Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour

The tour explores the history of Sachsenhausen as a Nazi concentration camp and forced-labour site, as well as its later use as Soviet Special Camp No. 7. Your licensed guide explains the camp’s design, the experiences of its prisoners, systems of persecution and forced labour, mass murder, and the history of remembrance after 1945.

The route normally includes Tower A, the roll-call yard, the shoe-testing track, the camp prison, the Jewish barracks, the kitchen, Station Z, the execution trench, the infirmary barracks, the pathology building, the small camp, and memorials dedicated to different groups of prisoners. The precise route can vary if areas of the memorial are temporarily closed.

The complete experience lasts approximately six hours, including travel. You meet your guide at Hackescher Markt in central Berlin and travel together by train to Oranienburg. The train journey takes approximately 50 minutes, followed by a walk of around 20–25 minutes from Oranienburg station to the Sachsenhausen Memorial.

Yes. Every guest needs a valid Berlin ABC public transport ticket for the journey to Oranienburg and back. You can purchase the ticket in advance or ask your guide for help at the meeting point. The transport ticket is not included in the tour price.

Yes. Original Berlin Walks uses guides who are officially licensed to guide at the Sachsenhausen Memorial. They receive specialist training and take part in further courses offered by the memorial foundation.

An audio guide can provide useful basic information, but a licensed guide gives live historical context, connects different parts of the memorial site, and can respond to questions. This is especially important at Sachsenhausen, where many original buildings no longer survive and much of the site’s meaning depends on careful explanation.

Sachsenhausen is a memorial site, not a conventional sightseeing attraction. The tour is therefore informative, serious, and respectful in tone. Your guide provides historical context, explains original remains and memorial spaces, and allows time for questions and reflection throughout the visit.

Public Sachsenhausen tours are limited to a maximum of 15 guests. This smaller group size creates more space for questions, reflection, and respectful movement through the memorial site.

Yes. We recommend bringing sufficient food and water for the day, as opportunities to purchase refreshments during the tour are limited. Comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are also important because much of the visit takes place outdoors and includes walking between Oranienburg station and the memorial.

Yes. The tour runs in all weather conditions, so please dress accordingly. There is also no minimum participant number, meaning the tour operates even when only a small number of guests are booked.

The tour deals directly with persecution, forced labour, medical abuse, execution, and mass murder. It may therefore be distressing for younger visitors. Parents and teachers should consider the maturity and prior knowledge of their group before booking. Private tours can be particularly useful for school or family groups that need a more tailored approach.

Yes. Private Sachsenhausen tours are available for families, schools, universities, companies, and organised groups. A private tour provides more flexibility and more time for questions and discussion with your own licensed memorial guide.