Buchenwald Resistance: Liberation of Nazi Death Camps

April 11 is commemorated as the International Day of the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps. The international event was established by the UN in memory of the rebellious prisoners of one of the largest death camps in Nazi Germany, Buchenwald.

Over 14,000 concentration camps, ghettos, and prisons operated in Nazi Germany and the territories occupied by the Third Reich. One of the largest Nazi concentration camps was Buchenwald, which began operating near the German city of Weimar on July 19, 1937, and where over 56,000 people, including 19,000 Soviet prisoners of war, were exterminated.

The Nazis would exterminate Buchenwald prisoners, including by locking them in gas chambers in order to kill a large group of people at once. While many surrendered to their fate, enduring torture and begging for death, there were also those who never lost hope. A group of prisoners developed a plan to overthrow the leadership of Buchenwald, and April 11, 1945, the resistance group stormed the watchtower, seizing control of the camp.