Buchenwald Concentration Camp

We visited the Buchenwald Memorial. We were amazed by the size of concentration camp. Some 250,000 inmates were held there and more than 55,000 lost their lives. It was heartbreaking to walk the grounds where so many atrocities took place. The wrought-iron gate that leads into the camp has the cynical inscription “Jedem das Seine” (“To each his own”). The gate separated the former SS area from the main camp. During the visit we entered the western gated area of Buchenwald that was referred to as the “Bunker”. SS guards tortured and murdered prisoners on the orders of the Gestapo and the camp commandant. In 1940 a crematorium was built inside the camp, making it easier to dispose of the bodies of those who had been killed. Prior to cremation, the bodies were plundered on the dissection tables. In the basement of this area the SS murdered approximately 1,100 men, women and teenagers by strangulation on hooks in the wall. It is requested by the memorial operators that there be no talking while walking through this area. It was sickening to be surrounded by the same walls where so many people were murdered. After the American army liberated the prisoners they ordered the people in the town of Weimar to walk through the camp to see the things that were taking place in the forest on the outskirts of town. Here are some pictures of the visit. Some pictures contain images that are not suitable for children so view them at your own discretion.