Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum

The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum is the most important day trip from Berlin for anyone who wants to understand the Nazi era, and one of the most sobering experiences a visitor to Germany can have. The camp was built by prisoners in 1936 in the town of Oranienburg, just north of Berlin, and because it lay so close to the capital and to the administrative headquarters of the whole camp system, it was designed as a model camp. Its triangular layout was meant to allow a single machine gun in the main tower to command the entire roll-call area, and it served as a training ground for SS guards who went on to other camps. Over the following years, around two hundred thousand people were imprisoned here, at first political opponents of the regime, then Jews, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and people the Nazis labelled asocial, and from the start of the war increasing numbers of people from across occupied Europe. Tens of thousands died through hunger, disease, forced labour, mistreatment, medical experiments and systematic killing. After liberation in 1945, the Soviet secret police used the site as a special camp until 1950, where many more prisoners died, and in 1961 East Germany opened a national memorial here. Today you enter through the original gate in Tower A, with the slogan Arbeit macht frei in its iron grille, and walk out across the vast, empty roll-call ground. Around it are reconstructed and original barracks, the camp prison, the infirmary, the pathology building and the site of Station Z, the extermination area, along with museums covering each chapter of the site's history. Admission is free, and audio guides in several languages can be hired for a small fee.

How to plan your visit: the outdoor grounds and exhibitions are open daily from 8:30am, closing at 6pm in summer and at 4:30pm in winter, with the visitor information centre open from 8:30am to 5pm; check the official site before you go, as some indoor museums keep their own hours. From central Berlin, take the S1 S-Bahn to Oranienburg, which takes about 45 minutes from Friedrichstrasse, or a faster regional train from Hauptbahnhof or Ostkreuz, and then walk about twenty minutes from Oranienburg station or take the bus to the Gedenkstaette stop. You need a Berlin ABC ticket for the journey. Allow at least three to four hours on site, and half a day including travel. Do not leave valuables in a car in the entrance car park.

Getting the most from it: hire an audio guide at the visitor centre, which gives structure to a large and spread-out site, or join one of the guided tours from Berlin offered by reputable companies, which include travel and a historian guide. Start at the information centre, walk through Tower A to the roll-call ground, and then visit the barracks, the prison and Station Z before the museums, leaving time to sit quietly. Dress for the weather, as much of the visit is outdoors on open ground, and wear comfortable shoes.

Who it suits and what to pair it with: history buffs, students and anyone who wants to confront the reality of the camps rather than read about it. It is best suited to teenagers and adults and is not suitable for small children. It is an emotionally heavy day, so plan something gentle for the evening. In Berlin, pair it with the Topography of Terror, which documents the institutions that ran the camp system, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.