Located on the outskirts of Oranienburg in northern Germany, Sachsenhausen concentration camp was one of the largest and most infamous of the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. Built in Oranienburg just outside Berlin, Sachsenhausen was in operation between 1936 and 1945. Originally constructed for political prisoners before being adapted to serve as a role model for all the concentration camps. The following writing will focus on the purpose as well as the background of Sachsenhausen.
The Idea Behind Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp served several purposes for the Nazi regime:
- Imprisonment and Punishment: The camp was formed mainly for the detention and punitive measures against the enemies of the Nazi regime, the opponents, the members of the socialist and worker’s parties, the communists, Socialists and trade unions.
- Forced Labor: Persons incarcerated at Sachsenhausen experienced forced labor most dictatorily in production for the German war. Many of them were at work in several fields like industrial, construction or as producers of arms and ammunition.
- Experiments and Medical Research: Sachsenhausen was also used in experiments on the human body done by Nazi doctors and scientists. Suffering from various experiments prisoners was exposed to torture often leading to their disability, death and other wounds.
- Genocide and Mass Murder: In addition to its principal purpose, Sachsenhausen took part in the genocide of selected populations, such as Jews, Sinti and Roma, and other ‘racially’ or ‘politically’ undesirable individuals.
This paper looks at the early evolution, the establishment of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, and the way it was operated.
Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established on the territory of the former brick factory. It was designed by the SS architect Heinrich Himmler with the main objectives in mind; to effectively manage the prisoner workflow and optimum economic results. Here is a timeline of major events in the camp’s history:
1936 – 1942: The Early Years and Expansion
While the first construction of Sachsenhausen was initiated in 1936; those first prisoners got there in the same year. To begin with the camp was a detention centre for political enemies of Nazis,Including homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Poles and Germans of non-Aryan origin, Socially and politically undesirable elements such as Gypsies, as well as common criminals were placed in the concentration camp. Nevertheless, the specified population gradually increased in the course of time, and prisoners of different profiles and origin, including immigrants, started to be detained.
The camp was eventually made a training ground for SS personnel of other concentration camps by 1938. It grew and new accomodations were put up including the notorious ‘Tower A’. This tower was the main gate and the camp’s administration office for the whole complex of the camp.
In 1941, a death zone called for station Z which contain chamber for gassing and crematorium for mass killing was constructed in Sachsenhausen.
1942 – 1945: Highest of S Scandinavia and F FUNCTIONAL LIBERATION
At these times, principal of mass arrests and deportation in the occupied territories, Sachsenhausen experienced a huge influx of prisoners.
During spring 1942 the SS was organizing a secret counterfeiting operation called Operation Bernhard in Sachsenhausen. Its goal was to create fake British pound notes as a measure towards emaciating the British economy.
The last few days of the camp were characterized by the SS attempting to bury proof of the crimes that befell people within it. In 1945 while the Soviets were advancing, prisoners were subjected to death marches such as these.
Sachsenhausen concentration camp was liberated by Soviet on 22nd of April of year 1945. Schuessler stated that about 30000 prisoners lost their lives through gassing, experiments, work and hunger in the camp.
Visiting Sachsenhausen Today
Sachsenhausen concentration camp is now a memorial and museum through which the experiences of the victims are commemorated and through which the crimes of the Nazi era are made known. This placed has the propensity of reminding the horror that took place.
Presently, one can see the prisoner’s barracks, crematorium, gas chamber, as well as several galleries that display the story of the camp and its victims.
Each one of us should keep in mind that we have to be polite to people in memorials because numerous sufferings and losses were experienced there by multiple people.
Any such places should be visited in order to comprehend the tragedies of the past and to continue to push for better relations between cultures in the present.
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