Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp..

[Adrian]

Outside again now and this is a shot taken from roughly the centre of the camp, just in front of the Soviet Liberation Memorial looking back towards the main entrance.

A look back along the perimeter wall towards the punishment block (post #6) which is the grey wall on the middle right of the photo.

The execution trench. the sloping path on the far side which disappears under the white wall leads straight to the camp crematorium.

[Adrian]

The Gas chamber and Cematorium.

The photos over the next couple of posts are self explanatory.

[Adrian]

More.....

[Studly]

Great Pics Adrian Thanks for sharing

Greg

[andy123]

Hello Adrian,

Thanks for the pictures. I went to Sachsenhausen during 2009 and it can only be described as an experience. If you are visiting Berlin it should be on your agenda.

I found the mortuary very disturbing as well and was glad to get out of that building. If anybody is going to visit I would recommend that they read "Moonless Night" by Jimmy James (died 2008) who was there as a POW.

Does anybody have any knowledge of the Allied airman who was shot down (possibly from a Mosquito) who parachuted into Sachsenhausen camp, assaulted a guard and was promptly executed?

Another aspect that I found disturbing; You approach the camp via a straight road lined with houses which were previously camp guards accommodation. Some of these are within 15 feet of the entrance to the camp. These are now privately owned and clearly had families and children outside having bbqs etc. When a number of us left the camp we all found it very difficult to not be angry with them for their insensitivity (not sure if that's the correct word). They certainly had to be disturbed people to want to live that close!

Andy

[Adrian]

Back out in the open again and the first photo is of the watch tower at the far end of Sachsenhausen at the join of the two walls that form the point of the triangle which is the layout of the camp. This tower is directly opposite the main entrance at the bottom edge of the triangle.

You can exit the camp here and you find yourself outside the walls but in an area with these blocks built by the Soviets when the camp was being used by them. There is also a small museum housing relics from the Soviet era but it's laid out in such a way that photography is near impossible.

There is also a memorial to those who died under the Soviet occupation of the camp.

Walking back inside the camp again and down the third side of the triangle. Looking behind you can see the far end watchtower at the apex at the end of the path.

One more to include the Soviet Liberation Memorial in the centre of the site.

[Adrian]

Last set of pictures.

The first is in the 'medical' building and shows the pathology tables. Here inmates were dissected, experimented upon and many died here at the hands of the camp 'doctors'.

Just outside the door there is a slope leading below ground with double doors at the end leading to the mortuary beneath the buiding. There is a set of steps on each side and a ridged section to aid the transport of bodies up and down the slope.

The mortuary itself could house up to 200 corpses. There was a very wierd feeling standing down there and we didn't dwell here or within the building above.

Onto the last leg of the tour and leaving the mortuary you find yourself almost back to the start. The roll call area is just in front beyond the buildings on the left. The main entrance is to the right.

At the edge of the roll call area. One end of the footwear testing track is at bottom left.

Almost at the end and you pass by a reconstructed area of perimeter fence. There is a 'death strip' of gravel, inmates straying onto this area would be shot without hesitation or warning. Next to that there are the coils of barbed wire and then there is the tall electrified barbed wire fence. Beyond that there is a perimeter path which was patrolled by guards and then there was the high stone wall.

On April 20th 1945, the inmates who could stand or walk were gathered by the SS guards and put on a forced march to the north, many didn't make it.
On April 22, 1945, the camp and the inmates who remained there were liberated by the Red Army and Polish 2nd Infantry Div.

Over 30,000 people lost their lives here.

[Justin P]

Most interesting thread, and Horrific imagoes Thank you for sharing these with us. Link to Wehrpass from Guard at Sachsenhausen camp from Jan-1945) https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/photo...y-guard-38808/

[Adrian]

Thank you for the comments guys.

Andy, haven't heard of the airman parachuting into the camp personally but I hope one of the other members has and can share some information on it.
I know what you mean about the proximity of residential housing to the camp. It was quite a surprise to get off the bus in a street full of houses and the suddenly be confronted with Sachsenhausen in front of you. I don't think we should judge the people who live there, there could be many reasons why they do and if I remember correctly there was a small industrial area close by so perhaps it is purely down to convenience. I do agree that it's not a place I would choose to live personally!

Justin, thank you for posting the link to your Wehrpass. As I said in my PM it is interesting on many levels, not least of all because of the V weapons link.

[Bill T]

Anyway, thank you Adrian for posting this. I truly feel like Ive personally taken the tour now. Good job at photographing all the key points of the tour. That height scale was enough to make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The process of how things were carried out is just unimaginable. It makes you wonder if the man behind the wall with the gun was a willing participant or forced into duty in fear of his own life? Just goes to show that people act in different ways while in a group or crowd situation than they would if they were alone.
I have recently visited the Richmond Holocaust Museum, and even at a place that wasnt a previous concentration camp site.......you still leave those places with a chilling feeling and sadness of what those people endured. I am also very interested in the pilot who parachuted into the camp. I will have to do some searching