Introduction to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

The first of the complex of concentration camps run by the Nazi regime was located just outside Berlin in Germany and called Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Built in 1936, it also acted as a model for other camps. Sachsenhausen primarily served as an imprisonment, and dehumanizing, place for political prisoners, dissidents and those seen as undesirable to the Nazi regime.

In Sachsenhausen concentration camp (The History)

The Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen was developed by Heinrich Himmler, The SS (Schutzstaffel) Chief, assisted by Theodor Eicke, as Inspector of Concentration Camps. Strategically it was located near to Berlin, for easier control and supervision. The first people who were imprisoned at Sachenhausen were political prisoners, communists, socialists, trade unionists and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The camp grew over the years into a network of subcamps. Between the arrival of the first prisoners, in April 1936, and the end of World War II in May 1945 Sachsenhausen was a place of immense suffering and death. Tens of thousands of people were murdered, forced into labor, experimented on medically, or tortured.

Sachsenhausen Men’s Concentration Camp Living Conditions

Life in Sachsenhausen was brutal, inhumane. Prisoners were collected into barracks so crowded that there was often no heating, sanitation or privacy whatsoever. They were fed little, were malnourished and incredibly exhausted physically. Some were beaten, starved, made to stand outside in all weather for days.

Life in Sachenhausen was spent doing forced labor every day. They worked for 10 to 12 hours a day in working for dangerous or physically demanding jobs. This labor was supposed to be serving in the service of the Nazi war effort by helping to build buildings and military products.

The Infamous T_Wall and Execution Squares

The most notorious feature of Sachsenhourse was the T-shaped wall called the “T Wall.” It was used in executions as a barrier. They lined them up against the wall and shot them, their bodies left till they were taken away for cremation.

Besides this T Wall, within the camp there were several execution squares where prisoners had a public execution by hanging, shooting, or guillotine. Most of these were also infractions which the State would use to carry out these executions as a deterrent or to instill fear in the other prisoners.

The Role of Medical Experiments.

Sachsenhausen also in the tradition of medical experiments. Inhumane and often deadly experiments were conducted on prisoners, most of which were conducted by key figure in the Nazi medical establishment, a surgeon named Dr. Karl Gebhardt. They tested various surgical techniques and pharmaceuticals, plus infectious diseases.

Liberation and Legacy of Sachsenhausen

Spartacus entered Sachsenhausen as he arrived on April 22, 1945, weeks after the liberation was achieved by Soviet forces. The horrors on the prisoners was discovered and this discovered was a shock to the world and sacrificed the power of German symbol of Nazi atrocities in the form of Sachsenhausen.

As a memorial and museum, Sachsenhausen serves today. The preserved buildings are the barracks, infirmary and administrative center, which visitors can study. Interpretation into the history and the daily life in the camp as well as the teaching the experience of the Holocaust victims and its after effects are complete offered in the museum.

Conclusion

The Sachenhausen Concentration Camp near Berlin, a reminder of what the old Nazi government was capable of. It gives incredible insight into the lives of the prisoners inside these walls through its history. It is an opportunity to remember the victims, not let history be forgotten and not to allow history to repeat itself.