Berlin Day 8: A Dreary Day at a Dreary Place: Sachsenhausen

Today, on a fittingly dreary day, we visited the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.

 

After a S-Bahn ride and a relatively long walk, we arrived at the camp. Armed with rain jackets, umbrellas, and cameras, we ventured into the massive complex. 

While wading through large puddles of water and trekking along the mud covered paths, we made our way to the various buildings within the site. One of the first areas we visited was a reconstructed barracks that housed an exhibition on Jewish prisoners at Sachsenhausen. While the camp never functioned as a site of extermination, Jews were held there during the late 1930s and early 1940s. This hall contained a reconstructed barracks replete with bathroom.

At the very heart of the site, sits a monument that immediately catches the eye of the visitors.

 

Another exhibition details the history of the camp in what was once the camp's kitchen. In the cellar of this building, artwork drawn by the prisoners remains. 

As one makes his way around the complex, one of the most disturbing areas comes into view: the extermination pit, where numerous victims were executed.

The pit also serves as a symbol of more than 20,000 Soviet prisoners of war murdered at the camp (even though they were killed in a different area). Next to the pit, the crematoria complex has been unearthed and a monument constructed following German unification stands within its borders.

Finally, the camp also had a very interesting look at the Soviet use of the complex as a place of imprisonement and repression during the immediate years of Red Army occupation.

While the rain spoiled our planned trip to the zoo, we nonetheless concluded our visit on a high note. The group went to the Hofbrauhaus for great German food, desserts, and drinks. The live band, which played both German and English songs, led many students and even a faculty member out onto the dance floor. This was an enjoyable night for everyone and ended yet another outstanding trip for the students of Wheeling Jesuit University.