Liberation of Buchenwald — Eisenhower Orders Commanders to Witness Nazi Crimes

US forces of the 6th Armored Division liberated Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany on April 11, 1945, discovering approximately 21,000 surviving prisoners — many barely alive from starvation, disease, and forced labor. General Eisenhower immediately visited and ordered all available US commanders and soldiers, as well as German civilians from nearby towns, to tour the camp. He also arranged for members of Congress and reporters to visit, stating he wanted the evidence documented because 'the world will not believe it.' Survivor Elie Wiesel, a teenager at liberation, later wrote of the experience in his memoir 'Night.'