Buchenwald is located in Poland and was built on Mt. Ettersberg. The camp was surrounded by walls and barbed wire, along with many guard towers as well. Buchenwald was actually a series of internal sub camps with wooden and stone barracks, old horse stables, and tents. The "little camp", which was built beyond the roll call area, acquired the worst reputation. In one part of it the SS set aside primitive barracks for emergencies, crowding 40,000 inmates into them. In another part, the SS forced the inmates to buy their food, and if they couldn't they would die. (Bauer, 9)

In July of 1937, the Nazis began to build Buchenwald and it officially opened on July 19, 1937. The first commander of Buchenwald was Karl Koch. He ran it until he was transferred to a camp in Majdanek. The first inmates at Buchenwald were professional criminals. After the criminals were there, political prisoners...