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Commemorative Buchenwald Railway Path

Installed in 2009 on the bed of the former rail line connecting Weimar and Buchenwald, the commemorative path brings together educational outreach and hands-on experience.

Track bed at the station. Next to it the platform edge, on which there is an information board.
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The platform of the Buchenwald train station with its staggered track bays is the destination of the Buchenwald Railway Commemorative Path, 2022. Photo: Lukas Severin Damm.

©Buchenwald Memorial
Remains of a switchyard just before the end of the line of the Buchenwaldbahn.
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The remains of the switch system at Buchenwald station, 2022. Photo: Lukas Severin Damm.

©Buchenwald Memorial
A section of the Buchenwaldbahn memorial path. Along the path are engraved or painted stones with the names of the deported children. On the right in the picture one of the milestones of the former railroad line.
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The engraved memorial stones at the edge of the last section of the memorial trail bear the names of the children who were deported along this route, 2022. Photo: Lukas Severin Damm.

©Buchenwald Memorial
The Buchenwaldbahn memorial trail leads through the forest. At the side of the path a milestone of the former Buchenwaldbahn.
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The milestones along the Buchenwald Railway Memorial Trail show the course of the former railway line. Photo: Lukas Severin Damm, 2022.

©Buchenwald Memorial

Hundreds of helpers not only assisted in maintaining the path but also created individual memorial stones, which commemorate the 2,000 children and youth who were transported to Auschwitz to be killed in 1944 or who were deported to and died in numerous subcamps in the final chaotic period of the war. These memorial stones are part of a processual and participatory memorial project, the only if its kind in Germany. The project is ongoing, until a memorial stone has been put in place for every deported child and youth. 

Meanwhile, the volunteer initiative "Gedenkweg Buchenwaldbahn" is supported and assisted by a range of non-profits, institutions, and individuals.

Today the Commemorative Buchenwald Rail Line can be walked at all times of the year. It is the only way to access the former camp on Ettersberg Mountain on foot. The Buchenwald Memorial offer tours along this path, for which there is a growing demand among school classes and other groups.

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