Chronology of the Buchenwald Memorial

Book cover of Eugen Krogon's "Der SS-Staat-Das Systemb der Deutschen Konzentrationslager" The cover is black. At the top is the orange seal "The book series for everyone". Under the title is placed an orange isosceles triangle under which is the price of 2 marks.

Information is Collected and Organized After Liberation

Since 1945, survivors' reports have made a significant contribution to the perception of the reality of Buchenwald concentration camp. Already in the first days after the liberation, more than 100 survivors, most of whom had held positions in the camp,...

View of the gate building from the northeast. At the time the photo was taken, building material from the demolition of the wooden barracks is still on the camp site.

Demolition of the Camp Early 1950s

In 1950, the Politburo of the SED decided only "to erect a Thälmann memorial" in Buchenwald. For Buchenwald, this meant that the entire camp with all its barracks was demolished.

An aerial view of the newly erected memorial site on the Ettersberg. On the left are the three ring tombs and the Road of Nations. On the right, the bell tower of the complex on the Platz der Feiheit stands out.

Design of Mass Graves as a National Monument of the GDR 1950s

Simultaneously with the demolition of the camp, plans were made for the construction of the monumental memorial on the south side of the Ettersberg. It was inaugurated on September 14, 1958.

In the foreground, on the left side, is a hand leveler. A pile can be seen on the right. A little behind the pile is a cart loaded with quarry stones. In the center of the picture is a sign offering information to the visitor. In the left background, the entrance and right wing of the former prisoners' canteen can be seen. To the right is one of the watchtowers of the former camp.

Expansion of the Memorial 1958 – 1989

With the inauguration of the memorial in 1958, the central goals of commemoration at the Buchenwald National Memorial (NMG) were set. Until 1989, an ever more tightly meshed network of memory was laid over the historical site, allowing only those...

Six different tops of prisoners' clothing: Three of them blue and white striped, two olive and one dark blue. On the three in front there are red triangles on the top at chest level, with a number underneath.

Re-conceptualization of the Memorial After 1990

In 1991, the Free State of Thuringia appointed an independent commission of historians to develop recommendations for the transformation of the Buchenwald NMG.