Footsteps of WWII · Berlin & eastern Germany
Buchenwald Memorial, near Weimar
Camp memorial · Jul 1937–11 Apr 1945
The story
The SS opened Buchenwald on the Ettersberg above Weimar in July 1937. About 280,000 prisoners passed through it and its subcamps, and 56,545 died. When US troops of the 6th Armored Division arrived on 11 April 1945, prisoners had already taken control from the remaining guards; the gate clock is kept at 3.15 pm, the hour of liberation. General Patton ordered Weimar's mayor to bring about 1,000 citizens to see the camp on 16 April. From 1945 to 1950 the Soviets used it as Special Camp No. 2, where about 7,000 died. The East German memorial of 1958 told a story of communist resistance.
What to look for
Pass through the gatehouse with its inscription 'Jedem das Seine', readable from inside. The barracks are gone, marked by foundations; the crematorium and storehouse exhibitions remain. Below the hill stands the 1958 GDR bell tower, with the mass graves of 1945.
Plan your visit
Exhibitions Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00 April–October, 10:00–16:00 November–March; closed Mondays; grounds open daily until dusk. Free. Bus 6 from Weimar. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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