I have compiled a list and drew a map of all the concentration camps in Germany that you can visit.
Admission is free of charge for visitors, but I recommend that you take part in a guided tour to understand better the impact of the holocaust and the history of each place.
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Which concentration camps can be visited in Germany?
Generally speaking, all concentration camps with a memorial site can be visited in the Germany. What you need to know is that not every former concentration camp has a memorial site set up.
All the larger ones can be accessed free of charge during the opening timings. Concentration camps are closed during the night in Germany.
Map and List
This map and list shows the current concentration camp memorials that you can visit in Germany. Note that these are only the camps, many more buildings and memorials are scattered around the country.
State governments are also working on setting up new memorials on former Nazi campgrounds.
- Dachau Camp — The town of Dachau is just 30 minutes north of Munich, and with frequent guided tour options. This was also the first Nazi concentration camp. We did an early morning walking tour at Dachau in fall 2022.
- Sachsenhausen — Near Berlin and also one of the first death camps. You can get tour guides, which take you from Berlin to Sachsenhausen, or take the train to Sachsenhausen.
- Bergen-Belsen Memorial — Former concentration camp for Belgian, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Polish prisoners as well as Soviet war prisoners. Margot and Anne Frank died in Bergen-Belsen and the memorial can be visited, also with a guide.
- Neuengamme — A large forced labor camp near Hamburg in Northern Germany. More than 100,000 prisoners were forced to work on the bricks' production.
- Hannover-Ahlem — Sub-camp of the KZ Neuengamme near Hannover, a city in Northern Germany.
- Wilhelmshaven — Another Sub-camp of Neuengamme near Bremen. Prisoners were forced to work on marine ships.
- Buchenwald — One of the largest concentration camps in Germany, with prisoners from all over Europe.
- Memorial Site Laura — Prisoners had to dig through the slate pit as this Buchenwald sub-camp was used for rocket weapon tests. Open from April to October.
- Mittelbau-Dora — Another cruel sub-work-camp of Buchenwald where the Nazis produced rocket ballistics.
- Münchmühle — One of the many Buchenwald sub-work camps in the area. You can visit the memorial park.
- Langenstein-Zwieberge — A Buchenwald sub-camp. Prisoners excavated here also, where jets and weapons were hidden.
- Flossenbürg — This was a forced quarry labor camp, located half-way between Nuremberg and Prague near the Czech border.
- Außenlager Hersbruck — A sub-camp of Flossenbürg near Nuremberg with a small memorial and documentation center.
- Sandhofen — A forced labor camp with prisoners working at the Daimler-Benz factory.
- SS-Sonderlager/KZ Hinzert — Political prisoner camp near Luxembourg.
- Oberer Kuhberg — Near Ulm in Bavaria. This was an early detention camp for communists, socialists and Christian clergy.
- Esterwegen — For a while, the second largest KZ in Germany. Located near the Dutch border in Northern Germany.
- Breitenau — A former monastery that was turned by the Nazis into a prison and detention camp for German and foreign prisoners. A small memorial with a museum can be visited.
- Hessental — A sub camp of the French Alsace camp Natzweiler-Struthof.
- Vulkan and Haslach Camps — Prisoners from the Alsace region who worked in inhuman conditions to excavate underground tunnels.
- Osthofen — Forced KZ labor in a paper factory. Situated near Worms, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, and Heidelberg.
- Neckarelz — Situated near Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Forced underground labor camp.
- Moringen — A camp for male prisoners, females, and juveniles in a former orphanage near Hanover. Many were Jehovah Witness's. You may have to contact them to visit the building.
- Wöbbelin — A smaller forced labor camp located between Berlin and Hamburg.
- Vaihingen/Enz — Also known as Wiesengrund locally. Initially, a NS camp for Jews which were moved over from Auschwitz.
FAQs
What is the translation for Concentration camp and Memorial Site in German?
A concentration camp is called a KZ in short or Konzentrationslager in German. A memorial site is translated to Gedenkstätte in German. This info might come handy if you are browsing Google Maps. You will also see the combined word KZ-Gedenkstätte mentioned.
What's the closest Concentration camp to Berlin?
Sachsenhause is situated near Berlin.
Which concentration camp to visit when in Munich?
Dachau is the nearest KZ, it's just 30 minutes by public transport or car. The Mauthausen Memorial in Austria is another one that you can visit when in the area, but it's a bit further away.
What were Concentration Camps?
Concentration camps in Germany and other neighboring countries in Europe were detention camps. The terminology is often used today to also describe extermination camps, transit camps, forced-labor camps and prisoners-of-war camps.
These were set up during the Holocaust by the fascist Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler on the onset and during World War II.
Prisoners included minority groups, including Jews, Roma and Sinti, Jehovah's witnesses, communists, homosexuals, war prisoners and political opponents. Political prisoners came from the German Reich and other neighboring countries, including France and Poland. Many soviet prisoners were also placed into camps.
Some of these concentration Nazi camps were bigger than others, with inmates working in horrible conditions in labor camps, such as quarries and mines.
They are also called death camps because of the atrocities against the inmates. People were tortured, taken through gas chambers and the dead bodies were burned in crematoriums.
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