📰 News

Upcoming events

Information about upcoming commemorative ceremonies, lectures, exhibitions and educational programmes related to the history of Sachsenhausen and Czech prisoners.

Reports from past events

Summaries of past events, reports, photographs and reflections by participants, documenting how memory is cultivated today.

🏚️ About the Sachsenhausen concentration camp

History of the camp

The Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established in 1936 in Oranienburg near Berlin. It served as a model SS camp, a laboratory for repressive methods and the administrative centre of the Nazi concentration camp system. More than 200,000 prisoners from across Europe passed through it. More details to come soon...

Paradoxes of the camp

More details to come soon...

What made Sachsenhausen unique

Command of all concentration camps: The Inspectorate of Concentration Camps (IKL), which oversaw all camps in Germany and occupied Europe, was based in Sachsenhausen.

Training centre of the SS-Totenkopf units: The camp served as the main training centre for SS-Totenkopf guards responsible for guarding concentration camps. More details to come soon...

Subcamps

The main camp was surrounded by more than 100 subcamps and labour detachments across Germany. Prisoners were used in industry, armaments production, construction and mining. More details to come soon...

Groups of prisoners

Prisoners included political opponents of Nazism, Jews, Roma and Sinti, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, prisoners of war, hostages and resistance fighters from occupied countries. More details to come soon...

Life in the camp

Daily Routine

The daily routine was strictly organised: wake-up, roll call, work, return, and the evening roll call. Twice a day, prisoners gathered on the Appellplatz, lined up according to their blocks, where counting took place. They had to stand there until the numbers matched, or until anyone who had hidden or attempted to escape was found. Afterwards, the names of those who were to be released, or those with specific skills (such as bricklayers or electricians), were sometimes called out. At times, however, names were also announced for deportation to another concentration camp. Roll calls often lasted for hours, regardless of the weather.

Every fourteen days, on Sunday afternoon, selected groups of prisoners (for example Czech students) were allowed to write a letter. Each block received a pen, ink, and letter cards. Incoming letters were distributed to the prisoners during the evening roll call. Prisoners were always allowed to possess only one letter at a time; older ones had to be destroyed.

Clothing and Equipment of Prisoners

Prisoners wore most often striped trousers and a blouse. They also wore a cap on their heads. They had a patch on their chest and below the knee. Their pockets were usually sewn shut. They were allowed to keep only a belt and a handkerchief. Under the blouse, around their neck, they could carry a small pouch for money sent from home. Many of them created small booklets of poems, which they hid inside. In the block, each prisoner had a small shelf where they kept a bread bag with utensils and their daily bread ration. They carried this ration with them even to the work details. In winter, they received ear flaps and a coat for the outdoor work details.

Food

Food was insufficient and of poor quality. Malnutrition was one of the main causes of death. More details to come soon...

Abuse

Physical punishment, humiliation and arbitrary violence were part of everyday life in the camp. More details to come soon...

Badges

Prisoners were marked with coloured triangles according to “category”, which determined their status and treatment. More details to come soon...

Suicides

Many prisoners chose death on the electric fence or other forms of suicide as an escape from a hopeless situation. More details to come soon...

Escape attempts

Escapes were rare and usually ended in death. The camp was heavily guarded. More details to come soon...

Living conditions

Overcrowded barracks, lack of hygiene, dirt and disease were typical of the camp environment.

Labour detachments

Prisoners worked in workshops, factories, quarries, construction sites and administrative offices.

Arrival at the camp

New arrivals underwent registration, confiscation of personal belongings, shaving and assignment of a prisoner number. More details to come soon...

Transfers from the camp

Prisoners were frequently transferred to other camps or subcamps. More details to come soon...

Release from the camp

Releases were rare and concerned only some categories of prisoners, especially in the early years. More details to come soon...

Camp map

A map of the Sachsenhausen camp (for example as an image or interactive map) will be placed here.

🇨🇿 Czechs in Sachsenhausen

Continuously updated list of Czech prisoners

Here we publish a list of Czechs imprisoned in Sachsenhausen. If you find inaccuracies or have additional information, we would be grateful if you contacted us (info@sachsenhausen.cz). List of Czech prisoners in Sachsenhausenu_knowledge as of 8.3.2026

List of deceased Czech prisoners

More details to come soon...

Czech students of “17 November”

After the closure of Czech universities in November 1939, more than 1,200 students were deported to Sachsenhausen. More details to come soon...

Hostages

Czech hostages were sent to the camp as a means of pressure on the population. More details to come soon...

Officers of the Czechoslovak army

Many officers were arrested for resistance activities or as persons considered “dangerous” by the regime. More details to come soon...

Political prisoners

Members of the resistance, Sokol and Scout leaders, journalists, intellectuals and other opponents of Nazism. More details to come soon...

Jews

Czech Jews formed an important part of the prisoner population, especially in the later years of the war. More details to come soon...

Resistance members and their collaborators

People involved in domestic and foreign resistance, their families and collaborators. More details to come soon...

Clergy

Catholic and Protestant clergy imprisoned for opposing Nazism and helping the persecuted. More details to come soon...

🎭 Selected stories of Czech prisoners

🧭 Visiting Sachsenhausen today

How to get there?

The Sachsenhausen Memorial is located in Oranienburg, north of Berlin. From central Berlin you can travel by suburban train (S-bahn) to Oranienburg station and then walk or use local transport to reach the memorial.

What will I see?

Visitors can see preserved barracks, the roll-call square, execution sites, the infirmary, the prisoners’ kitchen and exhibitions on the history of the camp and its prisoner groups. More details to come soon...

Who will guide me?

The memorial offers guided tours, audio guides and educational programmes for schools and the general public. Current information is available on the memorial’s website. More details to come soon...

What can I find out about specific prisoners?

The memorial’s archive holds documentation on individual prisoners, transports and prisoner records. In some cases, further material can be found in Czech and international archives. More details to come soon...

🕯️ Commemorative and educational events

We offer talks and presentations on Czechs in Sachsenhausen for schools, families and the wider public. These presentations are provided free of charge.

🤝 Get involved

If your ancestor or relative was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen, we would be grateful if you shared their story and details with us. You help to complete the mosaic of memory.

The Sachsenhausen Memorial organises projects for descendants of former prisoners, focusing on how trauma affects families across generations. We can help you get in touch if you are interested in taking part.

The memorial also collects copies and originals of objects and documents (release papers, letters home) related to the camp. They greatly appreciate such contributions. We would also be glad to learn about these materials to deepen our understanding of Czech prisoners’ fates.

Everyone is warmly invited to commemorative and educational events. One of the most important is the annual wreath-laying by Hlávka dormitory in Prague on 17 November, commemorating the fate of imprisoned Czech students. Information about other events is published on this website.

📚 Literature and further information

• Memory of Nations (Paměť národa)
• Archive of the Sachsenhausen Memorial
• Selected bibliography (monographs, studies, memoirs – to be specified).

🕰️ Timeline