It was one of the most gruesome exhibits in the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial and impressively demonstrated the SS’s contempt for humanity: a lampshade made from human skin. It was now examined again by the well-known criminal biology expert Mark Benecke – also to check a report from 1992 that cast doubt on the “skin thesis”.
You can find the latest news from Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk at any time mdr.de and in the MDR Aktuell app.
The infamous SS lampshade from the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp In Weimar, contrary to reports to the contrary, it was made from human skin. This was confirmed by criminal biologist Mark Benecke on Thursday.
The material of the lampshade shows patterns that “can only be human,” he said when presenting his research results at the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial. How a report from 1992 came to the conclusion that this lampshade was made of plastic is “not at all clear”. There are patterns in this fabric that do not exist in plastic. Benecke had examined the lampshade on behalf of the foundation.
Jens-Christian Wagner (left) and Rikola-Gunnar Lütgenau from the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp Memorials Foundation at a press conference on “Human Remains”.
Objects made of skin are no longer shown in the Buchenwald Memorial
The SS had the lampshade and other items such as knife cases made from the skin of dead prisoners. Framed pieces of skin with tattoos were also among the “souvenirs”. The lampshade is one of the most famous objects in the memorial’s holdings. However, it is no longer shown publicly. It was presented in the memorial’s permanent exhibition during the GDR era from 1954 onwards. After 1990 it was removed from the exhibition for ethical reasons.
The Buchenwald concentration camp memorial near Weimar. There are still twelve objects made from human skin in their archive, but they are no longer shown.
Memorial director: “SS completely dehumanized”
According to the foundation’s director, Jens-Christian Wagner, visitors still ask about this object today. The fact that lampshades and other so-called “gift items” were made from people’s skin in the Buchenwald concentration camp shows “that the SS was completely dehumanized,” said Wagner.
According to him, the memorial has twelve such objects in its archive. They should be kept as evidence of the crimes of the National Socialists. He justified the fact that the objects were now being examined again with, among other things, “constant historical revisionist denials”, especially on social media platforms. The objects there are repeatedly described by the extreme right as forgeries that are intended to “blame crimes” on the SS.
MDR (dr), dpa