5-hour Berlin Sachsenhausen Private Tour
This 5-hour Private Tour from Berlin to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial is a sombre yet crucial part of any trip to Berlin. Learn about the treatment of hundreds of thousands of Nazi prisoners inside the camp walls, and remember the tens of thousands who never made it out alive. You will also hear about the camp's post-war use under the Soviets from 1945 - 1950.
Your 5-hour Sachsenhausen Private Tour meets in front of the Starbucks at the Brandenburg Gate (S/U-Bahn Brandenburger Tor).
The first purpose-designed Nazi concentration camp
This Private Tour is an important part of any visit to the German capital. Built in 1936 as the Berlin Olympic Games were taking place, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was the first Nazi concentration camp to be designed specifically for this purpose. Not only was it close to the Nazi's capital of Berlin, but it also served as the training grounds for camp guards and camp commandants before they were sent out to the other Nazi concentration camps.
Journey from Berlin out to the Sachsenhausen memorial
The Tour begins at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, your expert local guide (who is accredited to the Sachsenhausen memorial site) will take you on the train out to the camp, giving you an important background of the Nazi's concentration camp system as you go. Once you arrive in the town of Oranienburg, where Sachsenhauen was built, your guide will point out the march the prisoners were taken on through the streets and past the townspeople to get to the camp. Upon arrival at the Sachsenhausen memorial, you will see the model layout of the camp, as your guide explains why it was built that way, before taking you inside the former camp itself.
The lives and deaths of prisoners inside the camp
Once inside the former camp, your guide will tell you about the daily lives of the prisoners - you will see how the prisoners slept in the overcrowded barracks, stand on the square where the daily roll call would take place, and learn about some of the cruel work details they were forced to carry out. You will hear about punishments and murders in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, and you will also see the cell block building, where prisoners were put into isolation and brutally tortured, before being taken to the foundations of the former Station Z building, purposefully built to kill prisoners and dispose of their bodies quickly. You will also learn about the final days of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, including the death march the prisoners were forced to go on in April 1945, and the prisoners who were simply left behind to die.
While the majority of this tour takes place outdoors, there are a few small museums within the memorial itself. It is possible that queues may prevent you from being able to enter these exhibitions on particularly busy days. However, your expert, licensed guide will ensure that you do not miss out on any information from this important site.
