Esterwegen Memorial

This place makes you humble and it almost seems as if the birds are singing a little quieter. A visit to the memorial is highly recommended for those who want to see where nationalism and anti-Semitism are leading. Carl von Ossietzky, already mentioned by Sue C and imprisoned here in Esterwegen, had warned against both in 1932 in the magazine “Die Weltbühne” with this sentence: “Anti-Semitism is related to nationalism and its best ally.” Unfortunately, the sentence is still today valid.

If you like to read a little more, about life in the camps, about the song of the "Moorsoldaten", this article from Spiegel will serve you very well: spiegel.de/einestages/die-moorsoldaten-vom-kz- song-to-the-world-hit-a-1224223.html

The Esterwegen memorial is a European memorial site commemorating all 15 Emsland camps and their victims.

In total, about 80,000 concentration camp inmates and prisoners as well as 100,000 to 180,000 prisoners of war were imprisoned in the camps. Up to 30,000 people, mostly Soviet prisoners of war, died. The prisoners had to do the hardest work in cultivating the moors. Many came to death.

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of 1935, Carl von Ossietzky, is one of the most well-known concentration camp prisoners in Esterwegen.

Sources + more information:
gedenkstaette-esterwegen.de
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emslandlager

A very important place, which was realized as a memorial late. Here a memorial ACTIVE WORKS on memories, which one must not lose, if one does not want to fall back behind seemingly reached humanity. Compare this memorial with the memorial hall at the cemetery Bockhorst / Esterwegen, which was to be the central memorial for the Emslandlager over 30 years ago ...