The Schutzstaffel (SS) established Buchenwald concentration camp at the beginning of July 1937.
The camp was to be named Ettersberg, after the hill in Thuringia upon whose north slope the camp was established.
The proposed name was deemed inappropriate, because it carried associations with several important figures in German culture, especially Enlightenment writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Instead the camp was to be named Buchenwald, in reference to the beech forest in the area.
However, Holocaust researcher James E. Young wrote that SS leader chose the site of the camp precisely to erase the cultural legacy of the area.
After the area of the camp was cleared of trees, only one large oak remained, supposedly one of Goethe's Oaks.
On the main gate, the motto Jedem das Seine (English: "To each his own"), was inscribed.
The SS interpreted this to mean the "master race" had a right to humiliate and destroy others.

The camp, designed to hold 8,000 prisoners, was intended to replace several smaller concentration camps nearby, including Bad Sulza, Sachsenburg, and Lichtenburg.
Compared to these camps, Buchenwald had a greater potential to profit the SS because the nearby clay deposits could be made into bricks by the forced labor of prisoners.
The first prisoners arrived on 15 July 1937, and had to clear the area of trees and build the camp's structures.
By September, the population had risen to 2,400 following transfers from Bad Sulza, Sachsenburg, and Lichtenburg.
The Schutzstaffel (SS) established Buchenwald concentration camp at the beginning of July 1937. The camp was to be named Ettersberg, after the hill in Thuringia upon whose north slope the camp was established. The proposed name was deemed inappropriate, because it carried associations with several important figures in German culture, especially Enlightenment writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Instead the camp was to be named Buchenwald, in reference to the beech forest in the area. However, Holocaust researcher James E. Young wrote that SS leader chose the site of the camp precisely to erase the cultural legacy of the area. After the area of the camp was cleared of trees, only one large oak remained, supposedly one of Goethe's Oaks. On the main gate, the motto Jedem das Seine (English: "To each his own"), was inscribed. The SS interpreted this to mean the "master race" had a right to humiliate and destroy others.
The camp, designed to hold 8,000 prisoners, was intended to replace several smaller concentration camps nearby, including Bad Sulza, Sachsenburg, and Lichtenburg. Compared to these camps, Buchenwald had a greater potential to profit the SS because the nearby clay deposits could be made into bricks by the forced labor of prisoners. The first prisoners arrived on 15 July 1937, and had to clear the area of trees and build the camp's structures. By September, the population had risen to 2,400 following transfers from Bad Sulza, Sachsenburg, and Lichtenburg.
Buchenwald concentration camp