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Caracho Path

The street leading from the headquarters complex to the gate of the camp was called "Caracho Path", a name deliberately chosen by the SS.

Signpost "Caracho Way". Above the writing is a carved group of figures on the run, driven by an SS man.
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Carved signpost "Caracho-Weg", 1943. Photo: Identification service of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

©Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation, Besançon.
A round concrete base stands on a lawn. The rusty metal envelopes on its top suggest that a wooden signpost was once fixed here.
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Exposed foundation of the signpost, 2022. Photo: Lukas Severin Damm.

©Buchenwald Memorial

Inmates arriving at Buchenwald were driven to the gate of the camp "mit Caracho" (with gusto), which meant accompanied by the yells and blows of SS soldiers along with their dogs. Whether rounded up after a pogrom or completely exhausted after days of riding in a train, this short, paved road made a deep impression on many inmates.

In front of the garages and the gas station of the SS headquarters, which have largely been preserved, there was an intricately crafted wooden sign with the letters "Caracho-Weg." Bruno Apitz, a political prisoner relegated to the "sculpture" division was forced to produce the sign according to the instructions of the SS.

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