The KZ-Buchenwald Memorial is the largest German concentration camp memorial site and is located north of Weimar. In 1937 a concentration camp was erected on the Ettersberg by the National Socialists. The camp was used by the Nazis to imprison people who, according to ideology, did not fit into the system or opposed the regime. Between 1937 and 1945, around 280,000 people from all over Europe were imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp and its branches. The prisoners were forced to work for the German arms industry. Due to torture, hard labour and other reasons, more than 56,000 people died in captivity. In 1945 the camp was liberated by American allies. Afterwards the Soviet Union used it as a special camp from 1945 - 1950. In 1958 the GDR opened a monumental memorial on the mass graves of the former concentration camp. In the following years, this is expanded to include an exhibition, an archive and a library. After a redesign in 1991, the memorial exists in its present form. There are various original buildings and memorial plaques on the site. The permanent exhibition explains the history of the concentration camp.
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