Sachsenhausen

Saturday, we went to Sachsenhausen. It is a concentration camp located about 45 minutes north of Berlin. It was opened in 1936. Dachau, the oldest camp and the only one to run during the entire Nazi reign, opened in 1933 outside of Munich. Sachsenhausen was to be the model camp, the one all other camps were designed after. Its triangular design was intended to guard as many prisoners as possible with the least amount of guards. It first held political prisoners but later held communists, Jews, homosexuals, criminals, as well as social deviants such as the homeless, alcoholics and the mentally ill. Resistance leaders were also interrogated in the T Barracks. Women were held in a brothel which was frequented by the SS or used as a reward for prisoners. Sachsenhausen was billed as a labor rehabilitation camp. The Germans were told, "These people don't fit with society, but through a rehabilitation program based on work, they will be able to." And as many of the public were uncomfortable when presented with these types of people, they believed the lies. Perhaps that is because they wanted to and did not want to know the dark power that humanity is capable of.

We walked the same path from the train station to the camp that the prisoners walked. I asked Melissa "Can you imagine living in this town back then?" She countered, "Can you imagine living in it now?" Homes led right up to the camp fence. At the time, SS and their families lived there, putting a barrier between the camp and the town. People still live in these homes. The former SS barracks and training camp was located just outside the camp. Today, the facility is used to train the state police. You may wonder, "How can the Germans reuse things that have such a dark history?" However, if the Germans were to throw away everything that was connected to the Nazis, Germany would cease to exist. Their approach is much better. They commemorate and move on. They look toward the future. I wonder if this approach is related to their fascination of modern architecture and art.

We entered through the Gate A, the main gate, past the cruel words, "Work Makes You Free." Over 200,000 prisoners passed through that gate. They were stripped, shaved, humiliated, demeaned and called "subhuman." Every attempt was made to strip them of their individuality. They were forced to work exceedingly hard under absolutely ghastly conditions. Many companies had contracts for the slave labor. They paid a small fee for a person per day. There was also a boot track comprised of different terrain. The German Army wanted to know which boots would be the best to buy. Prisoners were forced to run back and forth testing out the boots. Once on the boot testing track detail, the average person lasted 14 days. Medical "experirments" were also conducted. One concern was gangrene. To find a cure that could be applied to the battlefield, prisoners were used as lab rats. An incision would be made, rusty nails and dirt inserted and then sutured up. An infection would rage and different methods would be used for "scientific advancement" all with complete disregard of the patient and without the benefit of analgesia. Absolutely sickening.

Much of the camp has been destroyed. Two buildings in the Jewish quarter have been rebuilt and exhibits depict how life was. One building has smoke damage. In 1992, the Isreali Prime Minister spoke at the camp. Neonazis broke in that night and set fire to the building. The damage has been incorporated into the memorial to show that discrimination, antisemitism and darkness still exist. The original infirmary and morgue still stand. Over 54,000 people met their deaths at Sachsenhausen. Protocol stated that an autopsy be performed for each death in order to prove to the Red Cross that the person died of natural causes. As time progressed, prisoners were ordered to make a cursory incision and then pick from a list of the 7 causes of natural death posted on the wall. Apparently, the commandant of the camp had a thing for tattoos so any tattoo was cut out and given to him for special occasions. The foundation of Station Z can also be seen. The Nazis were unique in their systematic, efficient and ruthless approach to death of which Station Z is a prime example. It was set up like a doctor's office and designated prisoners (housed separately) led the condemned to their death. When they were measuring a person's height, they were really positioning the man so that the back of their head would be in the sights of their executioner. The system was designed so that SS would not have to see the prisoners face, no interaction, just the back of their heads. This was to prevent SS mental breakdown.

The camp was liberated by the Russians in 1945 who turned around and used it to serve their own purposes until 1950. They placed their political enemies as well as former SS behind the bars. You would think after seeing something so terrible as a concentration camp, you would want to make every effort to uphold human rights, not fall into the same trap as the former perpetrators. The camp was then reopened in 1960 by the Soviets. Their memorial is everything a memorial should not be. Rather than to remember a dark time and all of the victims, it was incorporated into Soviet propaganda. The memorial is ugly at best and remembers only the communists who were held there.

The atrocities committed at Sachsenhausen are terrible. I admire how Germany has acknowledged the past and taken responsibility. They have gone so far as to make denial of the holocaust illegal. Swastikas, SS embalms, and the Seig Heil salute have all been banned. Their efforts to acknowledge the past has in part made them the successful nation they are today. They have done a much better job of honoring WWII than many other countries. America has done a pathetic job of honoring their past mistakes; atrocities committed against Native Americans, Japanese American internment camps, the Tuskegee experiment, decades of discrimination towards African Americans. The list goes on. America has skimmed over the Native Americans, marginalizing that piece of history, thereby marginalizing the people and culture. I wonder if that hasn't influenced the Native American attitude today and the oppression and depression that exists. 

People say, "The Nazis and Hitler were a bunch of monsters." At the time, the SS was considered a great job. There was honor in it. They were the elite. For years, they had been told that some people were the enemy and they were capturing an opportunity to protect their nation against an enemy. By labeling people as monsters, it takes humanity out of the equation, which is incredibly dangerous. When humanity is removed, we don't realize just how monstrous our actions as humans can be. Sadly, we all have that capability. The Nazi regime was a terrible and dark time in history. Unfortunately, there are some terrible and dark things that are happening today. We have to realize the power that we have within us, for good and for evil. It is up to us to choose how we use that power.