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This article discusses a documented form of systematic physical punishment and torture used in the Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen during World War II. It is written solely for educational and historical purposes: to provide accurate information about the mechanisms of terror and dehumanization in the concentration camp system, and to contribute to remembrance and understanding of the suffering of victims. It does not glorify violence, cruelty or any form of extremism.
The Sachsenhausen Salute – One of the Most Grueling Torture Methods of the Nazi Concentration Camps?
1. What exactly was the “Sachsenhausen Salute”?
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The so-called Sachsenhausen Salute (German: Sachsenhäuser Gruß or Sachsengruß) was not a greeting at all — it was a deliberately excruciating punishment position.
Prisoners were forced to:
squat deeply (full knee bend / “third-world squat” position)
keep both arms stretched straight forward at shoulder heighthold the position absolutely motionless for extended periods
The official term used by the SS was “Strafstehen mit vorgestreckten Armen” (punishment standing with arms extended forward) or simply “Arme vor” during roll-calls and punishments.
2. How long did victims have to hold the position?
Times varied depending on the mood of the SS man or Kapo in charge, but documented survivor testimonies frequently report:
30 minutes to several hours at a timerepeated several times per dayin some extreme cases entire days (with short breaks only to receive beatings or to be forced back into position)
The position was almost always combined with:
roll-calls lasting many hourspunishment after alleged rule violationscollective punishment for the whole block
3. Why was this position so torturous?
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Physiologically the “Sachsenhausen Salute” attacks the body very quickly:
Muscular exhaustion The deep squat position causes extreme lactic acid build-up in the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves within minutes → burning pain → trembling → collapse.
Shoulder girdle & arm muscles Holding both arms horizontally forward without support quickly leads to unbearable shoulder, trapezius and deltoid pain (the so-called “airplane position” effect).
Spine & lower back The combination of deep flexion + forward-leaning upper body puts massive static strain on the lumbar spine.
Circulation & breathing Prolonged squatting compresses large blood vessels in the legs → reduced blood return → dizziness, blackouts, fainting. Breathing is also restricted in the cramped position.
Psychological terror The moment a prisoner collapsed from exhaustion or pain, SS men and Kapos immediately attacked with whips, rubber truncheons, rifle butts or kicks → often causing fractures, internal bleeding and head injuries.
4. Where and when was it used most intensively?
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The Sachsenhausen Salute is most closely associated with Konzentrationslager Sachsenhausen (Oranienburg, near Berlin), where it was used systematically from 1938 onward, especially under commandant Michael Lippert and later Hans Helwig and Paul Sakowski (a notorious Kapo who later became an SS informer).
But the position was not exclusive to Sachsenhausen:
It was also used in Buchenwald, Flossenbürg, Neuengamme, Mauthausen and several subcamps.
In some camps it was called “Fliegerstellung” (aviator position) or “Russenstellung” (Russian position).
5. Survivor testimonies – what did victims report?
Many survivors described the position in almost identical words:
“After ten minutes the arms feel like lead, after twenty minutes like fire. After thirty minutes you no longer feel them – but then the legs start to shake violently.”
“Whoever fell was beaten until he stood up again or until he no longer moved at all.”
“The SS called it ‘sport’. For us it was slow murder.”
Particularly well-known accounts come from:
Eugen Kogon (Der SS-Staat)
Jorge Semprún (Die große Reise)
Harry Naujoks (long-time camp elder in Sachsenhausen)
International Sachsenhausen Committee survivor reports
6. Medical and physiological consequences
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Even short periods caused:
severe muscle tears and inflammationmassive tendon and joint damagecirculatory collapse → fainting → head injuries from fallingprolonged application → rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown) → acute kidney failure
Many prisoners who survived weeks or months of repeated “Sachsenhausen Salute” suffered permanent damage to shoulders, knees, hips and spine.
7. Why was Sachsenhausen particularly notorious for this punishment?
Several factors made the position especially frequent and cruel in Sachsenhausen:
The camp was the central training camp for concentration camp personnel → new SS men were “trained” there in cruelty.
Sachsenhausen had a very high proportion of political prisoners (especially German communists and resistance fighters) whom the SS particularly wanted to break.
The camp leadership (under Kaindl from 1942) deliberately used “sport” and standing punishments as standard disciplinary measures.
Conclusion – A method of slow, systematic destruction
The Sachsenhausen Salute was never intended to kill immediately — it was designed to gradually destroy physical strength, willpower and dignity. It was cheap, required no special equipment, could be repeated indefinitely and — most importantly — could be watched by the entire camp as a deterrent.
Survivors almost unanimously described it as one of the most agonizing and demoralizing punishments they endured — more torturous than short, sharp beatings because it attacked the body slowly and relentlessly.
Today the reconstructed punishment pole still stands in the Sachsenhausen memorial site as a silent witness to this particularly insidious form of Nazi terror.
Sources (selection):
Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen – official documentation and survivor interviews
Eugen Kogon: Der SS-Staat (1946/1974)
Jorge Semprún: Die große Reise (1963)
Harry Naujoks: Mein Leben im KZ Sachsenhausen (1987)
International Sachsenhausen Committee (ISV) – collection of testimoniesUlrich Herbert: Fremdarbeiter – Politik und Praxis des “Ausländer-Einsatzes” in der Kriegswirtschaft des Dritten Reiches (1985)
Nikolaus Wachsmann: KL – A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps (2015)