SS Guard Path

In past decades, a large part of the camp fence was overgrown and not easily accessible. Since 2000, the Buchenwald Memorial, with the help of the non-profit Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschland (CJD), has systematically worked to keep the guard path free of growth and preserve any structural remnants. Young people volunteering with various international summer camp programmes have helped identify and secure the locations of the guard towers, of which usually only the foundations remain.

The route around the camp takes about an hour and begins at the camp gate. Following the numbering of the historical guard towers, it heads to the left to the western tower (guard tower no. 2). A former tarmacked portion of the road leads downhill to the most northern point of the camp. Here, the complex borders on fields and meadows. One can see nearby villages and look far into the distance at the northern foothills of Ettersberg Mountain. Passing by the forest cemetery of the Soviet special camp, the road goes uphill again to the visible ruins of several guard towers, crosses the "Time Line" path, and ends at the camp gate.