Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Yesterday we went on the memorial tour of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It was a very tough day. you hear about these camps in stories and in books, but seeing the real thing, and being there has a profound impact. it is honestly indescribable the feeling you get when entering the 'welcome gates' or 'tower A' of the camp, when you know what took place here. Walking into the barracks, the prison inside the prison (very creepy), seeing torture mechanisms of things normal human beings could not fathom, the gas chamber, the incinerators, and the corpse storage room. the tour was very graphic and the guide was excellent. he was very passionate in his approach. and as traumatic and distressing the stories were, it was important to hear of them, because people should not be sheltered from the events that took place there. people need to know about it, understand what took place and never forget. we need to learn from this, appreciate and empathise, and pray that this never happens again. i was deeply moved by the whole experience, shocking and deep in every way. reading about it in books does not show these victims justice. i am honestly speechless on the event but i am deeply moved, deeply distressed, and deeply empathetic. this tour was not for people who cry at the drop of a hat, it was a tough and sorrowful day. and it was extremily hot too. i was so hungry and so hot, but being there kept me quiet. knowing that the 35,000 men who were victims there lived on torture, abuse, 1 glass of water a day, one toilet break a day, 'water soup' and worked 18 hours a day in extreme conditions, i couldn't compare. it really puts things into perspective. but despite what experiences or values I gained from this tour, i will never neglect or forget what happened there, but to remember and understand.
love my whole family beyond anything on this earth. you just can't take family for granted. those victims were stolen in the night and were never to see their family again. that is unimaginable for most.
love u all.
ashinberlin.x