©Buchenwald Memorial
With the inauguration of the memorial in 1958, the main aims of the commemorative project of the National Buchenwald Memorial were established. Until 1989, an increasingly tight-knit narrative of remembrance was imposed on the historical site, making visible only the aspects of the past that fit into pre-determined patterns of interpretation.
At the same time, the memorial site was professionalized. A library, an archive, and a collection were set up, and university-trained staff members were hired.
In the mid 1980s, there was a selective questioning of the work up to that point. For the first time "unwarranted gaps" were addressed, such as the Hitler-Stalin Pact, or the fate of Jewish inmates. However, this critique only haltingly made its way into the exhibition.
During the GDR, the existence of the Soviet Special Camp No. 2 was not fundamentally denied; its stereotypical characterization as a camp for Nazis and war criminals was intended to make any need for examination of its history obsolete. The deaths that occurred in the special camp were kept in utter secrecy, as were the graves right next to the memorial site.
