{"id":1727,"date":"2025-03-12T10:05:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T10:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/historical-background\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T11:32:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:32:08","slug":"historical-background","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/en\/historical-background\/","title":{"rendered":"Historical background"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"1727\" class=\"elementor elementor-1727 elementor-356\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f4f545 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0f4f545\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_has_onepagescroll_dot&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8f80322 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8f80322\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;,&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Historical background<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f6dff35 elementor-widget elementor-widget-elementskit-audio-player\" data-id=\"f6dff35\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"elementskit-audio-player.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ekit-wid-con\">\t\t\t<div class=\"ekit-audio-player\" data-audio-settings=\"{&quot;features&quot;:[&quot;playpause&quot;,&quot;current&quot;,&quot;progress&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;,&quot;volume&quot;],&quot;hideVolumeOnTouchDevices&quot;:true,&quot;audioVolume&quot;:&quot;horizontal&quot;,&quot;startVolume&quot;:0.8}\">\n\t\t\t\t<audio class=\"ekit-player\" src=\"https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/HistHintergrundaudio.mp3\" preload=\"none\" controls=\"\" poster=\"\" width=\"100%\" hidden=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\tYour browser does not support the audio tag.\t\t\t\t<\/audio>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ekit-hidden-icons\" hidden aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"ekit-audio-play icon icon-play-button\"><\/i><i class=\"ekit-audio-pause icon icon-pause-dark\"><\/i><i class=\"ekit-audio-replay icon icon-play-button\"><\/i><i class=\"ekit-audio-unmute icon icon-volume-high-dark\"><\/i><i class=\"ekit-audio-mute icon icon-volume-mute\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d808568 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d808568\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_has_onepagescroll_dot&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6fef394 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6fef394\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_has_onepagescroll_dot&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-63e453c elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"63e453c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;,&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>The Path of Remembrance &#8211; A place of suffering and remembrance<\/strong><br><strong>Remembrance<\/strong><br>&#8220;The Path of Remembrance&#8221; attempts to bring together the separate sites of the former <strong>S III satellite camp<\/strong> as places of remembrance. Subcamp S III was a Nazi concentration camp that was established in 1944 as a branch of <g id=\"gid_2\">Buchenwald<\/g> concentration camp in the region around <g id=\"gid_3\">Ohrdruf<\/g> (Thuringia). It was part of the SS project &#8220;Sonderbauvorhaben III&#8221; &#8211; <strong>S III<\/strong> for short &#8211; and was used to carry out secret construction projects in the Thuringian Forest.  <\/p><p>In the summer of 1944, the SS began setting up several camp locations in order to use thousands of concentration camp prisoners for forced labor in the nearby <strong>Jonastal valley<\/strong>. Underground tunnels were dug into the mountain there in the strictest secrecy. Among other things, these were to be used as bomb-proof command bunkers for Hitler and the Nazi leadership. There were also plans to relocate production essential to the war effort.   <\/p><p>The prisoners were spread over several locations:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Ohrdruf camp (military training area):<\/strong> <br>served as the central camp for labor deployment on the &#8220;Kora&#8221; military training area, which was used as a training ground for the Waffen-SS, among other things. It consisted of a north and south camp. <\/li><li><strong>Espenfeld camp:<\/strong> <br>a tent camp on a remote slope. The prisoners mainly had to carry out earthworks and road construction. The conditions were considered particularly harsh.  <\/li><li><strong>Crawinkel camp:<\/strong><br>one of the largest camps in the complex. Many forced laborers were housed here, who were used directly in the Jonastal valley for tunnel excavation under inhumane conditions. <\/li><\/ul><p>Ohrdruf station was used to receive newly arriving prisoner transports and as a transshipment point for building materials. Here, too, prisoners had to work under extreme pressure, with temporary accommodation and work detachments in and around the Jonastal area, depending on the progress of the construction work. <\/p><p>The prisoners came from many European countries &#8211; including Poland, France, Russia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Germany. Most of them were political prisoners, Jews and prisoners of war. The <g id=\"gid_0\">living conditions<\/g> in all the camps were catastrophic: hunger, abuse, hard forced labor, disease and inadequate medical care led to the deaths of thousands. SS guards brutally attacked the prisoners and many people died of exhaustion or violence.   <\/p><p>At the beginning of <strong>April 1945<\/strong>, with the advance of the US army, the SS began to clear the camps. Thousands of prisoners were sent on so-called <g id=\"gid_1\">death marches<\/g> &#8211; only a few survived. Hundreds of dead and dying people were left behind, and on <g id=\"gid_2\">April 4, 1945<\/g>, American troops reached the camp grounds near Ohrdruf. It was the <g id=\"gid_3\">first concentration camp<\/g> to be liberated by US soldiers. The shocking conditions were extensively documented and later served as evidence at the Nuremberg trials.    <\/p><p>Today, the former satellite camp S III is a <strong>place of remembrance<\/strong> for the victims of forced labor and Nazi terror. The remains of the tunnels in Jonastal and the few surviving traces of the camp sites are a reminder to come to terms with the past and to remember. It is up to us to preserve the knowledge of this place and ensure that the victims are not forgotten.  <\/p><p><strong>&#8220;Never again.&#8221; &#8211; These words commit us all.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f2673b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6f2673b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_has_onepagescroll_dot&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48052ed cw elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"48052ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" src=\"https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wachposten-1024x724.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1274\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wachposten-1024x724.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wachposten-300x212.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wachposten-768x543.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wachposten-1536x1086.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wachposten.jpeg 1698w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">https:\/\/www.buchenwald.de\/geschichte\/themen\/dossiers\/ohrdruf<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Historical background Your browser does not support the audio tag. The Path of Remembrance &#8211; A place of suffering and remembranceRemembrance&#8220;The Path of Remembrance&#8221; attempts to bring together the separate sites of the former S III satellite camp as places of remembrance. Subcamp S III was a Nazi concentration camp that was established in 1944 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1727","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Historical background - Pfad des Gedenkens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pfad-des-gedenkens.de\/en\/historical-background\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Historical background - Pfad des Gedenkens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Historical background Your browser does not support the audio tag. 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