Another report from my mini euro-trip back in July/August. I've been stuck doing schoolwork and other boring stuff for too long, so I'm finally getting round to posting these up 
The Splore:
This was, to some extent, a disappointing visit since we didn't make it into the main building since, despite being in a pretty poor state of repair, we couldn't find any way in after a pretty thorough search. They seemed to have every option covered. However, we did make it into some annex buildings so we got a few shots.
The local wildlife made a couple of shows on this splore. First, when walking through 'forest' towards the site, we came across a little herd of wild boar! They were thankfully spooked by us and ran off, but I think Martin was certainly considering having to use his lovely Manfrotto tripod for a rather different purpose to normal
Second, whilst wandering one of the rooms on the second floor of a building, we heard a frenzied scraping sound coming from a round the corner. We peered round, to find a fox desperately running at the walls, half climbing them, trying to get away. After watching him for a few moments, he took a leap at one of the windows, smashed through it, fell to the ground and ran off, seemingly unscathed.
Visited in the excellent company of the TeeJF crew...thanks for a pretty cool couple of days guys
The History (Courtesy of www.dw.de) :
The sanatorium was built by the Berlin Red Cross in 1902 as an alternative to sanatoriums in Switzerland for children suffering from tuberculosis, and soon evolved into a leading health and relaxation destination. The sanatorium itself employed up to 400 people, and about 400,000 in need of recuperation stayed in the tiny village at the best of times.
By the mid 1930s, the sanatorium’s reputation began to change for the worse. With the 1936 Olympics in mind, top Nazi doctor Prof. Dr. Karl Gebhardt built up a new clinic for sport medicine at the sanatorium, complete with swimming pool, sports hall, arena and massage benches.
During his position as top doctor at the sanatorium, Gebhardt’s deputies conducted experiments using sulfanomid, a possible remedy to war injuries. The chosen guinea-pigs were mostly women, prisoners at the nearby Konzentrationslager Ravensbrück.
Their legs cut open and deliberately infected with bacteria, wood shavings and glass splitters, the men and women suffered indescribable pain and excruciating deaths. Furthermore, Gebhardt carried out more experiments in plastic surgery, such as the extraction of a prisoner’s shoulder-bone and replacing it in a young soldier’s body.
It is still contended whether some of these operations actually took place at Hohenlychen, which by then had an extraordinarily well-equipped operation room and the latest in medicinal technology. Gebhardt, later sentenced to death in Nuremberg, was said to have never performed experiments himself, transferring the responsibility to the doctors at Ravensbrück.
So, what are the plans for the sanatorium today? I don't really know. There was evidence of some logging and drainage work having taken place recently, and judging by how well sealed the site is, I'd guess redevelopment is planned for some time fairly soon. However the Mayoress of the town seems unsure, saying "Hohenlychen isn’t as chic as the Baltic seaside resorts" she says – referring to those former East German coastal towns newly renovated and still gleaming in fresh paint. "We just don’t have the cafes, the restaurants and the shops to attract visitors"
Picture time...
Thanks for looking
~RR
The Splore:
This was, to some extent, a disappointing visit since we didn't make it into the main building since, despite being in a pretty poor state of repair, we couldn't find any way in after a pretty thorough search. They seemed to have every option covered. However, we did make it into some annex buildings so we got a few shots.
The local wildlife made a couple of shows on this splore. First, when walking through 'forest' towards the site, we came across a little herd of wild boar! They were thankfully spooked by us and ran off, but I think Martin was certainly considering having to use his lovely Manfrotto tripod for a rather different purpose to normal
Second, whilst wandering one of the rooms on the second floor of a building, we heard a frenzied scraping sound coming from a round the corner. We peered round, to find a fox desperately running at the walls, half climbing them, trying to get away. After watching him for a few moments, he took a leap at one of the windows, smashed through it, fell to the ground and ran off, seemingly unscathed.
Visited in the excellent company of the TeeJF crew...thanks for a pretty cool couple of days guys
The History (Courtesy of www.dw.de) :
The sanatorium was built by the Berlin Red Cross in 1902 as an alternative to sanatoriums in Switzerland for children suffering from tuberculosis, and soon evolved into a leading health and relaxation destination. The sanatorium itself employed up to 400 people, and about 400,000 in need of recuperation stayed in the tiny village at the best of times.
By the mid 1930s, the sanatorium’s reputation began to change for the worse. With the 1936 Olympics in mind, top Nazi doctor Prof. Dr. Karl Gebhardt built up a new clinic for sport medicine at the sanatorium, complete with swimming pool, sports hall, arena and massage benches.
During his position as top doctor at the sanatorium, Gebhardt’s deputies conducted experiments using sulfanomid, a possible remedy to war injuries. The chosen guinea-pigs were mostly women, prisoners at the nearby Konzentrationslager Ravensbrück.
Their legs cut open and deliberately infected with bacteria, wood shavings and glass splitters, the men and women suffered indescribable pain and excruciating deaths. Furthermore, Gebhardt carried out more experiments in plastic surgery, such as the extraction of a prisoner’s shoulder-bone and replacing it in a young soldier’s body.
It is still contended whether some of these operations actually took place at Hohenlychen, which by then had an extraordinarily well-equipped operation room and the latest in medicinal technology. Gebhardt, later sentenced to death in Nuremberg, was said to have never performed experiments himself, transferring the responsibility to the doctors at Ravensbrück.
So, what are the plans for the sanatorium today? I don't really know. There was evidence of some logging and drainage work having taken place recently, and judging by how well sealed the site is, I'd guess redevelopment is planned for some time fairly soon. However the Mayoress of the town seems unsure, saying "Hohenlychen isn’t as chic as the Baltic seaside resorts" she says – referring to those former East German coastal towns newly renovated and still gleaming in fresh paint. "We just don’t have the cafes, the restaurants and the shops to attract visitors"
Picture time...
Thanks for looking
~RR
