Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour from Berlin

Sachsenhausen concentration camp: history of the site

Sachsenhausen opened in 1936 in Oranienburg, about 35 kilometres north of Berlin. The SS designed it as a model camp, and its triangular layout was meant to let a single machine gun in the watchtower cover the whole roll-call area. From 1938 the administration of the entire camp system was based right next door, which made this place central to Nazi terror.

More than 200,000 people from across Europe were imprisoned here, and tens of thousands died from hunger, disease, forced labour and murder. After 1945 the Soviet secret police used the site as a special camp. A Sachsenhausen memorial tour covers both chapters, and our guide explains how the site became a national memorial in 1961.

Tower A, the roll-call ground and the barracks

Your visit begins at Tower A, the main entrance, where the iron gate still carries the cynical slogan that greeted prisoners. Beyond it lies the vast semicircular roll-call ground where men stood for hours in all weathers. The outline of the former barracks is marked on the ground, which helps you grasp the scale of the camp.

Barracks 38 and 39, where Jewish prisoners were crowded together, have been rebuilt as a museum about daily life in the camp. Nearby, the camp prison still holds its original cells. Plan at least three hours if you visit Sachsenhausen independently; with a guide you understand in two hours what the signs alone cannot explain.

Station Z, the infirmary and the prisoners' kitchen

At the edge of the camp stand the remains of Station Z, the extermination site where thousands of prisoners were shot or killed. Today a memorial hall covers the foundations, and it is one of the most sombre moments of the visit. Our guide approaches this part with great respect for the victims and gives you time for quiet reflection.

The former infirmary and mortuary tell the story of the medical experiments carried out here, while the old prisoners' kitchen now houses an exhibition on key moments in the camp's history. The tour ends at the Soviet memorial of 1961. Many visitors ask whether a day trip to Sachsenhausen is worth it: it is a hard visit, but an essential one.

How to get to Sachsenhausen from Berlin

The memorial lies in Oranienburg, at the end of the S1 suburban line and also reachable by regional train from central Berlin. The journey takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and the site is a 20-minute walk from Oranienburg station. Because Oranienburg is in fare zone C, you need an ABC-zone ticket, which you buy before the tour at any station machine.

Travelling with a guide takes the stress out of the connections and turns the journey into a history lesson. Sachsenhausen opening hours change by season, with longer summer hours; the grounds are open daily, while some exhibitions may close on certain days in winter. At the end of the tour you can return with the guide or stay on.