Sachsenhausen

Remember me wishing to have understood German for 30 seconds? Forget it. Some cat calls made it into english tonight. So, wish granted. Congratulations. I am now clawing my ears out.

We did a tour of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp today. It actually wasn't as heavy, for lack of a better word, as other holocaust memorials I have been to (i.e. Jerusalem, and D.C.). However, it was an entirely different thing to actually walk on the same ground and visualize these horrific events. Three thoughts:

The iron gate, at the front of the camp, that prisoners had to march through upon entering the camp for the first time, like other camps has the words "Arbeit Macht Frei," or "Work makes you free." Sadly, the freedom usually came through death.

Roll Call. Happened every morning and evening. Thousands of prisoners being accounted for. At one point around 30,000. The director of the camp was known for his meticulous roll call. Sometimes making it last 14 or 15 hours. Standing still in below freezing weather for hours, in a thin uniform. You had to be on time, as well as any friends you may have. Or you were beaten or tortured. Sometimes as many as 500 people lived in the 150 capacity bunks. When they awoke they had to dress, tidy the room, wash, use the one bathroom, with hundreds of other people. Sometimes the guards would even go into the bunks and create obstacles: tripping, beating people etc. and even drowning people in the toilet. After roll call you were assigned a duty. Brick making, or other tasks. The worst job was boot duty. Usually assigned to accused homosexuals. The job: testing German boots. The requirements: run. All day. The life expectancy of someone newly assigned to boot duty: 14 days.

The Fence. In the late 30's there was an electric fence surrounding the camp. Prisoners eventually used it to kill themselves. If they were seen running towards it they were shot in the legs. Eventually it was taken down. Prisoners did not even have the option of committing suicide.