Sachsenhausen concentration camp

On Saturday, we also did something that has been on our list since Day 1 here in Berlin. And now that we have done it and I know what I know, I wish we did it a tad differently-but I'm still glad we did it.

My mom sent me a link that offered a free Sachsenhausen tour... but the duration was 6 hours!! With Brycen, I just didn't think that would be an option. However, if I had known that we would spend 6 hours there on our own anyways and would only be able to read roughly 30% of all the information--lots and lots to read--made my head hurt by the end, I would have loved to have a tour guide to summarize it for us. However, with it being an hour+ train ride each way; it truly was an all day experience that we won't have time to do again before we leave.

I also wish I took more pictures. I'm not sure if it was a combination of emotions (reading all the sad events), or hunger, or fatigue (the place was huge! Lots of walking!), but for some reason, I didn't feel the need to take pictures and now, I wish I had.

Things that we saw that I didn't get a picture include: the living conditions where the bunk beds were three high and the inmates often slept 3-4/bed on bug-infested bedding or on the ground (never with adequate heat); and 8 or so toilets and 2 washing basins for 400-500 people to use within a 30 minutes period only twice a day; morning and night. The toilets and washing basins were also said to be used at times, to drown the inmates or use of the bath room to carry out forms of punishment such as making them all stand in there with no windows open for long periods of time as well as beatings, and hangings (acts SS members carried out randomly and on their own accord).

These pictures (courtesy of Wikipedia):

Execution "Z" where alot of the deaths were carried out (some people were shipped to Sachsenhausen to purposely go directly here). The execution trench (above) is where people were taken to be hung, shot, or beaten that was purposely surrounded by wood to help reduce the sound and next to it: a medical facility (below, not much standing other than the foundation) where inmates thought they were being taken for examinations and to "shower". After being marked for which ones had gold teeth or fillings, they were all killed either by gun shot (while they thought they were being measured) or poisoned by gas in the "showers" and then their gold teeth or fillings removed before their bodies were cremated.

The memorial that stands in the middle of the camp:

It was a bit colder than I would have liked it to be.

With the help of Daddy's jacket, Brycen must have been snug and warm because he then took a 2+hour nap.

And I ate one of these. Pretty much a combination of a Crunch Bar, Twix, and Kit Kat all in one...absolutely delicious, for sure.

Some things I learned:

In several of my history classes growing up, people often raised the questions of how we could (as the US, or other countries) allowed for such things as the Holocaust to be happen And a point I read on Saturday that might help address the issue and is something I personally never knew was that Sachsenhausen camp (and maybe other camps, not sure) was used to give tours to political figures, news reporters, and journalists that wanted come to see for themselves of what was going on. The tour included an area that were supposedly "mock" but yet, perfectly kept (showing adequate living conditions with highest technological advances possible) and obviously, not accurate representation of what was really happening within the camps.

The SS military members also were active within the surrounding communites to help create favorable opinions and help surpress suspicions.

Though, I'm still not sure how people justified the dark cloud of ashes that hung over the surrounding areas for months, years.... Bryce watched a movie interviewing local residents and how they were completely astonished when they toured the camp after it was all over and that they had no idea such things were going on right next door.

I also found it terrible (and sad) to read that the SS members often made other inmates do the torture to each other. Such as during the beatings and hangings, inmates were forced to be the ones using the whip and/or pushing the bucket out from under the feet of those being hung. I think it's one thing being surrounded by it and forced to watch (alot of it was done in front of the entire camp) and a complete another, having to perform it.

Unimaginable and unthinkable things went on in these camps and the more I read about it, the harder it is to grasp how such things happen. We're all human beings...what gives people the idea that they are "better" than others and thus, "justified" in doing what they do is something I doubt I will ever be able to understand.

While touring the buildings though, I saw this and it reminded me of when I lived in Germany when I was younger. We had the same knobs on our heaters.

After his nap, we headed back to the train station and found a McD's to tide us over until we got back in Berlin.

Cool cup that came free with our meal.

On our way home (more out of the need to break up the train ride), we stopped at Potsdamer Platz.

It's a newer part of Berlin that wasn't more than a field after the Berlin Wall came down.

I'm starting to realize that pieces of the Berlin Wall can be seen in quite a few places around Berlin. But I always enjoy reading and looking at the "then" and "now" pictures.

They also have a creative "walk of stars" where you can look through poles coming up from the ground and "get your picture taken with the stars".

Okay, kind of weird...but, creative.

We then headed home for bedtime but I've decided that Brycen and I will visit again sometime this week to explore some more.