The Camps
The treatment of the sites on this page is of a more extensive nature when compared to other pages. The purpose of the page is to educate against the actions of extremists, that is why there are more images of the sites contained in the carousels.
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)
- Auschwitz II-Birkenau
- Auschwitz III-Monowitz
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.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau
Constructed: October 1941
The largest and most infamous section of the Auschwitz camp complex, it was the primary site of the Nazis’ Final Solution. 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. 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 it was established it in 1961 by the East Germans to commemorate the victory of Socialism over Fascism.
Outer Area & Memorials
Camp Area & Museum
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. 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.
Dachau
Location: Munich
Operational: March 1933 – April, 1945 (liberated by the US Army)
Inmates: est.188,000
Killed: est.41,500
Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp, established in March 1933 near Munich, Germany. Initially intended for political prisoners, it held an estimated 188,000 prisoners over its 12 years of operation. When the US forces liberated the camp on April 29, 1945, they discovered the full extent of the atrocities committed there. Today, Dachau serves as a memorial and museum, preserving its history as a place of reflection and education about the Holocaust and the dangers of extremist politics.
The Camp Entrance
The Camp Grounds
Crematorium Area
The Memorial
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.
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 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.
“They all admonish us to never forget. No, we will never forget. We’ll not forget for the sake of the victims, for our own sake, and for the sake of future generations.”
Angela Merkel (on visiting Dachau May 3, 2015)