| Original caption: “Here is a view of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp at Weimar, Germany, taken from the tower over the main entrance gate. Only about one-third of the barracks building can be seen. Prisoners able to leave are waiting for transportation to Displaced Person Camps, where they will be processed prior to repatriation. American soldiers in the picture are making a tour of the camp.” View from the gate building over the camp. Liberated prisoners and American soldiers stand on the roll call square. The storage depot is in the background on the far right. The so-called storage depot was the largest building at the camp. This is where the civilian clothing and the possessions of the inmates were kept—and where keys, wooden shoes, and prison uniforms were distributed. On different floors of this massive building were the equipment storage, clothing storage, and stockroom. The passage through the storage depot was part of the same, consistent entry procedure for every new arrival: Here each person received—in addition to a uniform—2 coloured pieces of triangular cloth and a number, which had to be sewn onto 1’s jacket and trousers. From then on, the number became a 1’s name, and the triangular pieces of fabric indicated an individual’s inmate category—a predetermination of a 1’s role within the enforced social structure of the camp. The former storage depot has housed the exhibition on the history of the concentration camp since 1985. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0585.jpg |
| Image Size | 370.97 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1600 x 1201 |
| Photographer | Ardean R. Miller III |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 18, 1945 |
| Location | Konzentrationslager Buchenwald |
| City | Weimar |
| State or Province | Thuringia |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 111-C-10 62 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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