Dachau Liberated

[Walt's Daughter]

Sent to me by Al Kincer

 

D Day...Dachau Liberated this day 1945 by Third Platoon Co. B 48 Engrs assisted by 45 Inf. Division. Bolts cut from gates by S/Sgt Walter Fritz.

[Reg from the Bulge]

Very true , here's more :

 

Abram Sachar provides the following account of the liberation of Dachau.. most of the German staff have fled, leaving the prisoners and a few SS men to fend for themselves. Holocaust-deniers would have you believe that scenes like the one described here simply didn't happen - an assertion so offensive and insulting on its face as to be discarded without consideration...

 

"On the last Sunday of April 1945, the first Allied soldier, an American scout of Polish descent, came through the gate of the main Dachau camp. The few Nazis in the tower watched apprehensively. They were no longer there as guards; they had been ordered to stay on merely to complete the formalities of surrender. The upper ranks had already fled, to blend in among the German civilian population. The young American's first impression, later detailed in an interview, was one of `glaring chaos,' thousands of ragged skeletons, in the yard, in the trees, waving little rags, climbing over one another, hysterical, completely out of control. <7> The scout went back for support and returned with a small detatchment. The flags of many Allied nations had suddenly appeared. Apparently the prisoners had been secretly piecing them together over the months, from tatters and patches and strips of cloth. One prisoner, a Polish priest, exuberantly kissed an officer, learning later to his glee that she was Marguerite Higgins, of the New York `Herald Tribune,' the first American war correspondent to report on Dachau. A military chaplain came forward and asked that all who could do so join him in a prayer of thanksgiving. ...

 

"Soon the advance scouts were joined by other Allied soldiers and one of the German guards came forward to surrender with what he believed would be the usual military protocol. He emerged in full regalia, wearing all his decorations. He had only recently been billeted to Dachau from the Russian front. He saluted and barked `Heil Hitler.' An American officer looked down and around at mounds of rotting corpses, at thousands of prisoners shrouded in their own filth. He hesitated only a moment, then spat in the Nazi's face, snapping `Schweinehund,' before ordering him taken away. Moments later a shot rang out and the American officer was informed that there was no further need for protocol.

 

"Some of the Nazis were rounded up and summarily executed along with the guard dogs. Two of the most notorious prison guards had been stripped naked before the Americans arrived to prevent them from slipping away unnoticed. They, too, were cut down. General Eisenhower sent a laconic communique from headquarters: `Our forces liberated and mopped up the infamous concentration camp at Dachau. Approximately 32,000 prisoners were liberated; 300 SS camp guards were quickly neutralized.'

 

"During the next few days as the burials went forward, the sick and the dying were transferred to hospital facilities, makeshift as they had to be, and food was carefully distributed. `Prescribed' might be the better word, for the starving had to adjust their food intake with medical discipline. Only then did the American command turn to review the files that the Germans, with characteristic meticulousness, had maintained.

 

"The full record of the pseudo-medical experimentations came to light. Prisoners had been used as laboratory animals, without the humane restrictions placed on vivisection. Hannah Arendt suggested that `the camp was itself a vast laboratory in which the Nazis proved that there is no limit to human depravity.' For it was remembered that these experiments were not planned or conducted by identifiable psychopaths. They were performed or supervised by professional scientists, trained in what had been once considered peerless universities and medical schools. Reverend Franklin Littell called them `technically competent barbarians.' Indeed the procedures had the full approval and cooperation of Berlin's Institute of Hygiene." (Sachar, 8-10)

 

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[Walt's Daughter]

"The full record of the pseudo-medical experimentations came to light...

 

Makes me nauseous even thinking about it. It is so hard for any of us to imagination. Too much to comprehend and therefore seems like a bad dream...

[Dogdaddy]

There is a distinguished member of the 42nd "Rainbow" Division living right here in my little hometown. I was fortunate enough to catch part of a presentation he did on the Holocaust which was broadcast last Sunday on the local channel. Too much to recount here now, but I am going to write or call him soon to see if it might be alright to talk with him further, at a time of his convenience. He has been back to Germany for several of the ceremonies commemorating the liberation of Dachau, and also has written poetry about his experiences. His name is Dee R. Eberhart...maybe some of you have heard of him before. One thing he mentioned which struck a chord with me was that up until recently he had not held out any hope for Germany, as far as someday following another maniac that might come along. Meeting the younger generation of Germans changed his mind the last time he was in Munich. When the Americans arrived, the younger Germans cheered them as 'liberators' and applauded them, while a group he referrred to as "my age" sat in back, grumbling in their beer!

As for the SS guards remaining at Dachau...a good number never survived the day. They were killed by the former inmates as well as some American soldiers who took part, being unable to hold back their contempt for the SS after seeing the victims....and who could blame them? I would have shot them myself, and gladly.

 

 

[Walt's Daughter]

Do keep us posted. Wonderful that he is living right in your midst. Makes you wonder how many walking treasures are amongst us that we are totally unaware of.

 

Hope you get your interview. I know you will share every little detail.

[alkincer]

Which Division liberated Dachau? 42 or 45...My third platoon attached to 45th Dovision & Sgt. Fritz cut the locks. A few years ago at a 42 Div. Reunion in Florence Ky. The C.G. recalled that the 3rd. platoon of co. B of the 48th Engrs. was attached to his Division. He did this to recognize a 48th member, Bill Spears, who was attending as a guest. They will argue forever..???? AL

[Dogdaddy]

Which Division liberated Dachau? 42 or 45...

That is an arguement I will not touch, Al.... I can guarantee that I had nothing to do with the liberation myself! I salute you all!

 

 

Jim

[j3rdinf]

Not going to try to say who got to Dachau first but Munich fell to a combination of the

3rd, 42nd and 45th Div's. . We were told it was the 42nd Div that captured Dachau.

But I have a idea that the 45th Div was somewhere into it also. Dachau is about 7 miles

from Munich and had a short look see at it which was enough for me. Our 3rd Bn./7th

Inf Reg of the 3rd was preparing for "Task Force Horton" which left the Munich area on

May 2 '45 for a hopefully final run down the Autobahn to Salzburg and/or Berchtesgaden

in Bn. strength plus armor, trucks and other vehicles. This was about 3 days after the

capture of Munich.

[Walt's Daughter]

Joe:

 

That sounds like a fair assessment to me. It is bone of contention with so many, but as you said, several units were there, all around the same time frame. A horrible thing for any unit to see no matter who was there first, second or third.

 

Only thing I can say is thank God you didn't have to hang around long.

[Parnell-H]

All,

 

This may be late but I may be able to help. Or not. I toured the camp in July with my parents. An aweful place!!!!

 

During the tour we were told that the 42nd and 45th got to the camp at the same time but the 42nd General Linden had accepted the official surrender from Heinrich Wicker.

 

As it goes I was not there so I have to take the word of a tour guide. Hope I dont offend anyone.

 

Kyle