted that the camp played an enormously important role in the implementation of the “Final Solution”.

Housing Environment of Sachsenhausen

The conditions in Sachsenhausen were as bad and inhuman as one could indeed ever imagine. They were forced to work, beaten, starved and were used as subjects for scientific tests. Nazi workers who guarded the prisoners tortured and ostracized them for the reasons of weakening and taming the captives.

The camp was highly congested with the prisoner population of thousands locked up in the compound. Residential sections were small, confined and had very poor hygiene features. There were illnesses and severe hunger, and thus most of the inmates died.

Despite that having been stripped of the physical privileges of the body, the prisoners also had their minds subjected to constant torture. The SS guards employed terror, threat, and bureaucratic depersonalization in an attempt to demoralize inmates of Sachsenhausen.

Notable Events and Liberation

Sachsenhausen was toe to a lot of sad stories throughout the years of its existence. The worst crime was the murder of 13,000 Soviet POWs in 1941. Besides, the extermination camp was also used by the Nazis for carrying out medical experiments on prisoners in the interest of science.

However, liberated finally in April, 1945 through the effort of the Soviet forces, the camp did not and should not have a mournful ending. When the libeterators came across some 3.000 living prisoners, their condition was alarming, most of them were severely sick and close to death.

Remembering Sachsenhausen

Nowadays, Sachsenhausen is a memorial and complex museum dedicated to the eyewitness and involving the people in the sufferings occurred during Nazis’ powers. East Europeans realise that it reflects spirit of human being and sensational stories happened in Second World War.

Sachsenhausen can be an emotionally draining trip and a lot can be learnt regarding the camp through a tour at this museum. It is a mission to honor the victims and to remember what happened in order to guarantee that the tragedies will never take place yet again.

Final Thoughts

Today, the known concentration camp KZ Berlin Sachsenhausen symbolizes the experience of inhumanity during the World War II. AuthorThough it’s a history, at the same time, it serves as a painful reminder of what hatred, discrimination and uncontrolled power are. As long as people inform themselves, and the generations to come, about these occurrences, we can at least try to attempt a culture of tolerance.