Overall, at least 30,000 inmates died in Sachsenhausen from causes such as exhaustion, disease, malnutrition and pneumonia, as a result of the poor living conditions. The museum features artwork created by inmates and a 30-centimetre (12in) high pile of gold teeth (extracted by the Nazis from the prisoners), scale models of the camp, pictures, documents and other artifacts illustrating life in the camp. Few visitors would regret skipping it altogether and spending more time at the more interesting exhibitions inside the camp. In 1937, the SS constructed a Cell Block for the punishment, interrogation, and torture of prisoners. There was an additional area (Sonderlager) outside the main camp perimeter to the north; this consisted of two huts Sonderlager 'A' and 'B' built in 1941 for special prisoners that the regime wished to isolate. From Oranienburg train station, three options are available to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial: Oranienburg, like Dachau near Munich, is internationally mostly known for the concentration camps from the Nazi period. The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museums are open on vacation days but hours are shorter over the Christmas and New Years holiday periods. Many were executed or died as the result of brutal medical experimentation. Godwin managed to wrestle the pistol of the firing party commander from his belt and shot him dead before being himself shot. It was to be a model for future camps and served as a training center for guards. 2 Commando, captured after the highly successful Operation Musketoon, were executed at Sachsenhausen. The museums and indoor exhibitions at the Sachsenhausen Memorial are open from 11:00 to 15:00 and are closed on Monday during the winter season. They included political opponents of the Nazi regime, members of groups declared by the Nazis to be racially or biologically inferior, such as Jews, Sinti and Roma, and people persecuted as homosexuals, as well as so-called career criminals and antisocials. Sachsenhausen concentration camp was built in the summer of 1936 by internees from the camps in the Emsland region. [33], Sites within Sachsenhausen and Dachau which had been approved for inclusion in the augmented reality smartphone game Ingress were removed in July 2015; Gabriele Hammerman, director of the memorial site at Dachau, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that Google's actions were a humiliation for victims and relatives of the Nazi camps, and Niantic Labs' founder John Hanke stated that "we apologize that this has happened. By 1937, the prisoners had erected prisoners' barracks and SS guards' quarters, and SS officers' families housing. An industrial area, outside the western camp perimeter, contained SS workshops in which prisoners were forced to work; those unable to work had to stand at attention for the duration of the working day. The RE 5 train (direction Stralsund / Rostock) is available from amongst others Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Potsdamer Platz with traveling time to Oranienburg 25 minutes from the Hauptbahnhof and 32 minutes from Potsdamer Platz. It is an easy, flat walk but bear in mind that a lot of further walking is required at the memorial site. [5], In July 1936, the Esterwegen concentration camp and Columbia concentration camp were closed and those prisoners moved to the Oranienburg concentration camp. Although Sachsenhausen had some gas chambers for experimentation and training mostly mass murder here was mostly by bullet. Prisoners also worked in a brick factory. [9], Wolfgang Wirth[de] did experiments using the lethal sulfur mustard gas.[10][11]. In the following year, up to 16,000 people were imprisoned in the camp at times. From here, most of the camp can be seen. The site was only partly preserved once the East German regime decided in 1961 to erect a memorial to the anti-fascist struggle here with a very skewed view of history. [21] Others were Nazi functionaries, anti-Communists and Russians, including Nazi collaborators. During this period, around 60,000 people were imprisoned here, of which 12,000 died. The mass graves from this period were only discovered in the 1990s and were mostly children, youths, women and old men. In 1956, those who were still alive were released and sent back to Germany.[24]. Florian Schmalz: Weapon research in Nazi Germany. [3] This was found to be far too time-consuming, so they then trialled a trench, killing either by shooting or by hanging. In September 1992, barracks 38 and 39 of the Jewish Museum were severely damaged in an arson attack. [2]:84,9496, In May 1942, the first hangings commenced from gallows in the roll-call area. Between the zone and the wall was a trip wire, Cheval de frise, barbed-wire obstacles, an electrified barbed-wire fence, and a sentry path. Most of the prisoners were physically exhausted and thousands did not survive this death march; those who collapsed en route were shot by the SS. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}524557N 131551E / 52.76583N 13.26417E / 52.76583; 13.26417. Several subcamps for women were established in Berlin, including in Neuklln. The New Museum before the entrance into the camp itself is of very minor interest to foreign visitors, although it has an interesting DDR era stained glass window right at the entrance. During this period, an estimated 200,000 people were interned here only 140,000 were documented. Stiftung Brandenburgische Gedenksttten, Wir verwenden Cookies auf dieser Website. With the advance of the Red Army in the spring of 1945, Sachsenhausen was prepared for evacuation. They were shot on 23 October 1942, five days after Adolf Hitler issued his commando order calling for the killing of all captured members of commando units. For other uses, see. However, the bus is infrequent, especially over weekends. It mainly held political prisoners throughout World War II.

These trials showed the authorities that this method facilitated the means to murder the largest number of prisoners without "excessive" initial panic. The Sachsenhausen Memorial grounds and visitors information center is open daily from 8:30 closing at 16:30 from mid-October to mid-March and 18:00 from mid-March to mid-October. [23] They served their time under harsh conditions in Siberian labor camps. For most visitors, this is probably the most interesting of all the exhibitions at the site. The Extraordinary Life of Mike Cumberlege SOE by Robin Knight, FonthillMedia, 2018, This page was last edited on 21 July 2022, at 21:08. Prisoners were shot without warning if entering this neutral death zone. There were also around 20,000 women among the internees in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The security system near the wall was reconstructed in 1961. This detail was particularly feared by internees as a death camp, especially as the SS used the Klinkerwerk for carrying out deliberate murder operations. Driving is very slow from central Berlin but a good option when to the north of the city. The cooperation of the Kaiser Wilhelm companies, military and industry. The camp was established in 1936. The guide is easy to read, well organized, full of time and money-saving tips with useful walking routes and self-guided tours to some of the top museums and best attractions. [28] It was controlled by the Ministry of Culture, and as the National Memorial Sites Buchenwald and Ravensbrck, Sachsenhausen served as place of identification and legitimisation of the GDR.[29]. At Sachsenhausen, the bodies of 12,500 victims were found; most were children, adolescents and elderly people. About 2,000 female prisoners lived in a separate area of the camp. It was located 35 kilometres (22mi) north of Berlin, which gave it a primary position among the German concentration camps: the administrative centre of all concentration camps was located in Oranienburg, and Sachsenhausen became a training centre for Schutzstaffel (SS) officers (who would often be sent to oversee other camps afterwards). White outlines mark the foundations of former barracks most buildings here are copies. [7] Today, these notes are considered very valuable by collectors. It was the first new concentration camp to be established following the appointment of Reich Leader SS Heinrich Himmler as the Chief of the German Police in July 1936. To prevent suicides guards aimed mostly at the legs. [2]:106107, In May 1942, 71 Dutch resistance fighters and 250 Jewish hostages were executed. In 1960, a trial against SS-Hauptscharfhrer and Blockfhrer Richard Bugdalle for the murder of concentration camp inmates took place before the Munich II Regional Court. Directly behind, is an exit to the adjacent camp used by the Soviets from 1945 to 1950. Seven men of the British Army's No. Then small scale trials of what would go on to become the large scale, death camp gas chambers were designed and carried out. Great care is taken in writing these articles but no responsibility is taken for errors or omissions. Planned on the drawing board of an SS architect, it was conceived as an ideal concentration camp giving architectural expression to the world view of the SS and intended to subject the internees to the absolute power of the SS both symbolically and in reality. Sachsenhausen female guards included Ilse Koch, and later Hilde Schlusser. The Zellenbau of about 80 cells held some of World War II's most persistent Allied escapees as well as German dissidents, Nazi deserters and nationalists from East Europe such as the Ukrainian leader Taras Bulba-Borovets whom the Nazis hoped to persuade to change sides and fight the Soviets. Plans had been made to drop British pounds over London by plane. By 1948, Sachsenhausen, now renamed "Special Camp No. Two basic railway options are available from Berlin to Oranienburg: The basic Berlin ABC transportation ticket covers the train and also buses in both Berlin and Oranienburg. In March 2009 Josias Kumpf, 83 was deported from Wisconsin back to Austria after having been found to have been a SS Guard at KZ Sachsenhausen and Trawniki. Visiting Sachsenhausen requires a lot of walking and a lot of reading information is in both German and English with information in other languages available from the visitors center. Fourteen of the concentration camp's officials, including former commandant Anton Kaindl and the camp doctor Heinz Baumktter, as well as two Kapos, were brought to trial on 23 October 1947 before a Soviet Military Tribunal in Berlin. Sachsenhausen was a labor camp, outfitted with several subcamps, a gas chamber, and a medical experimentation area. Designed to increase stamina and endurance, this drug, supposedly consisting of a cocktail of cocaine, methamphetamine (Pervitin), and oxycodone (Eukodal),[13] was designed to see use from members of the Wehrmacht, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe to enhance mission performance where longevity and exhaustion become pertinent issues. [2]:104, Camp punishments could be harsh. Getting to Oranienburg and Sachsenhausen from Berlin is easy by train or organized guided tours. 10085, p21822183, 3 June 2017 03 June 2017, DOI: Ernst Klee: the person lexicon to the Third Reich. Gedenksttte und Museum Sachsenhausen. KL - a History of Nazi Concentration Camps by Nikolaus Wachsmann, Little Brown, 2015.

7 / Soviet Special Camp Nr. In central Berlin, the Topography of Terror documentation center is probably the most interesting site on the excesses of the Nazi era. [2]:34,110, In November 1940, the SS executed 33 Polish prisoners by firing squad. The 18 red triangles refer to the colors the political prisoners had to wear. Apart from the crematorium and the extermination facility, almost all buildings from the former concentration camp were used again (especially the wooden barracks, the camp prison and the utility buildings). To the right are two reconstructed barracks: 38 has exhibitions on Jewish prisoners and 39 shows everyday life in the camp. The Germans forced inmate artisans to produce forged American and British currency, as part of a plan to undermine the British and American economies, courtesy of Sicherheitsdienst (SD) chief Reinhard Heydrich. [31], Following the discovery in 1990 of mass graves from the Soviet period, a separate museum was opened documenting the camp's Soviet-era history. (See Wikipedia, the list is even longer on the German version of the page.). [15], Over the course of its operation, over 100 Dutch resistance fighters were executed at Sachsenhausen. The museum in the palace is mostly filled with art including porcelain, paintings, furniture, and tapestries. It focuses on key events and gives a good overview of life in the camp. The idea of the original triangular design was that the whole camp could be controlled from a single tower this was impractical, especially when a camp was later enlarged, and the design was not repeated elsewhere. Initially, internees were forced to work in workshops and factories owned by the SS in the camps industrial yard as well as in various punishment details such as the "Klinkerwerk" (brickworks) or the shoe running detail. It was in a disused factory building in the center of town. [2]:rp, In May 1942, "Station Z" was completed in an industrial yard outside the camp walls. These continued until 1945. In cases such as attempted escape, there would be a public hanging in front of the assembled prisoners. Designed by Bernhard Kuiper, Himmler called Sachsenhausen a "completely new concentration camp for the modern age, which can be extended at any time." Durch die Nutzung unserer Seiten erklren Sie sich mit dem Einsatz von Cookies einverstanden. [32], The compound has been vandalized by neo-Nazis several times. This is probably the best place to start a visit to the memorial even if it means backtracking to the barracks later. This was inaugurated four years later on 23 April 1961 by Walter Ulbricht, First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

Important people confined there including Martin Niemller and Georg Elser. Camp records show that there was one male SS soldier for every ten inmates and for every ten male SS there was a woman SS. Initially 18 hectares (44 acres) in area, the camp eventually grew to cover 400 hectares (990 acres). Tower A was at its central control point, linked to the SS troop camp outside along the central axis. The memorial obelisk contains eighteen red triangles, the symbol the Nazis gave to political prisoners, usually communists. As a model camp which was also used for training SS guards and as a concentration camp in close proximity to the Reich capital city, Sachsenhausen concentration camp enjoyed a special status. Buy a map at the visitors center and proceed to the camp entrance that is quite a walk away with several information panels en route. [2], There was an infirmary inside the southern angle of the perimeter and a camp prison within the eastern angle. As of 2015[update], the site of the Sachsenhausen camp, at 22, Strasse der Nationen in Oranienburg, is open to the public as a museum and a memorial. Much of the exhibition is simply on how the site was treated from 1960 to 1990. In the GDR, various subsequent trials took place against members of the SS guards of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, including Roland Puhr and Arnold Zllner. About 8,000 prisoners were released from Special Camp No. Below is just a brief description of what visitors may see and an indication of where most will find the more interesting exhibitions. [22] The injustice of the continued use of the National Socialist concentration camps by the Soviet occupying power and the renewed agonising deaths of thousands of people associated with it were concealed or played down by the SED regime. KZ Sachsenhausen should not be confused with KZ Oranienburg, which was used from 1933 to 1934.

The memorial site is open daily but the museums are closed on Mondays during the winter season. [26], After the Soviets vacated the site, it was used for some years by East Germany's "Kasernierte Volkspolizei", notionally a police division and in reality a precursor of the country's own National People's Army, which was formally established in 1956.[20]. From the late summer of 1938 internees of Sachsenhausen concentration camp were forced to build the worlds largest brickworks not far from the Lehnitz lock near Oranienburg, to supply building materials for the gigantomaniac structures planned by the Nazi leadership in the Reich capital city, Berlin. Four SOE agents led by Lt Cdr Mike Cumberlege RNR, who took part in the 1943 Operation Locksmith in Greece intended to blow up the Corinth Canal and were captured in May 1943, were held in Sachsenhausen's Zellenbau isolation cells for more than a year before being executed in February/March 1945.[14]. [6], The neutral zone was located between the camp wall and the prisoners' camp. On 22 April 1945, the camp's remaining 3,400 inmates were liberated by the 1st Belorussian Front and the Polish 2nd Infantry Division. It comprised a shoe testing path with various different surfaces which was laid out around the parade ground, and internees had to march on it for days on end with full packs to test the suitability of various shoe sole materials. ), Border Crossing, 2020. The more difficult part of a visit is to take it all in and to try and comprehend how this all could have happened. Even when concentrating on the main sights and only taking in a limited number of information panels, expect to spend two to three hours here. Prisoners of Sachsenhausen, 19 December 1938. The destroyed section of the huts are now a Jewish museum with the surviving section left as it was immediately after the fire with the paint still blistered from the flames. The adjacent prison building is original and was used by the Gestapo and SS for punishments and torture. Regional Express RE5 trains are faster but run only once per hour. In spring 1950, a few months after the founding of the GDR, the last Soviet camps were dissolved. 7 Weesow near Werneuchen arrived in Sachsenhausen. A small charge applies for a map or audio guide. Other than the memorial sites in Buchenwald and Ravensbrck, the Sachsenhausen memorial, where the official celebrations of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) were held, was located in the former concentration camp. According to SS files, more than 2,000 women lived in Sachsenhausen, guarded by female SS staff (Aufseherin). In February 1945, more than 1,300 prisoners were executed during the evacuation of the Lieberose forced labor camp, a subsidiary of Sachsenhausen. [8] Other firms included AEG and Siemens. Some 80,000 people were incarcerated in Sachsenhausen concentration camp and its satellites at the beginning of 1945, of whom 58,000 were in the Sachsenhausen main camp. The majority of people purposely killed at Sachsenhausen were Soviet prisoners of war. Erfahren Sie mehr in unserenDatenschutzbestimmungen, 1936-1945 Sachsenhausen concentration camp, 1961-1990 Sachsenhausen National Memorial, since 1993 Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum, Opening Times, Prices and Travel Information, Tips for Before and After a Visit to the Memorial, International Youth Centre Szczypiorski House, Information for Tour Guides and Commercial Providers, Memorial to the Victims of Euthanasia Murders. Filed Under: Berlin, Germany Tagged With: 2022M3, Berlin, Oranienburg, Sachsenhausen. During the war, Sachsenhausen functioned mostly as a forced labor camp with work ranging from brick making to the construction of aircraft and falsifying foreign currency. Dogs and bicycles are not allowed on the memorial site. About six months later, in the spring of 1942, an extermination unit was built in the industrial yard, with a crematorium and a neck shot unit, with a gas chamber added in 1943. From 1943 the SS used the site for making munitions; shell cases were annealed in the Klinkerwerks kilns. Given that, executions obviously took place at Sachsenhausen, especially of Soviet prisoners of war. There is a plaque in Sachsenhausen built in memory of the Death March.