Within this camp, tens of thousands of people died as a result of hunger, disease, forced labor, medical experiments and mistreatment or were the victims of systematic extermination operations by the Nazis. After the camp was liberated in 1945, it was repurposed by the Soviet government as a prison camp for ‘political prisoners,’ where several more thousand people died from mistreatment and awful conditions. We spent nearly three hours walking through the various spaces of the camp with audio guides, which provided information about the atrocities committed there. Although it was a sad and difficult place to visit, I’m grateful that such a place has been preserved for future generations to experience as a reminder of the history that transpired there.
Another way history is preserved is through the Stolperstein program, which translates literally to ‘stumbling block.’ Since arriving in Germany, I’ve noticed these things everywhere. They consist of little brass plaques embedded into the pavement and inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. They were initially created by German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992 to commemorate persons at the last place where they freely lived before being sent to camps. There are over 100,000 of these scattered throughout Europe now, making it the largest decentralized memorial in the world. For me, it acts as a reminder every time I pass or enter a building, that there is a traumatic history there that should be acknowledged.
Not far from where I live, there is a large train station called Friedrichstrasse, where various regional train, subway and tram lines connect. Although it looks like any other station today, this place too has a troubled past.
