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Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object | Accession Number: 2007.486.1

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Date
acquired:  1945 April-1945 July 05
Geography
acquired: Dora (concentration camp); Nordhausen (Thuringia, Germany)
Language
English
German
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Category
Equipment
Object Type
Oxyacetylene torches (aat)
Genre/Form
Welding.
Credit Line
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Dave Johnson and the Boone Family

About This Object

Physical Description
Long, thin, faded, copper-colored metal, oxyacetylene cutting torch. On the bottom end, the torch has two barbed hose fittings, each at the end of a short metal tube connected to the main body of the handle. The cylindrical handle has long, vertical ridges covering the surface. At the top of the handle is the manifold, which includes two round, drum-shaped, ridged knobs that control the internal valves and are set perpendicular to each other. The knobs were partially painted red and blue, though some paint has flaked off. At the midpoint of the torch, a ferrule connects the lower and upper halves together. The upper half has a valve with a silver-colored knob on the side. Beyond the valve, the torch separates into two metal tubes that extend upward and reconnect before they reach the right-angle head. Threaded on the end of the head is a nozzle with an attached tip that tapers to a rectangular end with a small hole at the tip. Parts of the surface have been worn down and dirt has accumulated in some of the smaller crevices.
Dimensions
overall: Height: 15.125 inches (38.418 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm) | Depth: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm)
Materials
overall : metal, paint
Markings
front bottom tube, left side, engraved : A [(acetylen) acetylene]
back bottom tube, left side : S [(sauerstoff) oxygen]
on back knob, raised : A Z SAUERSTOFF [OXYGEN]
on left knob, raised : A Z ACETYLENGAS [ACETYLENE GAS]
front, on handle, engraved : 2010
left side, on thick tube below lone knob : engraved 1862
left side on knob, raised : SCHNEIDSANERSTOFF [OXYGEN OFF]
Contributor
Previous owner: Chester C. Boone Jr.
Subject: Chester C. Boone Jr.
Biography
Chester C. “Jack” Boone Jr. (1920-2008) was born in Las Animas, Colorado, to Chester C. Boone Sr. and Venus (Phillips) Boone. Chester had two brothers and four sisters. The family moved to Peru, Kansas when Chester was three, and then returned to Colorado a few years later, settling in Pueblo. Chester graduated from high school in 1940. After high school, he moved to San Diego, California, and worked at Consolidated Air Craft until 1943, when he joined the Merchant Marines. In 1944, Chester entered the United States Army and served in the Army Transport System (ATS), where skills he learned in his family’s machine shop were put to use. Chester was promoted to Second Lieutenant and received training as an amphibious engineer at an Air Force training center. He entered active duty on February 21, 1944, and served in the European Theater, under General Omar Bradley. He maintained the mechanics of a ship that transported troops, north of Omaha Beach, prior to the D-Day assault on June 6, 1944. In spring 1945, Boone was put in charge of the army detachment that took over the underground V-1 and V-2 rocket factory outside of Nordhausen, Germany.

Upon his arrival at Nordhausen in April 1945, Chester saw piles of slave laborers’ bodies the Nazis had enclosed in barbed wire and massacred. A forced labor camp of 6,000 people was attached to the factory, and accessed by a blacktop path, lined with barbed wire. When the inmates were freed by the US troops, few people left, because they had nowhere to go. The underground factory was not discovered by US forces until the war was almost over. It was built under a mountain, and consisted of two mile-long, parallel tunnels that stretched from one end of the mountain to the other, with cross tunnels between them. The tunnels were equipped with lights and railroad tracks. Train cars were loaded with raw materials and slave laborers assembled the rockets, as the cars moved down the tracks. When Chester arrived, there were 120 V-2 rockets present in the factory.

Chester’s detachment was charged with securing and dismantling the factory. However, after six months of work, little progress had been made. While stationed at Nordhausen, Chester often served as a tour guide for visiting G-2 Intelligence officials from Washington DC, including Werner von Braun, the father of German rocketry. When Germany was divided between the Allied Powers in 1945, the factory was in Soviet territory, so Boone’s detachment left. Before leaving, they were able to remove all of the rockets from the factory. However they were unable to completely dismantle the factory.

In 1946, Chester withdrew from active service. He was honorably discharged in 1952, and awarded two Bronze Battle Stars for his service. Chester later moved to Chase, Kansas, where he operated a welding shop for a number of years. In 1953, he moved to Fort Morgan, Colorado, where he opened an oilfield welding shop. Chester married Gloryann Frasco on June 26, 1955, in Fort Morgan and they had two daughters, Kim and Diane. He worked in his shop until ill health forced his retirement in 1990.

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
The welding torch was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by the Boone family, and Dave Johnson.

Rights and Restrictions

Conditions on Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use
No restrictions on use

 
Record last modified: 2023-06-14 07:09:15
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn35699

Also in Chester C. Boone collection

The collection consists of two welding torches and associated parts related to the experiences of Chester C. "Jack” Boone of the United States Army at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory during and after World War II.

Date: 1945

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with heating tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with heating tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with heating tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Wooden box, insert, and welding torch tips from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Wooden box, insert, and welding torch tips from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Wooden box, insert and welding torch tips acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Oxyacetylene welding torch handle with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Welding torch coupling from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch coupling acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Welding torch cap from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch cap acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Welding torch cap from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch cap acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

Oxyacetylene welding torch neck with cutting tip from the Dora Mittelbau V2 factory

Object

Welding torch neck with cutting tip, acquired by Chester C. Boone at the Dora Mittelbau V2 rocket factory and concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, in 1945. The Dora-Mittelbau camp was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. Allied air raids on German industrial complexes pushed Nazi authorities to use concentration camp prisoners to construct underground tunnels to house factories and development facilities for the V-2 missile program and other experimental weapons. In October 1944, the SS made Dora-Mittelbau an independent concentration camp with more than 30 subcamps of its own. The secret, underground portion of the factory complex was operated by using a slave labor force of concentration camp prisoners. The prisoners were forced to construct the rockets along an improvised assembly line made of railroad tracks. The mortality rate was higher than at most other concentration camps. Many of the prisoners were massacred by the Germans as they camp was evacuated in the spring of 1945. The camp was liberated by American forces in April. Chester Boone was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army detachment that took command of the factory after the liberation. Chester’s group oversaw the removal of the 120 remaining V-2 rockets and the preliminary dismantling of the factory for six months, until it came under Soviet control, with the postwar partition of Germany between allied forces.

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