Holocaust survivors commemorate 78th liberation anniversary of Buchenwald concentration camp

On the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, wreaths were laid at the memorial site of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

As some of the remaining Holocaust survivors gathered at the camp’s memorial site near Weimar, East Germany, speeches were held in memory of those who lost their lives in the Nazi mass murder operation.

Buchenwald, as well as the Mittelbau-Dora subcamp, were both liberated by the US Army in April 1945. More than 76,000 men, women and children died in the camps during World War II.

Subcamp Mittelbau-Dora was located near Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany, and was established in the late summer of 1943. It later became an independent concentration camp with numerous subcamps of its own.

Buchenwald, which literally translates to “beech forest,” was one of the first and largest camps of its kind within Germany’s borders in 1937, prior to territorial changes throughout the war.

Holocaust survivor Alojzy Maciak of Poland pictured during the ceremony at the camp’s memorial site

Holocaust survivor Andrej Iwanowitsch Moiseenko from Belarus poses in front of a gate with the letters ‘To each his own’ (Jedem das Seine)

Naftali Fuerst, who also spoke at the event, from Israel poses in front of the entrance gate

Many laid wreaths and floral tributes at the site in memory of those who lost their lives

A moving image shows the surviving Fuerst and the Thuringian state prime minister Bodo Ramelow standing with their arms around each other

Buchenwald, which literally translates to “beech forest,” was one of the first and largest camps of its kind within the borders of Germany in 1937

Many wreaths were laid at the memorial site of the Buchenwald concentration camp

Holocaust survivor David Mandel from Israel poses in front of the entrance gate

Prisoners came from all over Europe and the Soviet Union, including Jews, Polish nationals and other Slavs, as well as mentally ill and physically disabled people, Freemasons, Roma, political opponents and prisoners of war.

All who were buried in the camp worked mainly as forced laborers in local armament factories and under poor conditions received insufficient food and water, leading to mass deaths.

Designed to hold 8,000 prisoners, the camp was created to replace several smaller camps nearby, including Bad Sulza, Sachsenburg, and Lichtenburg. Buchenwald had the potential to take advantage of the SS because clay found nearby could be made into bricks by prisoners.

The first prisoners arrived on July 15, 1937. By September, the population had risen to 2,400. During the war, about 136 subcamps and satellite commands were established, belonging to Buchenwald.

At the memorial gathering, several survivors, including Naftali Fuerst of Israel and Raymond Renaud of France, gave speeches about the atrocities they faced in the camp.

Others gathered to lay wreaths at the memorial site and a moving image shows the surviving Mr. Fuerst and the Thuringian State Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow stood with their arms around each other, remembering those who lost their lives.

Holocaust survivor Zeev Borger from Israel also attended the event to mark the camp’s liberation in 1945

Naftali Fuerst from Israel gave a speech to the crowd that gathered to commemorate the liberation of the camp

Raymond Renaud, who arrived at the event in a wheelchair, also gave a speech at the event

Roses were placed on a plaque during the memorial ceremony

Holocaust survivor Alojzy Maciak from Poland was pictured at the gates of the memorial

Steles with the engravings ‘Buchenwald’ and ‘Majdanek’ that are part of the monument dedicated to the murdered Sinti and Roma are depicted at the memorial site

Holocaust survivor Andrej Iwanowitsch Moiseenko from Belarus

People gathered at the site to remember the tragic history and listen to the stories of survivors

Buchenwald, as well as the Mittelbau-Dora camp, were both liberated by the US Army in April 1945

Other moving images show survivors standing at the gates of what is now a memorial site, with the words written above the gate: ‘To each his own’ (Jedem das Seine).

Jacques Delfeld, deputy chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, also spoke and said that there was not a single family among the German Sinti and Roma that had not been affected by the horrors of the Holocaust, according to WELT.

“This experience of absolute lawlessness is deeply etched in the collective memory,” he said.