| American soldiers and liberated prisoners in front of a trailer with corpses in the courtyard of the crematorium. In the background you can see the bear enclosure and behind it the Schutzstaffel (SS) administration building. Press and Signal Corps photographers were shown this trailer as an example of Nazi German barbarity. Photos were taken by Lee Miller (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), Walter Chichersky (December 6, 1924 – April 14, 2008), Margaret Bourke-White (June 14, 1904 – August 27, 1971) and others photographed this cart and the Congressional commission viewed it a few days later. In 1938 the camp commander had a zoo built in close proximity to the camp with the support of the Leipzig Zoo.The zoo was financed by forced “donations” from the inmates. On view were monkeys, brown bears, and deer. Members of the SS and their families as well as the civilian foremen from the Deutschen Ausrüstungswerke (DAW) used the zoo during their free time and lunch breaks as a leisure area. Postcards printed by the SS advertised the zoo. A hand-carved signpost with the inscription “Zool. Garten Buchenwald” (“Zoological Garden Buchenwald”), with animal figures above the lettering: a monkey, 2 bears and a wild boar. The Buchenwald zoo provided recreational amusement for the SS and encompassed an area bordering the gates of the camp. It bears witness to the extreme contrast between the lives of those belonging to the so-called “Volksgemeinschaft” (“People’s Community”) and those excluded. The zoo demonstratively placed the well-being of the animals over that of the inmates. Members of the SS were punished for any mistreatment of an animal. This contrast to the mass suffering in the camp was apparently intended. In the early years of the camp, the morgue was situated next to the zoo, alongside the nearby watchtower. Technician 5th Class Ardean R. Miller III (September 20, 1915 – 1984) of the 165th Signal Photographic Company went on to be a successful advertising photographer. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0577.jpg |
| Image Size | 221.50 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1442 x 1080 |
| 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-SC-C-44 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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