Ravensbrück Concentration Camp

Terry Riversong 2022

Ravensbrück was a Nazi concentration camp established primarily for women, located about 60 km north of Berlin. The camp housed political prisoners and other groups deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime. Ravensbrück specialized in forced labor, subjecting prisoners to inhumane work conditions, anyone who could not work was targeted for execution. Medical experiments were conducted on inmates, resulting in significant suffering and loss of life. Ravensbrück was liberated by the Red Army. By the end of the war in 1945, an estimated 130,000 women had been imprisoned there, with around 50,000 perishing in the camp.

Ravensbrück is now a memorial site to honor the victims and educate future generations about the horrors of the Holocaust.

For more information please see links below.

Ravensbrück Concentration Camp

September 15, 2022

Fürstenberg/Havel train station

Women were deported by trains to Ravensbrück from all over Europe. Upon arrival they were met by fierce female guards with dogs. They were marched through the town of Fürstenberg towards Ravensbrück. Along the way they were humiliated, beatened and whiped. When they arrived at Ravensbrück they were stripped of their clothing and their entire body was shaved. They were given a prisoner number and identity badge determining what group they belonged to.

Women arrived on passanger trains and on feight trains.

Fürstenberg/Havel

Main Gate

Camp Street

Former wall area seperating the old camp and the new camp

Tent - Memorial where there was a giant tent that held prisoners who died from inhuman conditions.

“In remembrance of the thousands of women and children from all over Europe who were penned up under inhuman conditions in a large tent during the winter of 1944/45 and suffered and died at this spot.”

Forced Labor

Prisoners were forced to work in factories and in extreme weather conditions, under physical and psychological terror. Those too weak to work were targeted for execution.

The Bunker

The Bunker at Ravensbruck concentration camp was a grim, oppressive structure used for torture and confinement. It featured thick concrete walls, dimly lit interiors, and rusted metal doors, creating a chilling atmosphere. Inside, prisoners faced extreme isolation, with little light or air. The stark, bare environment reflected the harsh conditions endured by inmates, amplifying the sense of despair. The bunker symbolized the brutality of the camp, serving as a haunting reminder of the atrocities committed during that dark chapter in history.

Execution Alley

Prisoners were brought here, forced into the alley, and made to kneal as they were shot in the back of the head.

SS Commender's House

Uckermark Youth Concentration Camp and Extermination Site

Young women and girls who did not conform to Nazi views and deemed “uneducationable” were transferred to Uckermark where they were tortured, demeaned, and imprisoned. In January of 1945 it became an extermination center, killing around 5,000. Women who were selected to be killed were put in Block 6, the Death Block "gym" untill they were taken to the gas chamber.

Memorial of those tortured and murdered at the Uckermark Youth Concentration Camp

Crematorium

The gas chambe was about five meters from the crematorium. The prisoners had to get undressed in. shelter three meters rom the gas chamber. They were ordered to get undressed and told they were going to treat them for lice. One prisoner carried a gas mask and went on top of the roof and threw a box of gas down through the opening, which closed very quickly. I heard the moaning and the crying. after about two or three minutes there was silence in the room.