when was buchenwald concentration camp found
Buchenwald main gate. Buchenwald concentration camp was one of the largest on German soil, with one hundred and thirty satellite camps and extension units. The name âBuchenwaldâ was given to the camp by Heinrich Himmler on 28 July 1937. Buchenwald was situated on the northern slope of Ettersberg, a mountain five miles north of Weimar, in Thuringen. The camp was established on 16 July 1937 when the first group of prisoners, consisting of 149 persons mostly political detainees and criminals was brought to the site.