Armband with red cross worn by US Army medic/ POW in a slave labor camp, signed post-liberation by fellow POWs
- Date
-
use:
1945 February-1945 April
- Geography
-
use:
Berga (Concentration camp);
Berga am Elster (Thuringia, Germany)
- Language
-
English
- Classification
-
Military Insignia
- Category
-
Armbands
- Object Type
-
Brassards (military armbands) (aat)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Anthony Acevedo
Red Cross armband worn by 20 year old Anthony Acevedo when he was a medic and German prisoner of war in the Berga an der Elster slave labor camp from December 1944-April 1945. He asked other prisoners to sign it after they were liberated by US forces on April 23, 1945. Tony, a Catholic and Mexican American, enlisted in the US Army in 1943. He was a medic in Company B, 275th regiment, 70th Infantry Division. In January 1945, the company surrendered to the German Army during the Battle of the Bulge. They were sent to a prisoner of war camp, Stalag IX-B, in Bad Orb, Germany, where Tony was tortured during interrogation. In February, he was transferred, along with 350 fellow soldiers, either Jewish or undesirables, to Berga, a subcamp of Buchenwald. Berga was a slave labor camp where prisoners labored in underground tunnels and mines. Tony worked as a medic and was able to hide a diary where, out of duty and to honor to his fellow soldiers, he recorded the names and deaths of the many who died there. On April 3, as Allied forces neared, the prisoners were ordered on a death march. On April 23, they were liberated by the 11th Armored Division. Before being sent home, the roughly 160 survivors of Berga were forced by the US Army to sign an affidavit promising not to speak about their experiences in Berga. Tony was sent to California to recuperate and discharged in December 1945. In 2009, the US Army finally admitted that US soldiers had been imprisoned in a German slave labor camp.
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Record last modified: 2022-06-08 14:07:45
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn42602
Also in This Collection
Anthony Acevedo papers
Document
The Anthony Acevedo papers include the diary he kept as a prisoner of war describing his experiences at Stalag IX-B in Bad Orb and Berga concentration camp and on a death march, listing fellow soldiers who died in the camps or on the march, and including his drawings of places and scenes he witnessed. The collection also includes a letter documenting his father’s consent to Acevedo entering medical service in the US military; a copy of his 2012 memoir "Personal Account of an Undesirable" describing his wartime experiences; and photographs of Acevedo with family, friends, and colleagues before, during, and after the war.
Small handmade palm leaf cross carried by a US Army medic and slave labor camp POW
Object
Palm leaf cross that provided comfort to 20 year old Anthony Acevedo when he was a US Army medic and a German prisoner of war in the Berga an der Elster slave labor camp from December 1944-April 1945. He made the small cross from palm leaves during Palm Sunday before he was deployed to Europe. Tony was a Mexican American and Catholic who enlisted in the US Army in 1943. He was a medic in Company B, 275th regiment, 70th Infantry Division. In January 1945, the company surrendered to the German Army during the Battle of the Bulge. They were sent to a prisoner of war camp, Stalag IX-B, in Bad Orb, Germany, where Tony was tortured during interrogation. In February, he was transferred, with 350 fellow soldiers, either Jewish or undesirables, to Berga, a subcamp of Buchenwald. Berga was a slave labor camp where prisoners worked in tunnels and mines. Tony worked as a medic and was hid a diary where, out of duty and to honor to his fellow soldiers, he recorded the names and deaths of the many who died there. On April 3, as Allied forces neared, the prisoners were ordered on a death march. On April 23, they were liberated by the 11th Armored Division. Before being discharged, the roughly 160 survivors of Berga were forced by the US Army to sign an affidavit promising not to speak about their experiences in Berga. Tony was sent to California to recuperate and discharged in December 1945. In 2009, the US Army finally admitted that US soldiers had been imprisoned in a German slave labor camp.
My Military Missal
Object
Catholic prayer book used by 20-year-old Anthony Acevedo when he was a US Army medic and a German prisoner of war in the Berga an der Elster slave labor camp from December 1944 to April 1945. Tony was a Mexican-American who enlisted in the US Army in 1943. He served as a medic in Company B, 275th regiment, 70th Infantry Division. In January 1945, the company surrendered to the German Army during the Battle of the Bulge. They were sent to a prisoner of war camp, Stalag IX-B, in Germany, where Tony was tortured during interrogation. In February, he was transferred along with 350 fellow soldiers, either Jewish or considered undesirables, to Berga, a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp. Berga was a slave labor camp where prisoners toiled in underground tunnels and mines. Tony worked at the camp as a medic, and he was able to hide a diary and record the names and deaths of the many who died there. He did this out of duty and to honor to his fellow soldiers. On April 3, as Allied forces neared, the prisoners were ordered on a death march. On April 23, they were liberated by the 11th Armored Division. Before being discharged, the roughly 160 survivors of Berga were forced by the US Army to sign an affidavit promising not to speak about their experiences in Berga. Tony was sent to California to recuperate and discharged in December 1945. In 2009, the US Army finally admitted that American soldiers had been imprisoned in a German slave labor camp.