Friday 20th of August 1937 (x) — Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS) Heinrich Himmler inaugurates the Konzentrationslager The camp was to be named K. L. Ettersberg but this was changed to Buchenwald since Ettersberg carried too many associations with Goethe.
Thursday 5th of April 1945 (-) — SS Standartenführer Karl-Otto Koch is executed by the firing squad Koch was sentenced to death for disgracing both himself and the SS. He was the husband of Ilse Koch.
Wednesday 11th of April 1945 (x) — A detachment of troops of the U.S. 9th Armored Infantry Battalion, from the 6th Armored Division, part of the U.S. Third Army arrives at 15:15hrs to liberate the concentration camp