Figure 1.--Here Dachau survivors cheer the arrival of the Americans (April 29, 1945). The horrified American soldiers found countless dead bodies among the 30,000 survivors, many near death. These prisoners look relatibvely healthy, pribably mean that they had ionly recently arrived. Notice the non-Jewish boys, they were probably classified as 'political' prisoners. We doubt is they were involved in political activities. We suspect that they were probably civilains that had been rounded up as part of anti-partisan sweeps in Poland.

Allied forces crossed the Rhine in force (March 22, 1945). The British headed into northern Germany, the Americans fanned out into central and southern Germany. As American units approached Dachau, the Germans decided to evacuate the camp (April 26).. At the time there were 67,665 registered prisoners in Dachau and its sub-camps. The actual numbers was probably higher given the the numbers pouring into the camp. More than half were in the main camp. The total included 43,350 political prisoners and 22,100 Jews. The remainder included other categories like homosexuals and Jehova's Witnesses. The German just before the Americans arrived forced some 25,000 surviving prisoners in the camp on forced marches or rail transports. They did not have time to empty the camp. And many inmates were too weak to move. The guards shot anyone who could not keep up on the death marches. Others perished of starvation, dehydration, hypothermia, or exhaustion. The American 45th Infantry Division of the 7th Army entered Dachau a few days before the NAZI surrender (April 29). The horrified soldiers found countless dead bodies among the 30,000 survivors, many near death. There were also more than 30 rail cars near the camp with a few survivors, but most were filled with bodies in an advanced state of decomposition. One Gi reported, "... as we came to the center of the city, we met a train with a wrecked engine—about fifty cars long. Every car was loaded with bodies. There must have been thousands of them—all obviously starved to death. This was a shock of the first order, and the odor can best be imagined. But neither the sight nor the odor were anything when compared with what we were still to see ..." 【Porter】 Probably most had died from lack of water as they were locked in the cars for an extebnded period. As the camp was so croded, the Germans after the engine was destroy just left the prisoners locked in the cars without foof and water. The NAZIs were running out of places to keep away from the Americans. Moving east meant running into the Soviets--something SS men feared the most. The Soviets were further south were moving into Austria from the East and the Americans from the South and West. Finally the Americans continuing south in Bavaria liberated the prisoners who had survived the death marches (early May). As terrible as Dachau was, the GIs liberating the camp as well as the press did not yet know of the even greater horror of the death camps.

Sources

Porter, PFC Harold. Letter home to his parents (May 7, 1945). National Archives, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Abilene, Kansas. Sonya Porter Collection. Porter was a medic with the 116th Evacuatuion Hospital..

Created: 11:21 AM 7/29/2024
Last updated: 11:21 AM 7/29/2024