Buchenwald concentration camp
Nazi concentration camp in Thuringia (1937–1945) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buchenwald concentration camp was a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. In German, the camp was called Konzentrationslager (KZ) Buchenwald. It was built in Germany in 1937, and stayed open until 1945. Buchenwald was one of the first and largest labor camps built in Germany.
The Nazis sent people from all over Europe and the Soviet Union to Buchenwald. There, they were prisoners and did forced labor in weapons factories.[1]
After the Allies won World War II, the Soviet Union took over Buchenwald and some other parts of Germany. From 1945 to 1950, they used Buchenwald as an internment camp. They called it NKVD Special Camp Number 2. (The NKVD was the Soviet police organization that ran the camp.) On January 6, 1950, the Soviets handed over Buchenwald to the East German Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Today, what is left of Buchenwald is a memorial. There is also a museum there.[2]