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Sachsenhausen concentration camp was a Nazi concentration camp near the town of Oranienburg, Germany. The camp was established in 1936 and liberated by the Soviet army in 1945. After World War II, Sachsenhausen served as a special Soviet camp.
Sachsenhausen has been preserved as a memorial site for those who died there by both the German and Russian governments. Approximately 55,000 people were sent to Sachsenhausen during the Holocaust from all over Europe and murdered there.
Because of its proximity to Berlin it is a tourist attraction, a place to visit to remember the atrocities committed, to learn about history and not to forget it. With Free Tours of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, like the ones we offer you at GuruWalk, you can learn in detail many of the little stories related to Sachsenhausen.
Sachsenhausen concentration camp was originally intended as a place for German opponents of the regime to be imprisoned, but eventually became one of the largest labour camps in the entire Nazi system.
The main purpose of Sachsenhausen was to push people into slave labour and other forced labour from which the Nazis could profit. Prisoners were put to work on construction projects for the SS, such as building houses or clearing forest land. They were also used in brick factories, stone quarries and steelworks.
Most of the prisoners worked 8 hours a day with a lunch break, where they were provided with limited rations that barely covered their basic nutritional needs. As a result of their back-breaking work with little food, many prisoners became ill.
The Sachsenhausen camp consisted of three concentric zones separated by barbed-wire fences. The outermost fence, which encircled the entire camp, was electrified at all times to discourage escape attempts. Guards with machine guns patrolled the inner fences 24 hours a day. These guards were instructed to shoot anyone who tried to escape or harm another prisoner in any way.
The Sachsenhausen concentration camp is best known for its educational tours and exhibits because it is one of the best preserved camps today. And yet much of it is in ruins, as well as being a very large and empty space, so the help of a guide when visiting the camp will allow you to get your bearings and get the most out of your visit.