Timeline
July 15, 1937: SS authorities open the Buchenwald concentration camp for male prisoners in east-central Germany
July 16, 1937: The first 300 prisoners arrive in the camp
July 28, 1937: Heinrich Himmler named the camp "Buchenwald"
August 14, 1937: Hermann Kempeck is the first death at Buchenwald
February 1938: The “Bunker” opens, a center for torture and killing
July 1938: Prisoners totaled 7,723
November 1938: 10,000 Jews were sent to Buchenwald in the aftermath of Kristallnacht
1941: Karl Otto Koch is transferred to Majdanek and Hermann Pister becomes commandant
October 17, 1942: All Buchenwald's Jewish prisoners were deported to Auschwitz with the exception of 204 essential workers
March 1943: Completion of armament factories in the vicinity of the camp which increases the number of prisoners to 63,048
1943: A rail sliding was completed, connecting the camp with the freight yards in Weimar and therefore facilitating the shipment of war supplies
Late 1943-Early 1944: Women are admitted to the Buchenwald camp system
January 18, 1945: Thousands of Jewish prisoners arrived in Buchenwald after their evacuation from Auschwitz and other camps
February 1945: Population of 86,000 in Buchenwald
April 6, 1945: About 28,500 prisoners were evacuated from Buchenwald on a death march (one in four died)
April 11, 1945: Liberation by the US Army
(Timeline).
July 16, 1937: The first 300 prisoners arrive in the camp
July 28, 1937: Heinrich Himmler named the camp "Buchenwald"
August 14, 1937: Hermann Kempeck is the first death at Buchenwald
February 1938: The “Bunker” opens, a center for torture and killing
July 1938: Prisoners totaled 7,723
November 1938: 10,000 Jews were sent to Buchenwald in the aftermath of Kristallnacht
1941: Karl Otto Koch is transferred to Majdanek and Hermann Pister becomes commandant
October 17, 1942: All Buchenwald's Jewish prisoners were deported to Auschwitz with the exception of 204 essential workers
March 1943: Completion of armament factories in the vicinity of the camp which increases the number of prisoners to 63,048
1943: A rail sliding was completed, connecting the camp with the freight yards in Weimar and therefore facilitating the shipment of war supplies
Late 1943-Early 1944: Women are admitted to the Buchenwald camp system
January 18, 1945: Thousands of Jewish prisoners arrived in Buchenwald after their evacuation from Auschwitz and other camps
February 1945: Population of 86,000 in Buchenwald
April 6, 1945: About 28,500 prisoners were evacuated from Buchenwald on a death march (one in four died)
April 11, 1945: Liberation by the US Army
(Timeline).