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Today the whole world knows the horrific history of the Second World War and the atrocities that occurred in the Nazi concentration camps. Perhaps the best known was the Auschwitz Camp, but throughout Germany there were many other concentration camps, such as Sachsenhausen.

The Sachsenhausen concentration camp takes its name from the Sachsenhausen district, (Oranienburg), located only at 35km from Berlin. It operated between 1936 and 1950. Sachsenhausen was destined to be the model to follow and most important of all the concentration camps. Of the 200.000 prisoners that were sent there, about 50,000 were brutally murdered. From 1936 to 1945 Sachsenhausen was controlled by the Nazi regime, but from 1945 to 1950 it fell into the hands of the occupying Soviet forces. But at first, like all the concentration camps in the area, it was built by the Nazis and designed to massively annihilate political opponents, Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and war prisoners.

Nowadays not many of the buildings are still standing mainly due to the passing of time and some attacks, including several recent fires perpetrated by neo-Nazis groups who want to erase the traces of its past. Nonetheless, there are some barracks where some museums have been setup: here you’ll find sleeping berths, lavatories, kitchens and some rooms. From the exclusion area you’ll see many buildings and most of the cells, some of them with a photo of some of the prisoners who were imprisoned there. There is also a museum with items collected from the camp, advertising and articles from the soldiers.

During the war, Sachsenhausen was divided into 60 sub-camps in which the prisoners had to do forced labour. The prisoners were also subjected to medical experiments.

Before their imminent defeat, the Nazis ordered the prisoners to be moved and the Soviet troops liberated the survivors on May 2nd, 1945. But the tragic history of Sachsenhausen continued between 1945 and 1950, when the new Soviet occupiers used the concentration camps to avenge the Nazi collaborators among the civilian population, the government officials and the former Nazi German military. In the Soviet era, nearly 12,000 people died in similar conditions of famine and fatigue.

In 1961 an monument was erected in memory of those who were killed in the camp during the war. In addition, there is a monument with 18 triangles in memory of the different nationalities of the victims. There is also a statue of a Soviet soldier liberating two prisoners.

Visit the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp is almost a requirement if you travel to the German capital. Rent Apartments in Berlin and immerse yourself in world history.

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