Apologies for the lack of posts recently. Lots going on and just not enough hours in the day unfortunately... But enough excuses. Today's post is something a little different, but probably more essential viewing/reading than any other post thus far...
At the end of November, I finally had the opportunity to visit what remains of
Sachsenhausen, one of the world war ii concentration camps, in Oranienburg, just outside of Berlin. More than 200,000 people were imprisoned there between 1936 and 1945. Tens of thousands died of starvation, disease, forced labour, or were murdered systematically by the SS. Aided by the grey skies and bitterly cold December weather, it was a pretty overwhelming experience. Seeing execution trenches and gas chambers, just trying to imagine some of the horrors that would have taken place. Morbid, but fascinating all the same.
The famous slogan adorning the front gate which roughly translates to "work makes you free"
Tower A, at the entrance to the prisoners camp
The death strip, complete with barbed wire and electric fence
A typical bed in the prisoners camp
Prisoners barracks and kitchen
The execution trench
Remains of the gas chambers at "Station Z", the end of the line for thousands of prisoners
