The bell tower on the southern part of the Ettersberg in the immediate vicinity of the former concentration camp is part of the Buchenwald National Memorial. The GDR government passed the resolution to erect the memorial in 1954. The architecture shows visitors the way from death to life: beyond the crematorium to the three mass graves and finally to the bell tower. The monumental symbol of freedom and light is framed by Fritz Cremer's group of figures in honor of the resistance fighters in the camp.