Forest Cemetery - Buchenwald Memorial

Brightly shining steel stelae in the forest cemetery mark anonymous collective graves from the time of the Soviet special camp — 1/2

Steel steles mark anonymous collective graves, 2003. Photo: Peter Hansen. ©Buchenwald Memorial

A single steel stele amidst the forest. At the bottom of the stele the number 13 and the word "Unknown". In the background more stelae throughout the forest — 2/2

The collective graves are numbered consecutively. 2004. Photo: Peter Hansen. ©Buchenwald Memorial

During the GDR era, there was no mention of the dead from the Soviet special camp. When bones were discovered in the 1980s during canal work, the police crime unit called to the site did not investigate. Not until February 1990 did the then Buchenwald Monument erect the first wooden cross. Family members of the dead followed with additional grave crosses in remembrance of the deceased.

Archaeological investigations documented all the collective graves, which each contained at least five or six bodies, and marked their location. The current design of the steles made of steel was developed based on these markings. It refers to the unlawful situation that produced these graves. Until today, it has not been possible to match the 7,113 names with the deceased buried here. The forest cemetery is protected from wild animals by a fence.

In the exhibition dedicated to Special Camp No. 2, lies a book of the dead with the names of all those who perished. A second forest cemetery can be accessed via a path that begins below the rail station.