Berlin
I know, it all seems a little bit dark and depressing talking about the war, but honestly, Berlin is one of the most interesting cities i've been to.
Going to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp is a surreal experience. When you first get to the Concentration Camp, you see this BIG Letterings on the gate that says "Work will set you free". And we now know, that work never set the prisoners of Sachsenhausen free. Standing in front of the gate, you can almost imagine the tiny sliver of hope given to the prisoners, and knowing the facts of today just increases your empathy level.
Before we entered, our guide shared with us a brief background of the camp, he told us about the different type of prisoners and different triangles sewed on their uniform to represent the different crimes they were arrested for. Some were prisoners because they committed a crime or an offence, however, some people were just thrown in and labeled under "OTHERS" with the black triangle because there may not have been a legitimate reason to arrest them. The jews were tagged with an additional yellow triangle to single them out from the other prisoners.
It was like they were branded and marked, instead of being people, they were known by triangles and numbers.
After entering the camp grounds, we stood in the centre of what would be the place where the head counts were done several times in a day. I can almost imagine the entire place filled with people in neat rows and standing at attention whilst the guards slowly number them off. The wind was so strong in december, and it started to snow after a while. My face was hurting from the pelting snow and it was JUST FREAKING COLD. The guide made us stand outside as he told us more about the lives of the people in the camp, referencing different things along the way.
There was one statement he said that I couldn't forget. He said, "The prisoners stood out here at times for hours and hours with just their pyjamas on. And in January, the weather gets even colder." What I felt at that point in time was not even 20% of what the prisoners were made to go through.
Standing still out in the cold with pyjamas alone during head count is a torture itself. It was absolutely heartbreaking to imagine what those people had to endure.
The concentration camp looked extremely bare, apart from a few barracks that were left behind and preserved after the war. I could almost imagine the entire space being filled with container looking rows of the same shed where the prisoners lived and worked. In the old living quarters that were left behind, we could walk in and take a peak at what would be a prisoner's bunker at that time. It really does reflect some of the scenes in the German Film, The Counterfeiters, that has scenes resembling Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
Apart from showing the different sights, there is also a museum with artefacts and pictures giving more information to the visitors of the camp. You also get to see a remake of the triple decked beds that were used in the camp.
Since the entire time, the snow was getting heavier and I was not dressed warm enough, I was either shocked and horrified by the stories told, or trying to imagine how prisoners would be living in the winter without sufficiently warm clothes. I couldn't get the image of them standing out in the cold and having to be completely still whilst the head count was going on, especially as the number of prisoners grew larger and larger.
It all sounds very morbid doesn't it? But I must say the 4 days I spent around Berlin was unlike any other city that I've been to in Europe. The culture and history is so rich, there are so many more day trips to various memorials and concentration camps, that this is nothing but the tip of the iceberg.
It was an extremely educational 4 days, and I'm so so glad to have began my trip there.
It is one of those places that will be remembered for a really long time.
Not having travelled to Europe (before 2014) I was never really well-versed in European history. Especially not about the effects of World War 2 on them. I'm glad they have such memorials and tours to share with other visitors their culture, their past, and allow us to understand and experience history from a different perspective.
Its akin to stepping into a historical book and getting a glimpse of the different events unfold. It was the best 12euros I paid. 12 Euros for a tour like this, i'd do it again in a heartbeat.
If you're ever in Berlin, and especially if you've never been to a concentration camp, do visit the Sachsenhausen Camp. It's so informative, and you really get to understand and imagine how its like in the past, which is way more valuable than what you learn in books.
Or, if you don't have the opportunity to visit Europe, I hope you enjoyed my pictures and that it managed to bring you on the journey I had. Hopefully the stories allowed you to see a different side of traveling, and that it can also be interesting to go on cultural/historical tours like these when we travel to new places.
Let me know your thoughts down in the comments section below!
*This is NOT a sponsored post
Before we entered, our guide shared with us a brief background of the camp, he told us about the different type of prisoners and different triangles sewed on their uniform to represent the different crimes they were arrested for. Some were prisoners because they committed a crime or an offence, however, some people were just thrown in and labeled under "OTHERS" with the black triangle because there may not have been a legitimate reason to arrest them. The jews were tagged with an additional yellow triangle to single them out from the other prisoners.
It was like they were branded and marked, instead of being people, they were known by triangles and numbers.
After entering the camp grounds, we stood in the centre of what would be the place where the head counts were done several times in a day. I can almost imagine the entire place filled with people in neat rows and standing at attention whilst the guards slowly number them off. The wind was so strong in december, and it started to snow after a while. My face was hurting from the pelting snow and it was JUST FREAKING COLD. The guide made us stand outside as he told us more about the lives of the people in the camp, referencing different things along the way.
There was one statement he said that I couldn't forget. He said, "The prisoners stood out here at times for hours and hours with just their pyjamas on. And in January, the weather gets even colder." What I felt at that point in time was not even 20% of what the prisoners were made to go through.
Standing still out in the cold with pyjamas alone during head count is a torture itself. It was absolutely heartbreaking to imagine what those people had to endure.
The concentration camp looked extremely bare, apart from a few barracks that were left behind and preserved after the war. I could almost imagine the entire space being filled with container looking rows of the same shed where the prisoners lived and worked. In the old living quarters that were left behind, we could walk in and take a peak at what would be a prisoner's bunker at that time. It really does reflect some of the scenes in the German Film, The Counterfeiters, that has scenes resembling Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
Apart from showing the different sights, there is also a museum with artefacts and pictures giving more information to the visitors of the camp. You also get to see a remake of the triple decked beds that were used in the camp.
In the camp, was a mini "site plan" that the guides could use to illustrate the process where by people were brought from one room to another, to be shot, and how they decided to hide the victims face from the guards and only revealing the neck, so as to prevent the guards from being traumatised/feeling the after effects of shooting someone alive. Prisoners were told to line up against the wall as if to measure their height, and at that moment, they'd be shot in the neck, their body disposed and water will run to wash away the blood stains. The prisoners were deluded into thinking they were there for a health check up or something normal, and the next prisoner would always be unaware of what just happened in the room when they stepped in.
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| Another punishment tool used on prisoners to hang them by their limbs if they disobeyed. |
Since the entire time, the snow was getting heavier and I was not dressed warm enough, I was either shocked and horrified by the stories told, or trying to imagine how prisoners would be living in the winter without sufficiently warm clothes. I couldn't get the image of them standing out in the cold and having to be completely still whilst the head count was going on, especially as the number of prisoners grew larger and larger.
It all sounds very morbid doesn't it? But I must say the 4 days I spent around Berlin was unlike any other city that I've been to in Europe. The culture and history is so rich, there are so many more day trips to various memorials and concentration camps, that this is nothing but the tip of the iceberg.
It was an extremely educational 4 days, and I'm so so glad to have began my trip there.
It is one of those places that will be remembered for a really long time.
Not having travelled to Europe (before 2014) I was never really well-versed in European history. Especially not about the effects of World War 2 on them. I'm glad they have such memorials and tours to share with other visitors their culture, their past, and allow us to understand and experience history from a different perspective.
Its akin to stepping into a historical book and getting a glimpse of the different events unfold. It was the best 12euros I paid. 12 Euros for a tour like this, i'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Tour information:
SANDERMANs New Berlin Tours
Sachsenhausen Memorial - You get 1 Euros off when you buy it whilst on their free walking tour.
Click HERE for more information
If you're ever in Berlin, and especially if you've never been to a concentration camp, do visit the Sachsenhausen Camp. It's so informative, and you really get to understand and imagine how its like in the past, which is way more valuable than what you learn in books.
Or, if you don't have the opportunity to visit Europe, I hope you enjoyed my pictures and that it managed to bring you on the journey I had. Hopefully the stories allowed you to see a different side of traveling, and that it can also be interesting to go on cultural/historical tours like these when we travel to new places.
Let me know your thoughts down in the comments section below!
*This is NOT a sponsored post
A Glimpse of WW2 - Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
29 January 2015 Sachsenhausen, Oranienburg, Germany
Seeing pictures of the 2 Men Kissing made me curious about the hype over it. Prior to visiting the East Side Gallery in Berlin, I thought that said image would be the most impressive art piece/wall, since it is so iconic and everyone enjoys instagramming pictures of it.
Let me first apologise for using the image as my blog header image. The Kiss was photographed in 1979 and it is a "common ritual for socialist buddies" according to Stars and Stripes. But (and here's why I apologised), THERE IS MORE to the East Side Gallery than the The Kiss.
The East Side Gallery is filled with walls and walls of detailed and impressive street art, some (in my opinion) are so much more interesting/thought provoking than The Kiss. Yet I don't understand why they aren't featured. WHY?
Let me first give tribute to my favourite wall. Favourite for no concrete specific reason actually. It is not the most colourful wall, neither is it the most detailed, but I really like it. Maybe it's because of my love for masquerades and masks. Then again, this wall can be interpreted in so many ways. From that of living in a masked society, to... just pretty masked animal look-a-likes.
In fact, the pictures that are shown here of all the walls are those that left an impression. They made me stop and stare before bothering to snap a photo. They made me go "Wow! how to people paint something like that?!" Honestly, these are such thought provoking images, they definitely deserve more recognition.
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| I found this image to be so haunting. |
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| THIS. IS. GOLD. |
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| This is a gate that use to be an entrance between both sides of the wall. |
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| Check Point Charlie Illustration. |
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| This one really reminded me of Japan! |
Anyway, for my outfit that day, I went with a mostly black and grey ensemble (didn't want to clash with the colours for the berlin wall!) with a pop of blue on top. Never used to enjoy wearing turtle necks in the past, I always thought they made me look like i had no neck or too long a neck. But this one has such a nice colour plus it keeps me warm!
Here's what I wore:
Grey Winter Coat: Coldwear (Similar Here) | Black Pants: Takashimaya (Similar Here) | Black Ankle Boots: Ecco (Similar Here) | Light Purple Knit Turtle Neck: New Look
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| Ending off with an image that shows both side of the berlin wall, a reminder of Divide. |
Hope you enjoyed the pictures of the East Side Gallery. What are your thoughts?
Colours of the East Side Gallery - Berlin, Germany
27 January 2015 East Side Gallery, Mühlenstraße, 10243 Berlin, Germany
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. In my previous post, I mentioned about going on a walking tour in Berlin, and passing the holocaust memorial to the murdered jews. This memorial is located in within the central of city, a stone's throw away from the Brandenburg Gate, and unlike many memorials, it has no explanation, no names, nothing. Just rows of grey slabs.Many people have criticised the design of this memorial, and the designer himself never revealed the thought process or the reasons behind his design. Guess this is a way of making people think, and interpret it on their own.
I've seen pictures of it from an aerial view, and from high up above, the slabs look even. Somewhat like a grid. However from the ground, you would know that they aren't the same height.
As you walk through the memorial, the floor undulates and the pillars get taller. Less light gets in, and it just gives you the feeling of being trapped.
I thought it felt a lot like being in a concentration camp. There is no way out, and everywhere you turn looks the same. Your days unending, going on the same ritual, not knowing when you'll be released or when you'd be out.
A memorial like this, its hard to judge base on its design.
Somehow walking through it weighs your heart down. I don't know what it is, and its pretty hard to pinpoint exactly, but you feel a sense of lost and heaviness.
Initially, I thought it looked a lot like a graveyard. I thought it was rude of the people who climbed on top of the slabs moving from one to another trying to take photographs, or kids playing hide and seek around the pillars.
Maybe thats just me. But it felt like stones, grave stones with no names. Because people out there, in the world, nobody knew what happened to you. Once you're in a concentration camp, nobody knew if you were alive or dead. The bodies don't make it out, and you don't have a home, a burial, a resting place. Your grave would be something like an empty stone. If you would even have one.
Like I said before, I don't know much about the history of the world war 2, not an expert on architecture and memorials either, but well, I just felt like sharing some of my thoughts on this in a separate post. This memorial, doesn't appear striking, or beautiful, its so easy to overlook it, but yet holds such deep meaning. Depending on how you interpret it. It really makes you think.
What do you think of a memorial like this? Do you think it served it's purpose as a memorial? Comment below!
The Memorial with No Explaination - Berlin, Germany
22 January 2015 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Cora-Berliner-Straße 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
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