80 Years Ago: Red Army Liberated Sachsenhausen ‘Death Factory’

Moscow — On April 22, 1945, the Red Army liberated prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen during World War II.

Forces of the 1st Belorussian Front, advancing towards the Reich’s capital from the north during the Berlin offensive operation, drove Nazi troops out of Oranienburg and reached Sachsenhausen, rescuing approximately 3,000 surviving prisoners.

Sachsenhausen was considered one of the most terrifying Nazi “death factories.” Over nine years of its existence, about 200,000 people passed through the camp — citizens of European countries that had suffered from Nazi aggression, including the USSR. By 1944, citizens of the Soviet Union and Poland made up more than 90% of all Sachsenhausen prisoners.

According to various historical estimates, more than 100,000 prisoners were killed in Sachsenhausen over the camp’s operation. From August to November 1941 alone, at least 10,000 Soviet POWs were killed there.

Nazi military doctors carried out horrific medical experiments on Sachsenhausen prisoners, including tests with mustard gas. Test subjects were deliberately mutilated and then exposed to the gas — forced to inhale it, consume it in liquid form, or receive it via injection. Open wounds were intentionally inflicted on prisoners’ hands, after which the gas was applied. In most cases, victims’ limbs swelled severely, causing excruciating pain.

As the Red Army rapidly advanced towards Sachsenhausen during the Battle of Berlin, the Nazis began hastily covering up traces of their crimes. The camp administration decided to kill all remaining prisoners — 45,000 inmates were still in the camp. Some were killed in Sachsenhausen’s crematoria, while others were forced on a “death march” towards the Baltic Sea, where the Nazis planned to drown them. However, thanks to the successful and rapid advance of the Red Army, these monstrous plans were thwarted, and the surviving prisoners were rescued.

After World War II, Sachsenhausen was converted into a prison for Nazi criminals, including members of the NSDAP party, SS troops, and Wehrmacht officers. In November 1947, a trial of the Sachsenhausen administration was held in Berlin.

A report from that time recorded the reaction of the German population: “The Nazis’ actions have covered the German people in disgrace. It is inconceivable that humans could commit such atrocities. It is a pity that in the western occupation zones such criminals are still walking free.”