Sachsenhausen Memorial - Day-Trip from Berlin

The former Nazi concentration camp of Sachsenhausen - located just outside Berlin's city limits - was one of the main hubs of the concentration camp networks in Europe. This was one of the first camps opened to the public as a model camp - a showcase to visitors - which initially facilitated the removal of the political opposition as Hitler needed to secure his siege to dictatorship. Today Sachsenhausen's memorial is a reminder of the darkest days of Germany's past. Over 200. 000 were imprisoned, some 50, 000 innocent victims of the Nazi regime were murdered under terrible conditions, starvation, malnutrition, and daily physical and psychological brutality which was part of everyday life for the prisoners. After Germany was defeated, the Soviet Union took over the camp and used it for their own political enemies. Thousands more would die in the next five years. The first memorial was erected in 1961.