


Simultaneously with the demolition of the camp, plans were developed for the construction of the monumental memorial on the southern slopes of Ettersberg Mountain. It was inaugurated on September 14, 1958. Under the leitmotif "through struggle and death to victory," the conceptual idea was to link the mass graves at the side in the form of a pathway leading to a bell tower visible from far and wide, which in turn represents the realization of the Oath of Buchenwald in the GDR.
Through the commemoration of the dead, who were portrayed as ultimately victorious resistance fighters, visitors were to recognize the validity of the claim to power of the Socialist Unity Party (SED). Correspondingly the