The memorial is located at the historic scene of the Gardelegen massacre. It commemorates 1,016 concentration camp prisoners from many European countries who were murdered there on April 13, 1945 in a field barn not far from the Hanseatic city of Gardelegen. The site also includes the cemetery of honor where the victims of the massacre are buried.
The place is an example of the history of the death marches and the crimes of the National Socialists in the last two years of the war in 1944/45.
Today the memorial is an international information and meeting place with a newly built documentation center, a permanent exhibition, seminar rooms, events and educational offers for young people and adults.