Buchenwald Concentration Camp

Germany is a country rich with captivating history, especially in the last 100 years. Often times we jump on the autobahn and don’t realize what we are missing just off in the distance while we travel to our next destination. Last week on our way to Oberhof, we decided to stop at Buchenwald Concentration Camp for a little history lesson. Well, for most of us it became a big history lesson and a great eye-opening perspective on life… I thought I’d share a bit of what I learned.

Buchenwald was built in the summer of 1937 on Ettersberg Mountain just outside of Weimar. Originally it was intended for political opponents to the Nazi regime, previously convicted criminals, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses and homosexuals. After the war started, there was an increasing amount of inmates from other countries and by the time the camp was liberated, 95% were non-German. In the 8 years of operation, 250,000 people were imprisoned and more than 50,000 lost their lives. There were no gas chambers at Buchenwald. Instead, malnutrition was the leading cause of death along with medical experimentations, hangings and shootings. Not to mention thousands lost their lives from hypothermia in the winter months. The details of how inmates were terminated were disturbing and eerie as I stood in the original buildings where the events took place. I was sick to my stomach as I walked through the interrogation cells and crematory. It really is an experience that I can’t put into words as I imagined what actually took place under my feet.

The team split up into groups and toured the camp for two hours with a hand-held automated guide. We listened to actual excerpts from inmate journals and stories from survivors. Everyone had studied WWII and the holocaust in school but agreed that seeing this memorial site in person left a much larger impact than a textbook ever could. We all left Buchenwald feeling exhausted, enlightened and knowing just how lucky we are to be doing what we are doing today.


Pictures:
1) One of many rock memorials constructed onsite.
2) The main gate which every inmate passed through as they arrived. The inscription on the door read from the inside said, "To Each His Own". This picture was taken in 1945.
3) The same gate today.
4) Eric and Katie reading the inscription on one of the memorial rocks placed where an inmate barrack use to stand.