Sachsen Hausen

The entrance to Sachsen Hausen- it was a tough day but the many thoughts that were raised and how much was learned was reassurance to the difficult task of emotionally enduring the KZ. It helped me almost get to know the lives of some individuals that had experienced the terror and it seems this is how it's possible to restore some dignity to people who were so demoralized.
This symbolizes a Jewish grave. The small rocks on top of the granite symbolize the rocks ancient Jews used to place on the bodies of those who passed away. The large granite stone is laying on a large bed of ashes from all of those burned during the career of Sachsen Hausen.
I thought this was extremely profound: "And something else I know, that the future Europe cannot exist without remembering all of those -regardless of their Nationality- , who were murdered, starved, gassed burned and hanged to death simply because of contempt and hate".
This memorial stood outside of the crematorium where tens of thousands of dead Jews and political prisoners dead bodies were burned.
These symbolize where bunkers had previously laid but the Nazi regime attempted to burn everything in order to conceal what had and was happening.
Sachsen Hausen Konzentrationslager. This is where thousands of the prisoners were forced to gather. The wall and the large memorial in the background were built some years later.
Layout of the camp and tour group
This is our tour guide. He has an unbelievable story: he survived Zwangsarbeit (forced labor) and a ton of forced migration... as a child. He grew up in Berlin with his family who was Jewish. He knew and knows many people personally that were sent to Sachsen Hausen and so the stories along with his own are very real, and tough to hear. He knows so much about history and makes connections to things I didn't think were possible. But he almost gave too much info; the tour lasted from 9am to 5pm and a friend and I ended up leaving a long with some other students because it was just too much for one day. It was however very very worthwhile.
This is the remaining wall that surrounded the camp.
This is another tour guide, not ours. Ours was much better and spoke better German. Todesmarsch means 'death march' where thousands of Jews walked got off the train walked on the out skirts of the city to the KZ. At Sachsen Hausen criminals and Jews would work or die. This simply maps where they had to walk and commemorates their lives.
This is the start of our Sachsen Hausen trip. Sachsen Hausen was Konzentrationslager (KZ= Concentration Camp). The point of this stop was to show the prominent Jewish community and those who opposed the Nazi regime. This is a plaque commemorating Otto Weidt who lived in the Hackescher Hoeffer during the Nazi Regime and the second World War. He housed deaf, blind and handicapped individuals and then continued to protect them from an immanent death.