We are interested in visiting some of the concentration camp sites in Germany. Can anyone aadvise if Berlin is a good centre from which to travel?
Regards, Irlmar
|||
There was a concentration camp just outside of Berlin
KZ Sachsenhausen
http://www.stiftung-bg.de/gums/index.php
The other ones make no sense as a day trip from Berlin. Too far. Berlin is anyway not a suitable %26quot;centre%26quot; for such trips. But there are many related sites on this in Berlin, e.g. the House of the Wannsee Conference.
http://www.ghwk.de/
|||
The concentration camps system was arranged in a way, that each area had a large concentration camp nearby (and many had then what was called %26quot;Satellite Camps%26quot;, smaller camps in the area that were part of that large camp).
Immediately near Berlin, as mentioned before, there was Sachsenhausen. It is pretty easy to get there independently with public transportation, or with a tour (for example, the Insider Tours company does tours there).
If you%26#39;re planning on renting a car, another camp that is within an hour and a half reach is Ravensbrueck, which is near Fuerstenberg. It was a camp mostly for women and children, including many heroic women (e.g. underground fighters, British spies, etc.):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravensbrueck
It is of course possible to go there with public transportation, but might take too long.
Buchenwald is near Weimar - it is quite a stretch for one day (maybe with an overnight stay), but not impossible.
In Berlin itself there have been those so-called %26quot;Satellite Camps%26quot; of Sachsenhausen, and there are some memorials/small museums. There are many other memorials for the Nazi oppression in Berlin - the house of the Wannsee Conference has been already mentioned; the Holocaust Memorial; the Plotzensee Prison Memorial; the Resistance Museum , and much more. Again, Insider Tours do a %26quot;Third Reich%26quot; tour that covers some of those places, and the guide could probably recommend what others are worth visiting.
|||
As others have posted, there are numerous Holocaust-related sites within Berlin and there are some excellent suggestions there. Grunwald train station memorial wasn%26#39;t mentioned, but it is worth a look. And to reiterate, the Wannsee Conference house is a must-see.
As to camps: Because the camps in Germany that still exist are pretty spread out, I don%26#39;t believe that there%26#39;s one perfect central point to explore them from. However, you can check out several if you have the time and don%26#39;t mind traveling a bit. Sachsenhausen and Ravensbruck were mentioned, and they are the closest. Sachsenhausen is an easy 35 minutes or so by S-Bahn from Berlin. It is in excellent preservation and an absolute must-see. Ravensbruck is about 40 minutes by train north of Sachsenhausen (if I remember correctly)and also very worthwhile. You could do both in a day without much trouble. One caveat though: unlike Sachsenhausen, there%26#39;s no public transport that I know of from the Furstenburg Havel station to Ravensbruck. So if you don%26#39;t have a car, it is either hire a taxi or make the 30 minute walk to the camp.
Lylou mentioned Buchenwald and you should be able to visit if you don%26#39;t mind a somewhat long day. I believe the quickest train is about 2.5 hours to Weimar, and there%26#39;s a regular bus to the camp. Type in www.buchenwald.de/ for information on getting there (the site has an English translation).
Mittelbau-Dora (Nordhausen) is too far really, and poorly served by public transport. If you have a vehicle and some time, it might be worth the trip but otherwise I would pass on it.
A couple of sites that might be possibilities are Neuengamme and Bullenhauser Damm. They%26#39;re in the Hamburg area. Neither site is very extensive though.
On another trip be sure to take in Krakow and Auschwitz if you have not already.
You would be well served to obtain a copy of Marc Terrance%26#39;s book, CONCENTRATION CAMPS A TRAVELER%26#39;S GUIDE. It is very helpful for the sort of thing you%26#39;re interested in.
|||
another place that could be reached from Berlin is the Terezin (Theresienstadt) memorial in the Czech Republic. Again, this is a little far for a day trip without an overnight stay, but not horribly so.
|||
Thanks to Abalada, Iylou and Xxrrttyy for such invaluable information and assistance.
We do intned hiring a car when we get there, as to that, is March a good time to go weatherwise, or could we be snowbound?
I would also appreciate the names of some reasonable hotels in Berlin that we could book, tho we probably will do some overnight stays away from the city.
We are also interested in visiting Checkpoint Charlie.
We have not been to Krakow to visit Auschwitz, and intned to do that later this year.
Again, i very mcuh appreciate your help and would welcome any more contributions on this subject.
kind regards,
Irlmar
|||
If you do one of the walking tours in Berlin, like the ones Insider tours offer, you will get to see Checkpoint Charlie along with all the other important sites and get some great history offered in a fascinating manner.
The public transportation system in Berlin and all over Germany too, for that fact, is excellent and will be way easier, cheaper and probably faster than driving a car.
|||
Thank you Bornheimgirl
Your input is very much appreciated.
Irlmar
|||
I know this is the Berlin Forum, but regarding your upcoming trip to Krakow/Auschwitz (Oswiecim):
Allow a full day for Auschwitz. A guide would be a very good idea. You could do it on your own of course, but a good guide would make it more meaningful by far. Also, be sure to tell your guide from the outset that you want to allow plenty of time to visit Birkenau (%26quot;Auschwitz II%26quot; or what most people think of as Auschwitz). You%26#39;ll want a lot of time for that, it is very large. Tours will originate at the Main Camp and that%26#39;s where you should begin, too, as that%26#39;s where the museum and so forth are. Birkenau is a couple kilometers away and can be reached by regular buses from the Main Camp. Unless things have changed since my visit (2004) there is no bus from the train station to the sites, so you%26#39;ll need to walk (about 15 minutes if I remember) or take a taxi, which is inexpensive.
Get an early start from Krakow (I went by train), and spend the day. You could also overnight in Oswiecim, it has a couple hotels and pensions, but not many.
In Krakow, you might want to visit the site of the arbeitslager at Plazow, the one portrayed in Schindler%26#39;s List. There%26#39;s not much there, just a few monuments, but if you%26#39;re interested in the Holocaust, you should go. This is where Terrance%26#39;s guide book I posted about would be handy. There%26#39;s also the %26quot;Schindler Factory%26quot; in Krakow, and the old Jewish Quarter, Kazimierz; I have heard there are guided tours of that.
Krakow itself is a great city with a lot to offer, and not just bleak sites.
|||
Thank you
I think, the way its looking at the minute, it will be Berlin in March/april with Krakow later in the year.
This advice is invaluable.
Any further help re reasonable places to hire a car, accommodation etc would be very welcome.
Irlmar
|||
One piece of advice is to rent the car only for journeys outside the city. It is entirely unnecessary and something of a hindrance within the city, in my opinion. Berlin%26#39;s public transport system is excellent and you can make use of it cheaply. That will also cut down on the expenses of renting.
As to hotels, there are a lot of good suggestions on this forum. I only have personal experience with two of them. One is Hotel Velvet on Oranienburgerstrasse. It was great: very modern, excellent staff, great breakfast, and a really good location w/ great transport links. It can also be a little noisy given the location. The other is the Hotel am Anhalter Bahnhof on Stresemannstrasse. It is a quintessential ** hotel. It is neat and clean, the rooms comfortable, but no frills: there is no lift, etc. But for a reasonably-priced place in a quiet neighborhood it is very good. I suggest you read the reviews on Trip Advisor. Also, I see Motel One recommended a lot on this forum. In the end, Berlin has a lot of variety in hotels and it somewhat depends on the price and the amenities you%26#39;re interested in. Use T.A. to find what works for you.
If your interest in the 1933-1945 period should extend beyond the Holocaust, there are many sites that would probably interest you ... that%26#39;s another posting though.
No comments:
Post a Comment