Buchenwald
Elie Wiesel'scamp
Buchenwald The Camp
The camp was constructed in 1937 in a wooded area on the northern slopes of the Ettersberg. During the Nazi regime SS authorities opened Buchenwald for male prisoners in July 1937. Women were not part of the Buchenwald camp system until late 1943 or early 1944. Prisoners were confined in the northern part of the camp in an area known as the main camp, while SS guard barracks and the camp administration compound were located in the southern part. An electrified barbed-wire fence, watchtowers, and a chain of sentries outfitted with automatic machine guns, surrounded the main camp. The detention area, also known as the Bunker, was located at the entrance to the main camp. The SS often shot prisoners in the stables and hanged other prisoners in the crematorium area.http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005263