Associations of friends and sponsors - Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation

"A day would come, relatively soon, when there would no longer be a single survivor of Buchenwald left. There would be no more immediate memory of Buchenwald. No longer would anyone be able to say, with words springing from physical recollection and not some theoretical reconstruction, what it was like: the hunger, the exhaustion, die anguish, the blinding presence of absolute Evil — precisely insofar as it lies hidden in all of us, as die condition of our freedom."

Jorge Semprún, 1994

The group of figures at the Buchenwald Memorial in front of the memorial's bell tower at night. Both the group of figures and the bell tower are illuminated.

Buchenwald Memorial is, today, a place of historical understanding, international dialogue, and progress toward reconciliation. The history embodied by this site calls upon us to recognize that goodness is not self-evident. Freedom, justice, tolerance and human dignity can only be preserved when we — both individually and collectively — defend these values and assume responsibility for their realisation. It is through coming to terms with the history of Buchenwald that we are guided toward a deeper understanding of this underlying truth, as well as the fundamental role our own actions play in upholding it.

In support of this effort, the Buchenwald Memorial Endowment Association offers a variety of tours, including overview tours, tours of Buchenwald Railway Memorial Path, tours of the Memorial grounds and facilities, and informational tours about Weimar under National Socialism. For details on available tours, information regarding the Buchenwald Memorial Endowment Association, and suggestions for further reading, please visit the association’s information desk at the Weimar tourist information bureau.

To carry out its work, the Buchenwald Memorial relies on a dedicated network of friends and supporters. While preservation of the memory is indeed a significant financial undertaking, it is also true that the work of the memorial gains equally, in terms of credibility and effectiveness, from the strength and breadth of this network of supporters. Ultimately, the Memorial as an institution is not an end in and of itself. Rather, the true purpose of the Memorial lies in its ongoing effort to preserve and foster a free and just society, a spirit which is embodied in the commitment of the association’s members.

Mehr Informationen zum Förderverein Buchenwald e.V. finden Sie hier Aufnahmeantrag Förderverein Buchenwald e.V.

"Jugend für Dora e.V." (Youth for Dora) is an international youth organisation, which is prior dealing with the history of the former Concentration Camp Mittelbau-Dora and its system of subcamps.

In 1995 former inmates expressed the wish to create an association of interested and committed young people, who are continuing the memory work of the survivors, thus the "hell of Dora" will never be forgotten. From a small group of young people from the region, was over the time a registered society established, connected in a nice network with other organisations, individuals on national and international level.

Main objective of the organisation is to contribute a small part for a better understanding of the history of the Nazism. In detail it means a lot of awareness work for historical places and happenings as well as its effects in the past and impacts on the present, to provide information, to preserve the commemoration and the memory, to raise awareness and create a generation overlapping cooperation as well as an intercultural communication and cooperation in different projects.

You can find more informations on Youth for Dora here