During World War II, the Nazi regime established several concentration camps throughout Europe. One such camp, located near Berlin, was an integral part of the Nazi’s systematic persecution and genocide of millions of people. In this blog post, we will delve into the purpose and operations of the Nazi camp near Berlin.
The Origins of the Camp
The camp that was located near Berlin commonly called as Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was constructed in 1936, in the Oranienburg town. First, it functioned as an illustrative camp designed to demonstrate the so called “reeducation” of political enemies and other “undesirables” to the Nazis.
In fact the contingent was to detain and discipline those labelled as anti-Nazi state; political rivals, religious factions, homosexuals and other asocials deemed as threats to the Nazi regime. Its’ main use in time changed to work, but this then moved to medical experimentation and eventually genocide.
The Conditions in the Camp
Isolation, physical abuse, torture, degradation and fear were inevitable for people who lived in the Nazi camp near Berlin. Prisoners were flogged, tortured and executed in the concentration camps. They experienced really terrible living conditions; shack like barracks,’amazing’ dirty living conditions, food rationing and lack of medical facilities. Illness and lack of food became problems that claimed the lives of so many prisoners.
When the camp was enlarged further special sections were created such as ‘special detainment camp’ meant for the dignitaries, political leaders, and particularly the intellectuals. These prisoners were exposed to even worst circumstances and isolation plus the SS guards eye on them all the time.
Compulsory labor and annihilation.
The camp also known to have been located near Berlin was used primarily to utilize the prisoners as cheap labor. Among them, many had to find employment in neighboring factories and construction sites as well as those industries administered by the SS. The working conditions were self demanding and this added to ill health resulting from malnutrition and physical abuse killed the laborers.
Over the period of the war some areas of the camp were converted for this purpose and the doctors of the Third Reich used prisoners for a range of medical experiments. Guantanamo detainees – torture, including prohibitive sterilizations, experiments with new medicines, and operations without anesthesia.
Also, central location of the camp in the territory of the Third Reich and in close distance from Berlin contributed to the execution and extermination of prisoners. Some were shot or hanged in firing squads; others were deported to Auschwitz and other extermination centers. The number of people who died in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp is still estimated to be over 35 thousand people, and countless more suffered horribly.
Conclusion
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp better known as the Nazi camp near Berlin was the real face of the holocaust and cruelty. It was created and run with the purpose of the persecution, forced working, and executions of millions of the innocently in World War II by the Nazi regime.
Recalling the brutality of situations in concentration camps such as Sachsenhausen is crucial for the … non-recurrence of such genocidal acts. It just represents the struggle for human rights, justice and equality regardless of race, color and creed.
