Buchenwald (boo-ken-wald)

When the camp opened

• Buchenwald opend July 15, 1937.
• When Buchenwald first opened there was 147 prisoners imported to the camp.
• At first, Buchenwald wasn't allowing women to enter the camp.

Buchenwald

Number of Prisoners

• More than 1/3 of people were under the age of 21.
• The population reached over 110,000 by the end of 1945.
• Most of the early inmates at Buchenwald were political prisoners.
• Population was over 250,000 people that went through Buchenwald.

Number of Deaths

• There was a total of 56,000 deaths at Buchenwald.
• The 3 main causes of death was torture, medical experiments, and emaciation.
• Over 25,000 estimated prisoners died during the evacuation when liberation was close.

Work in Buchenwald

• Prisoners mainly worked in stone quarries and armaments factories.
• The camp was a main source of forced labor.

Method of death

• Some of the ways are torture, medical experiments and emancication.
• A unique way was to push the prisoners down a corridor so they would fall down a 13 foot hole and end up getting hung on hooks.

Body disposal

• Prisoners were most often disposed of by burning in a creamatorium.
• There were around 400 burned a day.

Prisoner Tattoos

• The tattoos were used by the officers to recognize the prisoners.
• The tattoos were originally on the middle of the prisoners chest.
• The camp then moved the tattoos to the left forearm.

Leaders

• Isle Koch was the first commandant even before they were married.
• Buchenwald had SS guards to guard the barracks and keep charge of the prisoners.

Ilse Koch

• Ilse Koch was the first commandant at Buchenwald.
• Ilse married Karl Koch in may of 1937.
• She had the officers make lamp shades out of prisoners human flesh.
• Later she committed suicide September 1, 1967

After Liberation

• Was liberated on April 11,1945.
• There were 21,000 prisoners in camp when the U.S. came.
• There was a mourning ceremony on April 19.
• Was placed under controlled by Soviet Union Run and called special camp no.2.