The Camps
Please Read
First and foremost, I want to make it abundantly clear that this page and the contents within are more about educating rather than a straight travel guide. Visiting these sites is never easy but in my humble opinion, essential in ensuring that events that occurred under the Nazi regime can never take place again. The contents that are featured are not comfortable but to present them in anything other than a truthful light, would not be doing justice to the memories of those who suffered.
Auschwitz
The Auschwitz Complex
Location: Oświęcim, Poland
Inmates: est.1.3 mil
Killed: est.1.1 mil
The complex consisted of three main camps:
- Auschwitz I (Main Camp): The original camp that served as the administrative centre.
- Auschwitz II-Birkenau: The largest section, serving as a concentration, extermination, and labor camp.
- Auschwitz III-Monowitz: A labor camp for the nearby IG Farben industrial complex (only a memorial remains).
Auschwitz I
Operational: April 1940 – Jan 27, 1945 (liberated by the Soviet Army)
Originally a Polish army barracks, it first came into use as a concentration camp to house Polish political prisoners. Later it expanded to include a diverse prisoner population, including Jews, Soviet POWs, Roma. The camp’s population varied but at its peak housed around 15,000-20,000. The infamous “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work sets you free”) sign stands above the main entrance gate, symbolising the false hope and deception of the Nazi regime.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau
Constructed: October 1941
The largest and most infamous section of the Auschwitz camp complex Covering approx. 140 hectares (350 acres), it was the primary site of the Nazis’ Final Solution to exterminate the Jewish population of Europe. The four large gas chambers and crematoria (destroyed by the retreating Germans) were the primary method of mass murder, but many also died from forced labor, starvation, disease, medical experiments, and shootings. Only a small number of prisoners survived the harsh conditions with approx. 7,000 found alive at the time of liberation.
Sachsenhausen
Location: Oranienburg
Operational: July 1936 – April, 1945 (liberated by the Soviet Army)
Inmates: est.200,000
Killed: est.50,000
Primarily a labor camp, Sachsenhausen also held various groups including political prisoners, Jews, Roma, homosexuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Himmler called Sachsenhausen a “completely new concentration camp for the modern age, which can be extended at any time.” In April 1945, the SS forced around 33,000 prisoners on death marches with many of the dying from exhaustion, exposure or execution. After its liberation, the Soviet’s themselves used the site as a camp to detain political prisoners and suspected Nazis. Originally established in 1961 by the East Germans to commemorate the victory of Socialism over Fascism, the memorial plays a crucial role in helping to educate visitors to the sufferings of past victims.
Outer Area & Memorials
Camp Area & Museum
The inner camp area of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp included the barracks, administrative buildings, punishment facilities, and various other structures that were central to the daily life of the camp.
Sonderlager (Special Camp) & Station Z
The Sonderlager was a high-security area within the Sachsenhausen established to isolate and punish high-profile prisoners more severely than the general camp population. Two high-profile prisoners held here were the son of Josef Stalin, Yakov Dzhugashvili & Georg Elser, who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1939. Station Z was the execution site equipped with a crematorium, gas chamber, and firing squad area. It was named cynically by the SS to signify the end point for prisoners.
Buchenwald
Location: Weimar
Operational: July 1937 – April, 1945 (liberated by the US Army)
Inmates: est.280,000
Killed: est.56,545
Buchenwald was one of the largest and most notorious concentration camps established by Nazi Germany. It was established primarily to incarcerate political prisoners, expanding over time to include Jews, Romani people and other groups deemed undesirable. The main gate of Buchenwald bore the inscription “Jedem das Seine” (“To each his own” or “To each what he deserves”), reflecting the camp’s perverse moral code. Overcrowding and a lack of proper sanitation, led to rampant disease and high mortality rates. Medical experiments were undertaken in the camp, including testing for diseases, sterilization procedures, and other brutal practices.
Kraków-Płaszów
Location: Krakow
Operational: Oct 1942 – Jan 1945
The area where Płaszów once stood is now a site of remembrance, with several memorials and plaques commemorating the victims. The story of Płaszów gained widespread recognition through the film “Schindler’s List,” which depicted the camp’s horrors and the efforts of Oskar Schindler to save Jews. The notorious commandant of Płaszów, Amon Göth, was infamous for his brutal treatment of prisoners. He personally oversaw many executions and acts of cruelty as well of the desecration of the old jewish cemeteries that the camp was built on. The large memorial which is the most prominent structure is called “The Monument of Torn-Out Hearts”. The five figures represent the five countries the victims of the camp came from.
