Refurbishment forces to close: Buchenwald's exhibition in danger!

Refurbishment forces to close: Buchenwald's exhibition in danger!

Sometimes it is necessary to take a step back to create space for new impulses. So it will also be in the Buchenwald memorial, where the central exhibition area will be closed for at least twelve months to remember the former concentration camp from next year. The reason for this closure is essential renovation work on the electrical supply in the Chamber of Effects, which acts as an exhibition building. The outdated electrical cables still come from the time of the GDR and are now being renewed to ensure safe operation. As reports [evangelische-zeitung.de] (https://evangelische-zeitung.de/sanierungen-in-buchenwald-zwingen-zwingen- zu- exhibition closures), almost every square meter must be recreated in the building.

The costs for these necessary measures amount to up to 25,000 euros, which are to be covered by donations. Until the work is completed, a replacement exhibition is set up in the former canteen building on the warehouse, so that visitors do not have to completely do without the work of memory. In addition, unexpectedly high renovation updates also occur at the exhibition building on the history of special camps No. 2. A reopening of this area will probably not be possible until 2027.

A look into the dark past

The prehistory of special camps No. 2 in Buchenwald is dark. After the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp by the 3rd US Army in April 1945, the Soviet occupying powers set up the camp on August 21, 1945. It served the internment of people who were considered a threat to military security, including many who were connected to the faded National Socialist regime. According to wikipedia, arrests were often carried out arbitrarily and concerned a much larger group of people than originally intended.

Until its dissolution in 1950, the camp was an inglorious place of detention. Around 7,000 people died out of around 28,000 prisoners due to the catastrophic conditions, the dramatic malnutrition and inadequate medical care. The mortality rate reached a maximum of 24.33 %in 1947. The living conditions were extremely hard for the detained. They were mostly men between the ages of 40 and 60, some women and even children were also among the prisoners.

memory and processing

The historical processing and memory of the special warehouse was a taboo subject for a long time. Officially not mentioned, many relatives of the deceased remained in uncertain about their fate. It was only after the reunification that the topic was publicly discussed in 1990, and anonymous graves who pointed out the suffering in the special camp were discovered. The Buchenwald Memorial Foundation has also dealt intensively with the processing of the story and has shown in its own permanent exhibition since 1997 how the events in the special camp is. According to Wikipedia, the history of the special warehouse in the memorial is also continuously deepened.

The culture of remembrance plays a crucial role. On September 20, an interim exhibition on the history of the special camp is to be presented, which should offer the first steps towards a more comprehensive awareness for visitors. In this way, the memorial will continue to remain a place of learning and commemoration, while the conversion is in full way.