Image: (Buchenwald Concentration Camp Opens)
One of the largest and one of the first concentration camps constructed on German soil, Buchenwald was opened by SS authorities on July 15, 1937, located northwest of Weimar, Germany. The next day, on July 16, 1937, the first 300 prisoners arrived at the camp. Initially, only men were admitted to Buchenwald and it was not until late 1944 or early 1945 that women became part of the camp system. Buchenwald was composed mostly of political prisoners as well as certain targeted groups, such as the Jews. The Jewish population at the camp experienced a rapid increase after Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938, in which 10,000 Jewish men aged 16 through 60 were arrested and incarcerated by the German SS and police. Of these 10,000 Jewish men, 255 died as a result of the harsh treatment. Other groups that were targeted included Poles, gypsies, Jehovah's witnesses, criminals, and German military deserters. Buchenwald inmates were subjected to extraordinarily cruel treatment and performed slave labor for12 to 15-hour shifts at nearby work camps (Berenbaum).