Buchenwald: Holocaust symbol, Cold War monument
The Buchenwald Concentration Camp, outside of Weimar in Germany, is internationally remembered as a monument to the victims of Nazi brutality, but it is also a relic of the Cold War's intolerance.
Built by the Nazis in 1937, Buchenwald was originally intended as a detention camp for German Jews, opponents of the Hitler regime and so-called "social misfits." But by the end of World War II, more than 250,000 unfortunates from 50 nations passed through the camp's gates -- which are emblazoned with the cynical legend, "Jedem Das Seine." That phrase translates to "To Each His Own" or, more colloquially, "You Get What You Deserve."
Atrocities
Although Buchenwald started out as a concentration camp rather than an extermination camp, many atrocities took place there. Soviet prisoners of war were systematically killed at one point. Other inmates died in medical experiments or random acts of cruelty perpetuated by the SS guards.
More than 50,000 people died at Buchenwald before its liberation on April 11, 1945. The camp's clock remains frozen at 3:15. At that time, American troops were approaching and the camp was partly evacuated by SS guards -- who began "death marches" with 28,000 prisoners. But Buchenwald's remaining 21,000 inmates, including about 900 children, liberated the camp themselves -- after the remaining guards fled.
Special Camp No. 2
From 1945 to 1950, occupying Soviet forces turned Buchenwald into "Special Camp No. 2." Using the existing infrastructure, the Soviets interned more than 28,000 people at the camp -- including former Nazis and presumed opponents to Soviet rule. More than 7,000 people died during Buchenwald's Soviet period, mostly from neglect and starvation. The dead were buried in unmarked mass graves in a forest just beyond the camp's perimeter.
In 1990, following Germany's reunification, the graves of Special Camp No. 2 were located, cleared of underbrush and marked with a series of steel pillars -- turning what had been an anonymous dumping ground for the victims of Soviet rule into a proper cemetery.
