Nazi History Tour at Sachsenhausen by Wonder Why Berlin

Duration: 6 hours

Empire, Weimar, Nazi Terror, Socialist Dictatorship, Federal Republic - a story along one persons life

Description

The Sachsenhausen concentration camp was built in 1936 as a "model concentration camp." A detailed tour of all the important locations illustrates the escalation of fascist terror. We get to know both the perspectives of perpetrators and victims. Many stories of survival and death accompany us.

Participants

The tour fits single humans, small and midscale groups

Important notice

• We will visit a memorial and documentation center about Nazi terror. Please do respect that by apprpriate behavior.
• You need tickets for public transport (2xABC single trip or 24h by BVG)

Further information

We delve deep into the Nazi terror system. While in Berlin, the Olympic Summer Games were staged as a – unfortunately - successful propaganda show, more than 3,000 forced laborers had to build this model camp in the forest. Here, the fascist claim to power and the will to annihilate unwanted lives were expressed through architecture. The system of concentration camps was developed here and then expanded to over 1,000 camps with more than 11 million inmates in less than 10 years. The central administration of all concentration camps was directly located here in Sachsenhausen. We visit authentic barracks, see elaborate exhibitions, visit the death station Z as well as the medical research facilities of the "sick barracks". We talk about remembrance culture and societal learning in the mirror of the times, about the SS as an organization of a terrorist "elite", about perpetrators and victims. The tour is characterized by a high density of information. Over the course of the 9 years (1936-1945), the camp underwent enormous expansions and changes. Many different storylines happened simultaneously. Our task is to maintain an overview and to delve deeper with the help of questions. Our guides have the official certification of the memorial site.

Our city tours thrive on questions. Some we bring with us and all others arise during the tour. Possible questions on this tour may include:

Why…

…here?

…were there concentration camps alongside regular prisons?

…were prisoners marked with colored triangles?

…did people volunteer for the SS?

…did the Nazis claim all the cruelties were necessary?

…was the camp initially called "protective custody camp"?

…was there no jurisdiction responsible for the camp?

…did Nazis incarcerate Jews here?

…did Nazis have a problem with homosexuals?

…could a tin bowl for prisoners represent a treasure?

…were prisoners treated so differently?

…did people end up in the camp for their faith?

…did the Nazis allow journalists to visit?

…did doctors assist in destroying lives?

…did white buses drive through northern Germany in April 1945?

…do we not know much about what happened here?

…did so many perpetrators escape justice?

…is much here no longer original?

…is remembrance culture not simple?

…did scientists use electroshock therapy in 1961 to seek explanations?

…is the past still a topic today even though there are hardly any living witnesses?

…did the Cold War influence processing and remembrance?

…do neo-Nazis set fire to barracks here?

The tour is supported by images.