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