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Two American soldiers examine disinfected prisoner uniforms in Dachau.

Photograph | Digitized | Photograph Number: 55056

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    Two American soldiers examine disinfected prisoner uniforms in Dachau.
    Two American soldiers examine disinfected prisoner uniforms in Dachau. Original caption reads: "Dachau Concentration Camp. Horrors worse than those found in the German concentration camps of Buchenwald and Belsen were discovered in the stinking hell-hole of Dachau, captured by troops of the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions of the Seventh U.S. Army April 30, 1945. More than 32,000 prisoners were liberated, among them some Englishmen, Canadians and Americans. The camp was formally surrendered by an SS lieutenant carrying a white flag, accompanied by a Swiss Red Cross official, but SS troops opened fire as American troops approached the main entrance. The Germans were shot down. Three prisoners were electrocuted when they tried to burst through the electrified wire barrier to welcome the Americans. SS guards opened fire on other prisoners who went wild with joy and rushed to meet the liberating troops. Prisoners with access to records said 9,000 people died of hunger, disease or shooting within the past three months at Dachau. Four thousand more perished during cold Winter months. When Americans entered the camp, they found 50 open railway cars standing on a siding, apparently full of dirty clothing but actually found to contain hundreds of corpses piled on top of each other. They also found a row of kennels where fierce dogs were kept to set after escaping men. They discovered gas extermination chambers, incinerators full of naked bodies, bodies marked for dissection and the bodies of several small children. This photo shows: Soldiers of the Seventh U.S. Army inspect the clothing of dead prisoners hanging outside the Dachau crematory. Although alive with lice, they were given to new prisoners, whose better clothing was distributed to German civilians."

    Overview

    Caption
    Two American soldiers examine disinfected prisoner uniforms in Dachau.

    Original caption reads: "Dachau Concentration Camp. Horrors worse than those found in the German concentration camps of Buchenwald and Belsen were discovered in the stinking hell-hole of Dachau, captured by troops of the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions of the Seventh U.S. Army April 30, 1945. More than 32,000 prisoners were liberated, among them some Englishmen, Canadians and Americans. The camp was formally surrendered by an SS lieutenant carrying a white flag, accompanied by a Swiss Red Cross official, but SS troops opened fire as American troops approached the main entrance. The Germans were shot down. Three prisoners were electrocuted when they tried to burst through the electrified wire barrier to welcome the Americans. SS guards opened fire on other prisoners who went wild with joy and rushed to meet the liberating troops.

    Prisoners with access to records said 9,000 people died of hunger, disease or shooting within the past three months at Dachau. Four thousand more perished during cold Winter months. When Americans entered the camp, they found 50 open railway cars standing on a siding, apparently full of dirty clothing but actually found to contain hundreds of corpses piled on top of each other. They also found a row of kennels where fierce dogs were kept to set after escaping men. They discovered gas extermination chambers, incinerators full of naked bodies, bodies marked for dissection and the bodies of several small children.

    This photo shows: Soldiers of the Seventh U.S. Army inspect the clothing of dead prisoners hanging outside the Dachau crematory. Although alive with lice, they were given to new prisoners, whose better clothing was distributed to German civilians."
    Date
    Circa 1945 April 29
    Locale
    Dachau, [Bavaria] Germany
    Photo Credit
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Arnold Bauer Barach

    Rights & Restrictions

    Photo Source
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    Provenance: Arnold Bauer Barach
    Source Record ID: Keystone 65499
    Second Record ID: Collections: 1989.27
    KZ-Gedenkstaette Dachau
    Copyright: Exclusively with source
    Source Record ID: Dok. 3754
    National Archives and Records Administration, College Park
    Copyright: Public Domain
    Source Record ID: 208-AA-206J-2

    Keywords & Subjects

    Record last modified:
    2004-12-20 00:00:00
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/pa1034571

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