Sachsenhausen

Built: 1936

Operational: 1938-1945
 
Location: Oranienburg, Germany (North of Berlin)

Purpose: Housed an estimated 200,000 political prisoners, Jews, and Soviet POWs. Also used as an extermination camp.

Significant Features: Station Z, the extermination station where deaths by firing squad took place, as well as where the gas chamber was located.

Place in History: Considered the nerve center of the Nazi concentration camp system. At times held up to 30,000 prisoners. Daily hangings, shootings, and gassing occurred, and disease was rampant.

Deaths: Unknown, as poor records were kept for gas chamber executions. Only notable instances of killings were recorded.

Death March and Evacuation: In April 1945, with the Soviets advancing, the Germans evacuated prisoners, with the intentions of loading them on ships, and sinking them into the Atlantic. Many were killed on the trip because they were too weak to walk, and subsequently shot. When the Russian soldiers arrived and liberated Sachsenhausen, a mere 3,000 prisoners were left.

Today: Sachsenhausen is a museum, a well-kept reminder of the horrors that took place there. Much of the camp is still intact or has been reconstructed.

Cultural Significance: The meticulous upkeep of this camp as a reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust shows how Germans unwilling to forget their history, even something as ghastly as the Holocaust. This concentration camp memorial serves as a reminder of the dark past of Germany, and provides a detailed look at how the concentration camp was built and run.

Sources:
http://www.newberlintours.com/daily-tours/sachsenhausen-memorial.html
http://www.jewishgen.org/forgottenCamps/Camps/SachsenhausenEng.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/17/world/ex-death-camp-tells-story-of-nazi-and-soviet-horrors.html

The New Synagogue

Built: 1859-1866

Location: Berlin, Germany

Architecture: Moorish, inspired by Calat Alhambra in Grenada, Spain

Purpose: Served as largest synagogue in Europe at the time, built to serve a rapidly growing Jewish population in Berlin

Significant Features: Large, eye-catching dome (seen at left), 3,200 seat main hall, large museum showcasing remains of the old building, with displays and historical documents showing what Jewish life was like in Berlin

Place in History: Originally built in the mid-1800s to serve the growing Jewish population. Held regular services as well as public concerts throughout the late 1800s and early 20th century.

Kristallnacht: The New Synagogue was set on fire by the Nazis during Kristallnacht in 1938, resulting in major damage to the building. The building was reconstructed by the congregation and continued to be used until 1940.

Nazi Occupance: The Nazis occupied the New Synagogue in 1940, suspending services and ultimately turning the building into a uniform storage facility.

Bombing: The New Synagogue was heavily damaged by Allied bombings in 1944. the building was partially demolished in 1958, and unoccupied until the late-1980s.

Today: The Synagogue was reconstructed by the East German government beginning in the late 1980s, and reopened in 1995. Today, the New Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Germany, and is the lone Masorti synagogue in Berlin. The synagogue also houses a museum that contains artifacts from the old building.

Cultural Significance: The Synagogue is an example of the suffering the Jewish community went through during the 1930s and 40s. The synagogue was the largest worshiping site for Jews in Berlin at the time, and they had that taken away from them just like everything else. The synagogue's reconstruction also shows the remembrance the Germans hold on that dark time in their history, as parts of the synagogue were not reconstructed, and there is a section that is simply an empty plot of land to remember what used to exist there, and the reasons that this piece of the synagogue no longer exist.

Sources:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/berlin-new-synagogue
http://www.cjudaicum.de/