A Busy Day in Berlin

Thursday was a busy day of exploring Berlin. We started the day at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The camp is located in Oranienburg just outside of Berlin, but easily accessible via train. In fact, this train and the town were present during the operation of the concentration camp. The main headquarters of the SS were in town and people's houses abutted the walls to the camp. The entrance road to the camp was closed to the public on weekdays, but citizens were free to stroll down it on weekends. Thus townspeople had to have some idea of what was going on in the camp as well as daily interaction with the SS. This was surprising and disturbing to me, as I had always thought of concentration camps being in the middle of forests or farmland, not in a town. 

We took a two-hour, English-speaking guided tour of the camp, which was a good decision. Our guide was German-born, and it was interesting to hear her personalized thoughts on the camp. She pointed out things we wouldn't have picked up on from the museum exhibits. For example, she stressed that Hitler did not just take power (as she was taught in school), but was elected in a democratic system. She also emphasized how within three quick months the democracy was turned into a dictatorship. She explained the continuing controversy over the fact that the former SS training school and buildings have been preserved and are now a police academy. 

The camp was constructed in a triangular shape and was a model for other camps. Due to its proximity to Berlin and surrounded by SS headquarters, prominent officials and foreign visitors were given tours. Of course, visitors only saw what the SS wanted them to see. Over 200,000 prisoners were put in a space that was meant to house 20,000. Most were political prisoners, and 99% were men. But, as our guide pointed out that meant that at least 2000 prisoners were women, which is still a large amount. They suffered much brutality, and our guide emphasized many times that many of the guards were violent not because they were forced to be, but because they chose to be. 

It was also nice to get our guide's overview without having to read every display board and come across more sensitive details of the concentration camp. To be honest, I wasn't particularly looking forward to our visit to the camp and may not have gone if I had been visiting Germany alone. I went through a period where I read multiple WWII themed books as a kid until it eventually freaked me out. That plus some intense holocaust museum visits in both the US and Israel have been enough for me. 

I didn't take any pictures of the camp. I wasn't in the mood to take pictures. I didn't really feel the need to remember what the camp looked like. And, I felt that it's something you just have to see and experience for yourself. 

After leaving Sachsenhausen we went back to more central Berlin. We stopped at Treptower Park and saw the giant Soviet War Memorial. It was constructed in East Berlin by the Soviet Union to commemorate 80,000 Soviet soldiers who died there in battle. 

Giant arches opening up to a giant statue afar

The view behind us of impressive, neat lines of trees

Closer view of the statue with a garden in front full of Soviet symbolism

The centerpiece: Statue of a Soviet solider carrying a German child

From the memorial we walked to an abandoned amusement park. The park was started in East Germany before the wall came down and had a tumultuous financial history until it was closed in 2002. Since then the abandoned park has been used as a set for a few films. The park is surrounded by fencing and signs warning passersby of guards and to keep out. Even so, we hear that many people try to scale the fence and wander around. Although the park is next to a nice walking path and the lovely River Spree, the dilapidated Ferris wheel still moving in the wind lends to its creepiness. 

Ferris wheel slowly turning in the wind at the abandoned amusement park

The River Spree

People were renting paddleboats near this bridge to enjoy the sunny day on the river

The walk between the memorial and amusement park and back was much longer than expected. By the end, we were very weary. This combined with the scene of abandonment at the amusement park, the depressing themes of the war memorial, and the obvious emotional exhaustion of visiting a concentration camp made for honestly an extremely draining day. We were more than ready to grab some dinner and call it a day. 

Berlin has a Thursday evening street food market at Markthalle Neun that we wanted to check out for dinner. It was mercifully close to a subway station, and we easily reached the market and wandered around checking out the food stalls. We had heard that it was a popular market and the stalls often sell out of food by 8 pm. It was definitely busy, but it was still maneuverable. There was BBQ, ethnic foods, cheese and meat platters, bread, alcohol, desserts and more. We tried a lot of different delicious ethnic foods and then located the beer stall in the back. Happily, the market ended up being a more flavorful and lighthearted way to finish our draining day. 

Popular Markthalle Neun

Eating potstickers and drinking beer