KZ-Gedenkstätte Mittelbau-Dora

About the museum

At the end of August 1943, the SS set up the “Dora” subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp at the Kohnstein hill north of Nordhausen. The prisoners were forced to expand an existing tunnel system into an underground armaments factory, where Mittelwerk GmbH had V2 rockets and later also V1 flying bombs assembled from early 1944. In the early period, thousands of prisoners slept in the tunnels themselves. In the fall of 1944, Mittelbau became an independent concentration camp with a dense network of subcamps in the Harz region.

Of around 60,000 prisoners from numerous countries, at least 20,000 died – from murderous construction work, hunger, disease and violence, and on the death marches when the camps were evacuated in April 1945. On April 11, 1945, US troops reached the camp. The tunnel entrances were blown up by the Soviet occupying forces in 1947/48.

After initial commemorations, mainly by former French prisoners, a memorial site was created at the crematorium in the 1950s. The unveiling of a sculpture by Jürgen von Woyski in 1964 is regarded as the founding of the “Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Mittelbau-Dora” (Mittelbau-Dora Memorial), which always stood in the shadow of Buchenwald in East Germany; in 1974 the roll-call square was redesigned as the “Ehrenplatz der Nationen” (Square of Honor of the Nations).

After 1990, the historic site itself moved to the center of attention. Since 1995, part of the tunnel system has been accessible on guided tours via a new access tunnel; a museum building was built in 2005, and in 2006 the permanent exhibition on concentration camp forced labor opened. Barrack foundations and other remains are still gradually being made visible. The memorial is run by the Stiftung Gedenkstätten Buchenwald und Mittelbau-Dora (Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation).

Highlights

• Guided tour through part of the historic tunnel system inside the Kohnstein
• Permanent exhibition “KZ Mittelbau-Dora 1943–1945” in the museum building
• Fully preserved former crematorium
• Former camp grounds with barrack foundations, roll-call square and camp railway station
• “Mittelbau” app with a tour of the grounds in four languages

Permanent exhibitions

• KZ Mittelbau-Dora 1943–1945 – The permanent exhibition in the museum building focuses on concentration camp forced labor for rocket armaments and the relocation of production underground, and examines prisoners, perpetrators and the social environment of the camps. Terminals with eyewitness interviews explore the history of the subcamps in greater depth.
• Historische Stollenanlage – Via an access tunnel built in 1995, a section of main tunnel A and three cross chambers can be visited; they have been left largely as they were found. Only as part of a guided tour; temperature around 8 °C all year round.

Founded

1964

Operated by

Stiftung Gedenkstätten Buchenwald und Mittelbau-Dora

Director

Andreas Froese

Visitors per year

approx. 50,000 (2025)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Visiting the grounds and exhibitions is free. Guided tour of the camp grounds including the tunnel: €7, reduced €3 (apprentices, school students, university students, people with disabilities, recipients of social assistance, holders of the Thüringer Ehrenamtscard and the Thüringer Mehrkindfamilienkarte); free for ICOM and DMB members. Multimedia guide rental €5 per person; the “Mittelbau” app is free.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: not available
• Sign language tours: not available
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: not available

The 2005 museum building has step-free access (wide aisles, display cases accessible from a wheelchair, seating); the accessible restroom on the second floor can be reached by elevator. The outdoor grounds lie on a slope: paved main paths with inclines, gravel on side paths, many stairs. In the tunnel, a large part of the visitor gallery is level or reachable by ramp, the rest only via steps; partly dark and uneven. Three accessible parking spaces near the museum. No programs for blind or deaf visitors, no induction loops. Information in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache) on the website and educational programs for people with learning difficulties. Guide dogs and assistance dogs allowed throughout the grounds.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kidsRecommended for ages 12+

• Family tours & workshops: not available

No special programs for families. Children under 12 should not visit the former crematorium and the exhibitions; registered groups are welcome from 9th grade. The tunnel is about 8 °C all year round.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Lockers

The museum café is closed until further notice. Bookshop at the information desk in the museum building. Three large sliding lockers for groups in the foyer. Dogs (except assistance dogs) are not allowed in the former prisoners' camp or in the buildings. Archive, library and online Book of the Dead for research.

Events & venue rental

As far as we know, the museum does not rent out spaces for external events.

No rentals. Commemorative events are possible by arrangement with the information desk, usually on the memorial square in front of the former crematorium.

Plan your visit