The Sachenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour

Step into one of the darkest chapters of European history on a powerful and thought-provoking guided tour of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial, just outside Berlin. Established by the Nazis in 1936, Sachsenhausen became a model for the concentration camp system and a place of imprisonment, forced labour, terror and mass murder. Through the stories of those who suffered, resisted and survived, this tour offers a deeply moving insight into the realities of life under Nazi persecution.

Our journey begins at Tower A, the camp’s main entrance, where prisoners passed beneath the chilling inscription Arbeit macht frei (“Work Sets You Free”). From here, we explore Roll Call Square, where prisoners endured hours of exhausting and often brutal assemblies, before visiting the Jewish Camp, where Jewish prisoners were subjected to particularly harsh persecution. We will also discover the Cell Block, a prison within the prison used to isolate, interrogate and punish inmates, including prominent political prisoners.

At the Prisoners’ Kitchen and Exhibition, we explore the everyday realities of camp life, from hunger and forced labour to the extraordinary resilience of those imprisoned here. We then visit the Tower of Nations, a monument commemorating the victims, before continuing to Station Z, the site of the camp’s execution facilities, where the full extent of Nazi brutality becomes horrifyingly clear. Finally, we explore the Infirmary, examining the suffering of sick prisoners, medical neglect and the criminal medical experiments carried out under the Nazi regime.

More than simply a walk through a historical site, this tour is an opportunity to understand how the Nazi system of persecution operated, who its victims were, and how ordinary institutions and individuals became part of an extraordinary machinery of oppression. We will also explore what happened to Sachsenhausen after 1945, when the Soviet authorities repurposed the site as a special camp, and consider how Germany has grappled with the difficult questions of remembrance, responsibility and historical memory.

A sobering but essential experience for anyone seeking to understand the history of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust and the enduring importance of remembering the past.

PLEASE NOTE

To visit Sachsenhausen, we will travel by train to Oranienburg, approximately 35 km north of Berlin, where the former concentration camp is located. The train journey takes around 45 minutes, and from Oranienburg station, we can either take a 10-minute bus ride or walk approximately 20 minutes to the memorial site. The train and bus journeys are both covered by a Berlin ABC public transport ticket.

IMPORTANT: This tour involves a considerable amount of walking, both getting to the memorial and exploring its extensive grounds, so comfortable footwear is strongly recommended.

If you have limited mobility or difficulty walking, I recommend taking a taxi from Oranienburg station directly to the memorial. There is also a wheelchair available to borrow at the site, although availability is limited and operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you prefer to walk at a slower pace or require additional breaks, please consider booking a longer tour to ensure we have plenty of time to explore the memorial comfortably and without feeling rushed.