Field Trip to the Ravensbrueck Concentration Camp Memorial, Summer 2026

Intrepid Insider guides took some time out from their busy Summer schedule for a visit to the former women's concentration camp of Ravensbrueck, approx. 80 Km north of Berlin.

This Soviet SU-100 Tank Destroyer stands at the road to the memorial commemorating the liberation of the camp in April 1945. 

 

 

This was the largest women's concentration camp within Germany, and the second largest women's camp in the Nazi campo system after Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was built in 1938 by prisoners from the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

 

The first women prisoners, approx. 900 of them, arrived in May 1939 from the Berlin-Lichtenberg camp. Up to 1945 it was to hold approx. 50.000 prisoners from over 30 countries, although the majority came from Poland, the Ussr and germany. Included were political prisoners, Jews, Roma and Sinti, Jehovah's Witnesses and others persecuted by the Nazis.

 

 

Here a photo of the Commandant's house. There were three commandants at the Ravensbrueck camp - Günther Tamaschke, Max Koegel and Fritz Suhren. Daily supervision was carried out by female SS guards. Ravensbrueck was also a major training center for female concentration camp guards from 1942.

 

 

Living conditions were severe due to overwork, overcrowding, random punishment, starvation and disease. There were approx. 18 barracks in all, including a infirmary, prison and punishment block. The gas chamber was built in 1945, and approx. 5-6.000 prisoners were murdered there before liberation on 30th April 1945.

Sick and weak prisoners were selected for murder by shooting, lethal injection or gassing. Thousands were sent to the Bernburg and Hartheim killing centers, two sites more associated with the T4 Euthanasia programme. In all there were approx. 28.000 prisoners murdered in the Ravensbrueck.

 

 

Medical experiments were conducted mostly on yourng Polish women from 1942 including infecting wounds, bone and muscle as well as amputations and forces sterilisation. Many women died or suffered permanent disabilities.

 

 

Many women were forced into prostitution from 1942 often being promised release for their 'services'. These promises were of course nevered honoured.

 

 

Women prisoners were used as forced labour in agriculture, textiles and armaments. Siemens ran a sizeable sub-camp nearby producing electrical equipment for the war effort including V-2 rocket components. By 1944 the Ravensbrueck controlled over 40 subcamps with a combined total of more than 70.000 female workers at any one time. 

 

The memorial now contains many powerful memorial sculptures. Pictured here are representations of main prisoner categories with each figure wearing a coloured triangle. A nail driven through each heart symbolises the suffering and murder inflicted by the Nazi regime. 

The greater camp complex contains many still intact factory buildings where prisoners were forced to work. Scattered throughout are many infoboards with information of the history of individual prisoners. They are a chronicle of suffering, sacrifice, solidarity and survival. They are also a powerful reminder of the exploitation and resilience of Ravensbrueck's prisoners.

Visiting Ravensbrueck in Summer gives one access to the many factory buildings and the Siemens sub-camp which is usually closed during the Winter months. It is a camp memorial that has been improving its research and associated exhibitions steadily over the years. It is a full day trip, and a very worthwhile one.

 

 

Insider Educational No. 2 in 2026 – The DDR Depot

This is where the team from the DDR Museum stores approximately 360,000 artefacts from the state once known as the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany.

Above  cross-sections of armoured personnel carriers, repurposed into an art installation reminiscent of those erected by the Mutoid Waste Company and others in no man’s land in the early 1990s.

Scandinavian furniture manufactured in the DDR in the 1970s. 

Petrol pumps preserved for posterity.

Who is the chap in the large frame? Learn all about one of the most important politicians in the DDR, Herr Willi Stoff. 

 

A restored room featuring furniture from the DDR elite, aptly named “Klub der Funktionäre.” Each cabinet contains items from everyday life in the DDR, including replica grenades used in school sports—Granatwerfen!

There were not many cars in the DDR, but plenty of motorbikes and mopeds. Those still in working order enjoy cult status among fans of “Ostalgie.”

Flags, banners, and emblems ranging from trade unions to knitting clubs. 

The waiting time for one of these was approximately three years and it cost around six months’ wages.

Insider guides enjoyed a sneak peek behind the scenes, where both special and everyday items from the former East Germany are carefully preserved for future generations.

Insider's Educational Nr. 1 in 2026 - Teufelsberg, Commonwealth Cemetery and Military History Museum, Gatow Airport

Insider tour guides were treated to a rewarding and educational day out visiting three iconic Berlin sites associated with WWII and the Cold War.

 

First up was the iconic Teufelsberg Listening Station located on a rubble hill, which covers the former Albert Speer designed massive Nazi ‘Wehrtechnische Fakultät (Military Technical College), deep in the Grunewald forest.

 

Starting in 1963 the U.S. NSA built a listening (spy) station there, as part of their Europe-wide ECHELON system. The goal was to garner military and/or economic news of relevance about countries of the Warsaw Pact. At its height 1500 people worked here manually gathering, translating, deciphering and forwarding information.

 

Abandoned and gutted of all technical equipment post German reunification, in the 90s this complex became an illegal rave and graffiti location. Currently it is an event location, and an eerie reminder of dark times past.

Our group was given an enthralling historical account of this site by top Berlin tour guide, Jörg Rupert Schöpfel.

 

Second site visited was the Berlin Commonwealth cemetery. Here, mainly airmen killed over Berlin during WWII are buried.

All Commonwealth graves are adorned with uniform headstones of Portland stone from England. Nationalities buried here are: UK - 2692, Australia - 228, Canada - 527, India - 51, New Zealand - 56, South Africa - 31, Poland - 5, Unidentified - 8.
Some of those who are buried here were P.O.W.s.

   “Their name liveth for evermore” 

 

The third site visited was the absolutely exemplary Military History Museum - Gatow Airport.

There we were treated to an excellent tour of the Luftwaffe during the Nazi era by their top class in-house guide, Stefan Horn.

Above, a retired renowned Starfighter jet (also known as the 'widowmaker') with vertical booster and nuclear payload.
 

 This 'Dakota' is a long way from home.

 Heinkel bomber from WW2.

A large part of our discussion at this location was taken up by the massive human cost suffered by forced labourers and concentration camp inmates in building and maintaining the doomed Nazi air force.

The Military History Museum - Gatow Airport, with its outdoor and indoor exhibition spaces, is a treasure trove of information about the history of the Luftwaffe since its inception in 1884! 

 

 

Insider’s Educational No. 3 in 2025 – Charité University Hospital

Insider guides enjoyed an excellent tour of the historical buildings of the Charité – Europe’s largest university hospital. It even has its own museum, showcasing its achievements since 1710.

Charité has always attracted leading research scientists, resulting in major discoveries in the fields of cellular biology, vaccines, contraception, and the development of the modern pregnancy test.

The former lecture hall was damaged during WWII. More than half of Germany’s Nobel Prize recipients have lectured here at the Charité.

During the Cold War, the Charité was located in East Germany (the DDR), yet its prestige remained undiminished. On the contrary, the institution strove to excel and welcomed many West German and international scientists to collaborate. Due to its proximity to the Berlin Wall, the ground-floor windows of some buildings were boarded up to prevent escapes to the West. Shown here is the building closest to where Günter Litfin died during his attempted escape in 1961, becoming the second person to perish at the border.

The Charité was originally built outside the city walls to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Here is a section of the original wall dating back to 1740. Today, the Charité occupies a central position in Berlin, covering 30 hectares, employing around 23,000 staff, and hosting approximately 9,000 students at any given time.

The former residence of Aschheim and Zondek, two pioneering scientists who developed the modern pregnancy test. Their licenses to practice were revoked in 1935 because they were Jewish, forcing both to emigrate.

An aerial view of the Charité complex in Berlin-Mitte. The institution also operates additional locations throughout the city.

Insider guides outside one of the original historic buildings.

Insider guides were given a rare glimpse into the cellars where operations were carried out during Allied bombing raids in WWII.

The new research building, soon to be named after Rahel Hirsch, the first female Professor of Medicine in Germany. A brilliant and courageous woman, she too was forced to abandon her medical career and emigrate due to antisemitic persecution.

 

The reading room, featuring numerous educational displays, including a human skeleton, 274cm (8ft 11in) tall!

Entrance to the reading rooms. Not a real skull!

Germany’s oldest lecture hall, dating from 1790, complete with a retractable floor leading to the mortuary below.

Above our well-informed and passionate guide, Martin. Insider guides thoroughly enjoyed this educational visit. The Charité holds an important place in Berlin’s history, and we now better understand its significance not only for the city but also for the global advancement of medicine.

 

 Insider/Fat Tire Berlin 2025 Summer BBQ

Another fantastic evening at Insider & Fat Tire's annual BBQ on the wonderful Templehofer Feld. Really nice for guides to take time out in the middle of a busy season to relax and chat with colleagues.
Mike from Insider and Nate from Fat Tire deserve special mention as they both spent almost four hours non-stop on the two grills superbly cooking 80 homemade burgers, 40 haloumi and 120 buns. Six crates of beer, some wine and a little water were consumed during the evening. Smiles all round!

80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Yesterday, Mike and John from Insider Tour, were invited to participate in a discussion with a former inmate and survivor of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Jerzy Zawadzki is one of five living witnesses to the horrors of this site. His family were involved in the Warsaw Uprising, and for that they spent two weeks cramed into a cattle wagon en route to Sachsenhausen. Jerzy was nine years old at the time. His father was murdered in the camp system. His mother gave birth to his sister in the system and they were reunited at the end of the war.
Jerzy told many anecdotes of the brutality and some acts of kindness he experienced during camp life. There was no hint of bitterness in his retelling of the facts. He is a great lover of folk songs from all countries and appealed to everyone in the room to reach out to their neighbours to undertsand them better.
 

Insider’s Educational Nr. 2 in 2025 - Berlin Archaeology and the Early Beginnings of Berlin

 

Early Settlement

Under the guidance of Insider Tour guide extraordinaire, Dr. Jamie Sewell, we took a fresh look at Berlin’s early years. Jamie is an archaeologist who has worked on the most prominent Berlin excavations since the 1990s. We learned how dendrochronology and C14 dating methods have shown that the area that is now Berlin was inhabited as early as 700 A.D.

Holy Ghost Kapelle

Where there is a river, there is a way of making money. Taxes were charged for passage, and soon the settlement grew to a considerable size for that time. We gained access to the interior of the Holy Ghost Kapelle, which is said to have the only remaining intact medieval roof/ceiling structure in Berlin!

St. Marien Church

At the St. Marien Church Jamie explained to us how, at the time of its construction around 1292, this was the highest point in Berlin! It has been through the mill with wars, fires, lightning strikes, and almost continual rebuilding and extension. It is open to the public.

 Berlin Town Hall

An excavation there in the 1990s uncovered some artworks deemed 'degenerate' by the Nazis. Behind this town hall are the ruins of the old town hall, where excavations revealed the strange case of a samurai sword found there. 

The Nickolai Church

The Nikolaikirche (Nikolaikirche Church) is made in part from granite stones moved to Berlin from Sweden by glaciers during the Ice Age. It is the centerpiece of the Nikolaiviertel, a beautiful reconstruction of old Berlin. The area has a village-like feel, with cobblestone streets, charming shops, and very traditional restaurants. 

PETRI Berlin

We were treated to a sneak peek inside PETRI Berlin, a purpose-built center showcasing Berlin’s archaeological journey. Built on the site of the former St. Petri Church, its glass floor and cellar walk-through of those very foundations truly give one the feeling of walking through times past. Jamie and his fellow archaeologist partner, Claudia, were instrumental in the excavation of this site in the 1990s and 2000s. It is due to open in August 2025.

 Layers upon Layers

Not only did we gain valuable insight into the origins of Berlin, but we also experienced the thrill of archaeology—uncovering new material to complete or disprove any given theory. We heard about those Eureka moments when historical stories get pieced together through hard-sought or even lucky finds. We had a brilliant time - half a day wasn’t enough!