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On April 4, 1945, the United States Army was tasked with something its soldiers never received training for. As the Allies advanced into Nazi-occupied territory, they began uncovering the horrid realities of Hitler’s regime. No blueprint was available for what to do when the soldiers stumbled across concentration camps. Now, in addition to combat, the American soldier’s job consisted of delousing the survivors, and providing medical care, food, and temporary housing. As the summer progressed, another question arose as to what would happen to the displaced persons in the camps. April to October 1945 is a window of time that until recently, has been overlooked in the overall historiography of the Holocaust, but is the key to understanding how the United States handled the displaced persons’ crisis. Although their efforts were not always perfect, the U.S. Army did the best it could at the time with the resources it had. To this end, the U.S. Army deserves applause for how it handled the crises

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U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        1        U.S Army’s Reaction to the Liberation of Concentration Camps: Attempts to Handle the Crises of Displaced Persons from April to October 1945       Adisson E. Alexander                             A Senior Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation in the Honors Program Liberty University Spring 2024     U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        2Acceptance of Senior Honors Thesis  This Senior Honors Thesis is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation from the Honors Program of Liberty University.                ___________________________ David Snead, Ph.D. Thesis Chair                  ___________________________ Christopher Jones, Ph.D. Committee Member             ___________________________ James H. Nutter, D.A.  Honors Director             ___________________________ Date U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        3Abstract On April 4, 1945, the United States Army was tasked with something its soldiers never received training for. As the Allies advanced into Nazi-occupied territory, they began uncovering the horrid realities of Hitler’s regime. No blueprint was available for what to do when the soldiers stumbled across concentration camps. Now, in addition to combat, the American soldier’s job consisted of delousing the survivors, and providing medical care, food, and temporary housing. As the summer progressed, another question arose as to what would happen to the displaced persons in the camps. April to October 1945 is a window of time that until recently, has been overlooked in the overall historiography of the Holocaust, but is the key to understanding how the United States handled the displaced persons’ crisis. Although their efforts were not always perfect, the U.S. Army did the best it could at the time with the resources it had. To this end, the U.S. Army deserves applause for how it handled the crises.                   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        4U.S Army’s Reaction to the Liberation of Concentration Camps: Attempts to Handle the Crises of Displaced Persons from April to October 1945  The spring of 1945 marked the final days of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. The Allies were crossing German territory from the West and East. It was only a matter of time before the Nazi capital of Berlin was safely secured by Russian forces. Members of the German High Command, such as Heinrich Himmler, knew their days were numbered. In order to hide as much evidence as possible as to what the Nazis had been doing to since the 1930s, Himmler ordered the remaining prisoners on forced “death marches” to any camps not yet discovered by the Allies. Those who were unfit to travel or struggled during the journey were shot on the spot. Despite the efforts to hide evidence of the camps’ existence, much was left to be discovered by the Allies. All over Germany and Poland, the Allies stumbled across concentration camps. Although the camps differed in size, location, demographics, and purpose, they all played a role in the Nazis’ plan of annihilation and exploitation.  While the Soviets were the first to discover a camp when they liberated Majdanek on July 23, 1944, it would not be until April 4, 1945, that U.S. forces would liberate its first camp, Ohrdruf.1 Only days later, the army realized that Ohrdruf was only a sub-camp to the main camp known as Buchenwald. These would be the first in the chain of camps the Allies would discover over the next month. Before the war could come to a close, another global crisis had arisen, one for which no one, including the U.S. Army and its soldiers, was prepared.  1 “Liberation of Nazi Camps,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/liberation-of-nazi-camps.  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        5  Reports of Nazi brutality circled the globe even before the start of the war, but no one could fathom the extent of the atrocities until the Allies pulled the curtain back that spring. Even if some political leaders and civilians were aware of Nazi brutality, the average GI had no way of knowing. The typical GI in active duty had limited access to news platforms. In many cases, soldiers were unsure of the names of the camps they liberated or where they were heading when they stumbled across the camps. For them, it was just another day advancing toward a military objective.  Corporal Charles Wilson part of the 4th Armored Division recalls riding in an U.S. Army Jeep “heedless of any danger in these waning days of war.”2 Then his jeep arrived at Ohrdruf: “Until this moment, Wilson had literally no concept, no understanding even in his wildest nightmares, of what the term “concentration camp” really meant.”3 The phrase held little meaning before that spring, but when the first wave of troops discovered Ohrdruf that suddenly changed. An army originally trained for combat was now tasked with finding the best ways to help devastated populations. What happened once the soldiers got to the camps? How could they clean and care for the survivors, and who should be cared for first? After the survivors received care, where would they go? These were just the beginning of questions that the army faced, all while still fighting a war. While Germany’s surrender on May 8, 1945 marked the official end of the war in Europe, it did not mark the end of the Holocaust narrative. The consequences of the Nazi regime continue to haunt the world. Although discussions about the situation of postwar Germany began  2 John C. McManus, Hell Before Their Very Eyes: American Soldiers Liberate Concentration Camps in Germany, April 1945 (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2015), 1.    3 Ibid., 2.  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        6among the Allies at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the Potsdam Conference in July and August 1945 ultimately brought about the four occupation zones in Germany.4 The Soviets, Americans, French, and British all received a portion of Germany and inherited the liberated concentration camps in their areas. The liberation encompasses not just the days of discovery but the weeks, months, and years that followed. Collectively, day-by-day, the U.S. Army and its soldiers sought to address the long-term implications of the Displaced Persons (DP) crises. When the camp tours ended, and the news reporters and photographers had all left the camps, the army was left responsible for administering care. The work in Germany was far from over. On May 4 General Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of Allied forces, noted: “Some of us will stay here to police the areas and the nation that we have conquered, so that a system of justice and of order may prevail.”5  An appreciation grows for the U.S. Army when one examines its efforts during the spring and summer of 1945. What the U.S. Army did that spring and for the months to follow was heroic and must never be forgotten. Many GIs remember the liberation as the most impactful part of the war. Liberation proved to be a process of trial and error, with conditions far from ideal in many of the DP camps. However, the U.S. Army did the best it could at the time with the resources and experiences it had. The world at the time was not ready to open its borders. Many countries were seeking to recover from the war and were unwilling to adjust their immigration policies. As a result, the army was left to administer immediate care. It not only liberated  4 “The Potsdam Conference, 1945,” Office of the Historian, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/potsdamconf#:~:text=The%20Big%20Three%E2%80%94Soviet%20leader,end%20of%20World%20War%20II. 5 The Papers of Dwight D. Eisenhower: The War Years, ed. Alfred D. Chandler, Stephen E. Ambrose, et. al. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1970): 2676.   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        7thousands of prisoners but helped to bring a sense of life and hope back to a people that until recently had none. Those were the greatest achievements during the U.S. Army’s liberation of concentration camps and the treatment of the DPs in the aftermath of the European War.  Even War Could Not Prepare One for the Sights  On April 12, 1945, General Dwight D. Eisenhower stated something that forever captured the feelings of soldiers at the liberation of the camps: “We are told that the American soldier does not know what he is fighting for. Now, at least, he will know what he is fighting against.”6 General Eisenhower made this statement days after the 4th Armored Division and the 89th Infantry Division liberated Ohrdruf on April 4, 1945.7 Nicknamed the “Breakthrough” division, the 4th had experienced much combat.8 Collectively, the division took part in D-Day and, shortly after the invasion, provided reinforcements during the Battle of the Bulge.9 By late March, the 4th Armored Division had crossed the Rhine River and was headed towards its military objective of locating the Nazi’s secret communications bunker at Ohrdruf.10 When its forward units reached their objective at Ohrdruf, they were confronted with piles of dead bodies just inside the gate. Lt. Col. Albin Irzyk, commander of the 8th Tank Battalion recalled, “You   6 “You Couldn’t Grasp it All: American Forces Enter Buchenwald,” The National WWII Museum (April 2021), https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-forces-enter-buchenwald-1945.   7 “Liberation of Ohrdruf,” The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.   8 “The 4th Armored Division During World War II,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-4th-armored-division.  9 Michael Hirsh, The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust (New York: Bantam Books, 2010), 20.   10 Ibid., 103.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        8never heard anything about it, and then suddenly you’re confronted with it. This is unbelievable. It makes an impact that is unforgettable.”11  In the 1800s, Ohrdruf was the home of a toy manufacturing facility. After the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, it was turned into a military training facility.12 When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they turned the military training ground into an underground communication center known as “AMT 10.”13 When Allied intelligence officers heard this information, Lt. Col Irzyk’s route was changed from heading east to south towards Ohrdruf.14 Prior to receiving this order, he had never heard of Ohrdruf. While on the radio talking to his companies, Lt. Col. Irzyk heard about the many bodies being found but paid no attention at the time. After all, he notes, “We were in the middle of a war. I was zeroed in on getting to this complex.”15 Once night had fallen and the day's activities had slowed down, he began inquiring about the bodies. He was then informed that five tanks had discovered something, “beyond anything they ever expected.”16 The next morning, a terrible stench met him as he drove towards the camp. As he pulled up just past the gate, he found emaciated human beings with red dots on their heads and throats. Blood was all over the ground. He explained: “Could you imagine   11 Ibid., 30.   12 Flint Whitlock, “The Buchenwald Concentration Camp: Patton’s Bastardly Discovery,” Warfare History Network, https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/buchenwald-concentration-camp-general-pattons-bastardly-discovery/.    13 Ibid.   14 Albin F Irzyk, Interviewed by Ina Navazelskis, October 7, 2015, https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn530883.   15 Ibid.    16 Ibid.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        9without warning seeing something like that. I had been in combat since July. I had seen every possible wound. But to see this was incomprehensible.”17 Charles T. Payne, a private first class in the 89th Infantry Division, recalls his experience advancing towards Ohrdruf. He began noticing many skeletal figures walking outside in striped suits, appearing lost on the road.18 Many soldiers, like Payne, could not determine where they were coming from: “They were like none we had ever seen.”19 The G.I.s were moments away from learning that the SS (Schutzstaffel) guards had abandoned the camp three days prior to their arrival. The 4th Armored and the 89th Infantry found the camp located just outside of Gotha.20 When General George Patton received word about the camp, he telephoned General Omar Nelson Bradley and noted, “The Third Army had overrun Ohrdruf, the first of the Nazi death camps. Brad you’ll never believe how bastardly these Krauts can be until you’ve seen this pesthole yourself.”21 Meanwhile, Colonel Hayden A. Sears, commander of the 4th Armored’s Combat Command A, ordered civilians in Ohrdruf to tour the camp, “to view the ghastly scene left by their army.”22  Upon hearing the reports of the camp, General Eisenhower made it a priority to visit: “In order to be in position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there   17 Ibid.    18 Charles T., Payne, "Charles T. Payne Oral History Interview" (2009), Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project 90, https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/90.   19 Ibid.    20 “Ohrdruf,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ohrdruf.    21 Whitlock, “The Buchenwald Concentration Camp.”    22 Ibid.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        10develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda.”23 Bradley recalls that General Eisenhower, “turned pale and silent” at some of the images of the camp.24 General Bradley notes, “For here death had been so fouled by degradation that it both stunned and numbed us. Within a week we were to overrun others and soon the depravity of Buchenwald, Erla, Belsen, and Dachau would shock a world that thought itself inured to the horrors of war.”25  Once General Eisenhower had completed his tour of Ohrdruf he wrote to Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall and noted: “The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty, and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick.”26 The general continued that in one room, twenty to thirty men were piled up naked, having died of starvation.27 The sights and smell of the room were so much that General Patton would not even enter, claiming he would get sick if he did.28 General Eisenhower urged Marshall to come at the earliest so that he could to witness what he had seen while a “general offensive” was still being conducted.29 Many could not handle the sites; General Patton’s deputy chief of staff: “paraded the townspeople through to let them have a look. The mayor and his wife went home and slashed their wrists.”30  23 Dwight Eisenhower to George Marshall, April 15, 1945, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/holocaust/1945-04-15-dde-to-marshall.pdf.   24 Robert Abzug, Inside the Vicious Heart (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), 27.   25 Omar Bradley, A Soldiers Story (New York: Holt, 1951), 539.   26 Eisenhower to Marshall, April 15, 1945.     27 Ibid.   28 Ibid.   29 Ibid.   30 Bradley, A Soldiers Story, 540. U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        11Such news brought General Eisenhower slight reassurance that: “some of them still have a few sensitivities left.”31 Little could General Eisenhower know that in the coming days, weeks, and months plenty more examples of Nazi brutality would surface for the world to witness. On April 11, just a day before Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton made arrangements to tour Ohrdruf, the 6th Armored Division discovered a much larger camp. As the lead elements of the 6th Armored Division advanced towards Weimar, they were stopped by a man who told them that they were headed towards a camp called Buchenwald.32 The army soon realized that Ohrdruf was just a glimpse of what they were to witness at Buchenwald. The Nazis established the Buchenwald main camp a few miles outside of Weimar.33 It was one of the largest in all of Germany and contained far more facilities than its sub-camp Ohrdruf. At the beginning of its existence, the camp housed political prisoners, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Gypsies, and Asocials.34 As the war went on, the camp would house both U.S. and Soviet POWs.35 The camp’s population was primarily made up of men and boys but later in the war, women were transported to the camp. As the Soviets began discovering camps in Poland, inmates from Auschwitz-Birkenau were transported to Buchenwald during the forced death   31 Ibid., 541.    32 Whitlock, “The Buchenwald Concentration Camp,” Warfare History Network.  33“Buchenwald,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/buchenwald.  34 Ibid.   35“You Couldn’t Grasp it All.”   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        12marches. By the time the Americans reached Buchenwald, 56,000 people had already died.36 When the Americans stumbled across the camp, diseases such as typhus and dysentery were rampant. Food was scarce as the SS guards had cleared out the food supply before their evacuation a day prior.37 Several skeletal figures greeted the Americans, eager to shake the hands of their liberators. On April 15 General Patton wrote to General Eisenhower informing him of the camp they had just discovered.38 The 6th Armored Division, just as with the 4th, had seen much combat. The experiences of these two armored divisions were nearly identical. The “Super Sixth” were part of D-Day, landing in the wave after the 4th, and would go on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge.39 After the division crossed the Rhine under the command of Major General Robert W. Grow, General Patton changed its orders.40 Now it was to advance “with all possible speed and take the cities of Weimar and Erfurt.”41 It was this re-direction that caused the division to discover Buchenwald.  Harry J. Herder part of C Company of the 5th Ranger Battalion recalls the day that he arrived at Buchenwald.42 He remembers hearing or knowing nothing of the camp prior to  36 Ibid.  37 Egon Fleck and Edward Tennenbaum, “Buchenwald: A Preliminary Report,” Warwick Digital Collections (April 1945), https://wdc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/tav/id/1332.  38 George Patton to Dwight Eisenhower, April 15, 1945, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/holocaust/1945-04-15-patton-to-dde.pdf.  39 “The 6th Armored Division During World War II,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-6th-armored-division.   40 Whitlock, “The Buchenwald Concentration Camp.”    41 Ibid.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        13running into it: “There was no way for those of us at the bottom of the ladder to have any idea at all where we were going or what we were up to.”43 After driving up a valley, Herder was immediately confronted with a barbed-wired fence standing at least ten feet high.44 He recalls that once the soldiers got through the fences, “We got a clue, the first clue as to what we had come upon, but we had no real comprehension at all of what was to assault our senses for the next hours, the next days. It was not human. It did not seem real. But it was all too real. We had aged years in a few short hours.”45  Many GIs, such as Herder, held their weapons at ready as they advanced into the camps. They expected resistance but did not find any German soldiers. Herder notes, “we didn’t need any of that hardware.”46 They met instead with feeble human beings who held nothing more than a blank stare. Herder’s platoon leader ordered him to push the inmates back towards the camp. While doing so, the GIs tried their best to explain to the survivors that they were there to help. Additionally, GIs such as Herder had to guard the perimeter so no one else could wander outside the camp. At this point, he notes, “We hadn’t the vaguest idea what we had run into. Not yet.”47 As Herder watched his friend’s reaction to the sights he thought, “The man had seen everything I  42 Harry J. Herder, Interviewed by Mary Cook and Nita Howton, June 4, 1994. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn80099.   43 Harry J. Herder, “The Liberation of Buchenwald,” https://www.jewishgen.org/forgottencamps/witnesses/HerderEng.html.   44 Ibid.    45 Ibid.   46 Ibid.   47 Ibid.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        14could imagine could be seen, and this place was having this effect on him. I didn’t understand. I didn’t know what a concentration camp was, or could be, but I was about to learn.”48 Despite the efforts of the SS to evacuate some 26,000 to 28,000 inmates by train to nearby camps such as Flossenburg, Dachau, and Theresienstadt, many were still left at the camp.49 Parts of the Third Army discovered more than 21,000 people remaining in the Buchenwald camp.50 Despite all the combat that both the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions had witnessed, nothing could prepare them for the horrid sights of that spring. Would it have mattered, though, if the army received a warning? Could any person truly prepare to see another human being in such a dehumanized state and not hold the same reactions? Countless liberators share the forever-embedded memories of the initial camps discovery as the most impactful part of the war. The liberators did not meet enemies but thousands of victims of a regime that had stripped them of the very right to be human. Even this description does not do justice to the scenes the liberators witnessed and now were left to address.  Initial Efforts to Address Emergencies As the American Army continued to stumble across more concentration camps a typical pattern emerged. The first wave of soldiers would discover and survey the camp to locate any potential living inmates.51 This task proved to be extremely difficult as many of the survivors were in such a weakened state that they could not even wave a hand to grab the attention of the   48 Ibid.    49 Abzug, Inside the Vicious Heart, 48.   50 “Buchenwald,” Holocaust Encyclopedia.  51 McManus, Hell Before Their Very Eyes, 4.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        15liberator. The liberator was tasked with finding those who were still living, all the while “breathing the fetid air, and walking amidst untold human misery.”52 This is seen through the account of Sergeant William who remembers seeing a long line of boxcars at Dachau.53 Hidden amidst the pile of dead bodies in the boxcars, he spotted a survivor. Cases such as this made it increasingly hard for the soldiers to locate survivors. Once they had located all of those still living, they were transported on army trucks to the nearest aid station. In the beginning stages of liberation, many of the prisoners were taken to the facilities once occupied by the SS guards at the camps.  Addressing emergencies in the camps became a process of trial and error. The army often acted upon instinct, only to find it made matters worse. This is seen in the first wave of liberators who arrived at Buchenwald. When truck driver Tex first met starved human beings at Buchenwald, he immediately began handing out his rations. The rations killed the survivors as, “The food was like poison to the fragile systems.”54 Their rations were not a proper source of food for those in a severe state of starvation. Accounts like these became common in the first days of liberation at many other camps. Private First Class Clifford J. Barrett, part of the H Company of the 222d Regiment, saw the prisoners: “stretch out hands, and we pass them our rations, which unfortunately, was a mistake–– but at that moment, we didn’t believe that it wasn’t the right thing to do. Some of them died as a result, the doctors said later, from all that   52 Abzug, Inside the Vicious Heart, 40.   53 Sam Dann, Dachau 29 April 1945: The Rainbow Liberation Memoirs (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 1998), 83.   54 McManus, Hell Before Their Very Eyes, 51. U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        16food at one time.”55As the liberation went on, the army learned that the starved survivor’s digestive systems could only handle subtle foods such as: “soup, milk, oatmeal, and meat stew.”56Administering food and establishing a consistent diet for the survivors would be a task that required careful consideration.  Another important task the army faced during the initial phase of liberation was guarding the perimeter of the camp. Once the SS guards had evacuated, many prisoners wandered on the roads near the camp. In order to administer emergency care and obtain order in the camp the army needed everyone to remain in the camp. At this time the inmates were in no shape to be out on their own and could in no way understand all of what had occurred. Coupled with that the language barriers halted the liberators from explaining to the survivors how they intended to help. Despite the efforts made by the liberators, many accounts tell of inmates being so excited at the site of the American flag and tanks that they ran towards them, only to find themselves in the electric wire. Guido Oddi saw this firsthand as he along with some officers of the 42nd Division Headquarters Company entered Dachau.57 He notes: “They were so overjoyed to see us, and try to come near us, and there was so much pushing and shoving, that one poor inmate wound up against the fence and was electrocuted.”58 Warren Emerson Priest was a surgical technician in the 120th Evacuation Hospital. He recalls that during the first few days of liberating Buchenwald, it was a common occurrence for someone to be walking along feebly only to suddenly collapse and die. PFC Clifford Barrett  55Dann, Dachau, p. 134.    56 McManus, Hell Before Their Very Eyes, 51.  57 Ibid., 51.   58 Ibid.  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        17recalled seeing this same thing at Dachau: “human beings, in the shape of walking skeletons, were dropping dead at our feet.”59 Priest was given orders to keep as many people alive as possible while the army sought to get the necessary equipment to care for the survivors. This job entailed carrying around a stethoscope to determine who had a heartbeat. If a heartbeat was found, the prisoner was taken to a nearby aid station at the camp. If no heartbeat was found, they were left for burial.  Priest also performed this job at the “Little Camp,” the children’s camp at Buchenwald. He found many children who had already died in an environment full of disease. Just as he was walking out of the little camp to pronounce all of them dead, he saw a movement. He found a little girl in a “fetal position”.60 Quickly he picked her up and ran her to the aid station, but only made it halfway before the little girl died in his arms.61 From that moment on Priest considered every heartbeat found, as a little bit of hope.  Priest remained at Buchenwald the last two weeks in April.62 Once the army received word of Dachau’s discovery, he was ordered there to administer the same care he had at Buchenwald. When asked about the state in which he left the camp, he recalls that he had done what he was asked to do. They had stabilized living conditions and the mortality rate had declined. The new medical personnel, often former prisoners, were now in a state to care for the other victims. He notes, “There was no need for the kind of emergency role we were playing   59 Dann, Dachau, p. 134.   60 Warren E. Priest, "Warren Emerson Priest oral history interview" (2008) Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project 97, https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/97.   61 Ibid.   62 Ibid.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        18there. We were not actually medical people; we were taking care of people in terrible conditions of suffering and near death.”63 What Priest experienced and performed was typical for addressing the medical emergencies during the first days of liberation.  Milton R. Silva was also part of the 120th Evacuation Hospital and present during the first few days of Buchenwald’s liberation. His job entailed primarily transporting people on trucks and stretchers to the former SS hospitals.64 Silva’s role differed slightly from Priest because he never worked in the aid station. Silva spent two weeks at the camp providing transportation to aid stations and then advanced like Priest to other camps. Often the army medics would administer care at the aid station, and then after those prisoners regained their strength, they would provide care to their fellow inmates, with the medical supplies left by the army. This allowed for men such as Priest to care for the other inmates found at surrounding camps.  Bernard Bernstein served as a financial advisor to General Eisenhower during the war. After a discussion with General Patton, in April, he concluded that American soldiers made “great efforts to help the inmates who were still alive in the concentration camps and these victims were fed, given clothing and taken care of, given medicine and so on. I think the record of the American Army in this respect was outstanding.”65 Bernstein was right in his assessment   63 Hirsh, The Liberators, 125.    64 Milton R. Silva, "Milton R. Silva oral history interview" (2008). Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project, 112, https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/112.  65 Bernard Bernstein, Interviewed by Richard D. McKinzie, July 23, 1975, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/oral-histories/bernsten.   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        19of the U.S. Army at that time. The death rate in the camp had dropped to a few a day.66 The army had, for the most part, after a few weeks addressed the emergencies in the camp.  Another area that the army had to address before it could administer the necessary care and supplies was to build trust with the survivors. As the soldiers stretched forth their hands, the survivors had to trust that the soldiers meant no harm and were only there to help. First Sergeant Pat Stangl recalled at Dachau: “As I touched the hands of those who reached out to me, I had the feeling that they were using touch to express themselves since there was a language barrier.”67 He goes on to say: “I always touched their hands and smiled. It was strange, but there was a magnetic bond as our hands touched; no further communication was needed.”68 Once this trust was established, it was now time for the army to stabilize conditions. What that looked like at the time, not even the highest rank could know.  From Addressing Emergencies to Stabilizing Conditions Sanitation in the camp’s facilities was a concern that had to be addressed before any other conditions could be stabilized. Andrew Kiniry was a member of the 45th Evacuation Hospital. Although not present for the initial liberation of Buchenwald, he was a part of the days and weeks to follow, serving as a supervisor to the sanitation situation.69 His job entailed ensuring that the survivors followed the soldiers’ orders to shower and quarantine. The soldiers cleaned the survivors in the living quarters to ensure that no more outbreaks would occur. Then they  66 Hirsh, The Liberators, 124.   67 McManus, Hell Before Their Very Eyes, 122.    68 Ibid.   69 Andrew Kiniry Interview by The National WWII Museum, 2015, https://www.ww2online.org/view/andrew-tim-kiniry.   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        20separated the prisoners between those who had typhus and those who did not. Major cases of TB were taken out of the camp and sent to a TB hospital. While supervising this process Kiniry found, “In one compound typhus cases had not been segregated. Two to three people had to share a tiny bunk. The hospital was only huts set aside.”70 After most of the severe cases had been quarantined, Kiniry took part in building a hospital outside of Weimar. From then on any of those that he helped to rescue were sent to the hospital and stabilized.   It was now May, and the war with Germany had ended, but there was still work to be done. Kiniry recalls still having patients to care for that same week of Germany’s surrender; therefore, there was little time for celebration. Like many other GIs responsible for the sanitation of the survivors, Kiniry notes the difficult task of getting the patients to shower. Many individuals refused to take showers because they remembered how the SS guards had used them before.71 How was the liberator supposed to encourage them to take a shower when the only memory they held was their fellow inmates going in only to never come out again? Eventually, men such as Kiniry were successful in getting one person to shower, and that is all it took for the rest to follow.   After they showered, another process of sanitation took place. The GIs burned the prisoners’ clothes to control the spread of lice. Then they sprayed the survivors with D.D.T. powder (visitors to the camps were also sprayed with this powder).72 This helped control the spread of typhus and other diseases in the camp. This process of sanitation was monotonous.  70 Ibid.    71 “You Couldn’t Grasp it All.”  72 “The Horrors of Buchenwald,” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/1945/apr/18/secondworldwar.germany. U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        21Kiniry notes, “You did not have much time to think about what you were doing; there was no time to dwell on it. You were working twelve-hour shifts. By the time I ate, wrote a letter home, and showered I was ready for bed.”73  During this stage, the army received help from nearby villages that were required to assist the army in getting the necessary supplies (whether food or material). General Eisenhower, in a press conference at the Pentagon on June 18, noted: “the first problem is to get localities started by putting responsibility.”74 Eisenhower knew that it was imperative that the locals in the towns carry their weight in helping the army. Survivor Rosalyn Orenstein recounts her gratefulness of the GIs who: “took clothing from German homes and gave them to us so that we could dress in civilian garb.”75 When Buchenwald was discovered, General Patton ordered 1,000 citizens of Weimar to witness the atrocities.76 These tours became known as “forced confrontations.”77 By this time, the 80th Infantry Division occupied Weimar, and Buchenwald had been placed under the command of Major Lorenz C. Schmuhl.78 Hundreds of citizens in Weimar daily aided the army in the cleaning and running of the camps. Civilians buried the dead. While civilians took part in  73 Andrew Kiniry Interview.   74 “Transcript of Press Conference of General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower,” Eisenhower Presidential Library, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/holocaust/press-conference-1945-06-18.pdf.   75 Robert H. Abzug, GIs Remember: Liberating the Concentration Camps (National Museum of American Jewish Military History, 1994), 55.   76 “Chronology of the Liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp,” Buchenwald Memorial, https://www.buchenwald.de/en/geschichte/themen/dossiers/chronologie-befreiung.   77 Christopher E. Mauriello, Forced Confrontation: The Politics of Dead Bodies in Germany at the End of World War II (Maryland: Lexington Books, 2017), viii.    78 “Chronology of the Liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp.”  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        22the cleanup, they were often interrogated by the army. The army inquired about the camp’s existence and purpose. The only response most liberators received from civilians was claiming not to have known anything about the camp’s existence. Soldiers found this hard to believe, as the stench of the camp no doubt reached the nearby villages. Lieutenant Jack E. Westbrook was part of the 222d Regiment and recalls: “residents of Dachau, riding bicycles down the streets outside the Camp–– rags tied over their noses and mouths to keep out the stench.”79 He further noted: “some of those very same people later told us that they did not know what was going on in the camp.”80 Another account similar to this came from Allen Cohen who was part of the 45th Infantry Division.81 He was told by countless civilians at Dachau that: “Although they heard some screaming near the railroad tracks, they turned their heads away. They didn’t want to become involved.”82 Throughout much of April and May, the army hosted many observers and documenters from various countries. These tours stretched weeks beyond the initial liberation days. The visitors often impeded the army from administering care by crowding the barracks, where the army was working to locate those in need.83 Engineers could not bury the dead until the tours were complete. This left those who had died out in the open, only compounding the stench in the camp. Eventually, on May 9 a message was sent from SHAEF stating that the “Buchenwald   79 Dann, Dachau, 143.   80 Ibid.   81 Abzug, GIs Remember: 34.   82 Ibid.    83 Abzug, Inside the Vicious Heart, 142.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        23concentration camp has been cleaned up, the sick segregated and burials complete to such an extent that very little evidence of atrocities remains. Suggest that further visits to this camp be discontinued.”84 After the first few weeks of liberation, the army had successfully stabilized the survivors’ eating conditions. With serious cases of malnutrition, the army was now extremely careful as to how much they fed the people. Many soldiers donated blood in an effort to provide much needed nutrients to those unable to tolerate food at the time. Warren Emmerson Priest recalls: “We all gave blood.”85 Once the survivors were able to handle food, army rations were distributed once more, along with any other food collected in the villages. In some cases the army sent out survivors to gather food; this was the case for Rosalyn Orenstein. She received a pass from the army to go purchase food.86 In most cases, the food was prepared in army kitchens. There were many survivors left at Buchenwald who were eager to help the army distribute food. The army, however, was still experiencing problems with people leaving the camp.  Charles T. Payne helped in the liberation of Ohrdruf only for one day before continuing his advancement to Berlin.87 A little while later his unit was ordered back to the camp in order to keep the roads clear for the other units continuing in their advancements.88 He stood guard around the perimeter of the camp during his shifts, and once his shift ended, he slept in the beds   84 Hirsh, The Liberators, 126.    85 Priest, "Warren Emerson Priest oral history interview.”     86 Abzug, GIs Remember, 55.   87 Charles T. Payne, "Charles T. Payne Oral History Interview" (2009), Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project. 90, https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/90.  88 Ibid.   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        24that once belonged to the German guards in the camp.89 Payne discovered, like many other liberators, that the prisoners did not want to return to the camps.90 The army experienced difficulties in making sure all the prisoners stayed within the camp; as it was only in their best interest that they did. If they stayed in the camp, they could receive the care they needed. For the liberator, this was a very hard task. How do you tell someone who has been at a camp for years and faced things no human should ever face that everything is going to be alright as long as you remain in the camp? The prisoners were liberated, no doubt, but this did not mean they were free from the camp. At this time, it merely meant that conditions were improving, and they no longer had to be in constant fear of death.  Although conditions were improving by the end of June, the survivors still were without ample food, clothing, and medical supplies. In addition, they were still living behind barbed wire fences. While some remained in the camps in which they were liberated, others lived anywhere the army could find shelter. The DPs found “shelter when night came in bombed-out shells of buildings and warehouses, in barns and haylofts, in abandoned army barracks, in public parks and marketplaces.”91 Many GIs still gave out their own rations, clothing, and medical supplies.  The survivors eagerly waited for everyday routines to be established. Eliezer Adler, was a survivor who noted: “Doing something gave our lives meaning… that’s what kept us alive.”92   89 Ibid.   90 Ibid.    91 David Nasaw, The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War (New York: Penguin Press, 2020), 7.    92 “Affirm Life in the DP Camps,” Yad Vashem, https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%202375.pdf.   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        25The army saw the importance of establishing such routines to boost morale among the individuals. Children needed to resume their education; others needed counseling and a majority wished to start families. Adler noted: “People got married; they would take a hut and divide it into ten tiny rooms for ten couples. The desire for life overcame everything.”93 The survivors believed the only way to move past their unfortunate circumstances was to start a new life. Only then could they restore all that the Nazis had taken from them. As Eliezer concluded: “In forgetfulness lay the ability to create a new life.”94 Now an army trained for war was undertaking the responsibility of meeting humanitarian needs. The survivors were not only in need of physical care, but they were also in need of counselors and teachers, all of which the army in and of itself could not provide. The army’s goal during this stage was to ensure a quick repatriation, but they soon came to realize this was not a tangible reality. Britain, at the time, was unwilling to allow Jews to immigrate to Palestine, and the United States was not prepared to receive refugees on such a massive scale. The U.S. was still at war in the Pacific until September and even a percentage of U.S. Citizens did not have open minds about increasing the number of refugees after the war. A poll conducted in December 1945 asked if more Europeans should be admitted into the country each year. The results came back with 37% saying fewer, 32% saying the same, 14% saying none at all, and 12% saying no opinion.95 No one opted to increase the number even by the conclusion of 1945.   93 Ibid.  94 “Displaced Persons Camps,” Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/general/displaced-persons-camps.html.   95 “Public Opinion Poll: December 1945,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://exhibitions.ushmm.org/americans-and-the-holocaust/main/us-public-opinion-after-wwii-1945. U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        26The world was not ready at this time to open its borders to the DPs, thus leaving the military to pick up the pieces.  The Crises of Displaced Persons  As early as 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt had already begun discussions with his cabinet about the concerns he foresaw with displaced persons. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt noted, “A new type of political refugee is appearing. People who have been against their present governments and if they stay at home or go home will probably be killed.”96 In 1943, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was established in response to the anticipation of refugees and displaced persons in the post-war period.97 This organization sought to provide, “economic and social aid to countries that had been under Nazi occupation and to help repatriate the displaced persons.”98 UNRRA defined a “displaced person” as someone “uprooted by the war,” whereas a “refugee” was someone who left their country and could not return.99 At the conclusion of the war, the Allies had at least 7,000,000 displaced persons located throughout Germany and Austria; all but a million of which re-settled.100 Out of this number more than 250,000 Jewish survivors would live in the DP camps administered by the Allies.101    96 “The Last Million: Eastern European Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany,” The National WWII Museum, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/last-million-eastern-european-displaced-persons-postwar-germany.  97 “Displaced Persons Camps.”   98 Ibid.   99 Ibid.   100 “U.S. Policy During WWII: U.S. Army and the Holocaust,” Jewish Virtual Library.  101 “Displaced Persons,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/displaced-persons.  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        27Collectively, the U.S. Army and the UNRRA in 1945 created around 50 DP camps.102 Eisenhower noted: “The Allies had, on the political level, worked out formulas for distinguishing between displaced persons who were to be returned to their own countries and those who were to be cared for by the occupying powers.”103 However, due to an influx of immigrants these centers soon became overcrowded. “By the fall, the American zone dealt with increasing numbers of anywhere between 500-600 immigrants a day who hoped to gain entrance into its DP camps”.104 This was the case primarily because Polish Jews were seeking refuge from the remaining antisemitism still taking place. In the aftermath of the pogrom in Kielce, Poland, in July of 1946, “more than 100,000 Jews fled the Soviet Bloc.”105  Harry Lerner was a Jewish director for the UNRRA.106 In a letter to his mother, he highlights this: “People are still coming in– from Poland, and even from Russia, all unofficially. If the present trend continues, there soon will be no Jews left in Poland.”107 With such a turn of events, American-run DP camps became a refuge for Eastern European Jews. Once these Eastern European Jews arrived at the American DP camps, they typically burned any form of identification they had in order to avoid repatriation back to the Soviet occupation zone. This   102 “Displaced Persons in Postwar America,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://perspectives.ushmm.org/collection/displaced-persons-and-postwar-america.   103 Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe (Garden City: Doubleday, 1948), 439.   104 Leonard Dinnerstein, “The U.S. Army and the Jews: Policies Toward The Displaced Persons After World War II,” American Jewish History 68, no. 3 (1979): 361.   105 “U.S. Policy During WWII: U.S. Army and the Holocaust,” Jewish Virtual Library.   106 “Letters from Harry Lerner to His Parents,” Experiencing History, https://perspectives.ushmm.org/item/letters-from-harry-lerner-to-his-parents.    107 Harry Lerner to mother, December 21, 1945, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://perspectives.ushmm.org/item/letters-from-harry-lerner-to-his-parents. U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        28made it increasingly difficult for the army to perform their tasks of registering and repatriating the DPs. It was nearly impossible for the inexperienced army to care for everyone's individual needs. The military sought to close the DP camps to those who were not uprooted by the war; however, this was opposed by American Jews.108 There was at the time, “little clear sense of what eventually would or should happen to them.”109  Coupled with the increasing numbers were strained relations between the army officers and the UNRRA personnel, creating an ineffective work environment. Additionally, frequent language barriers between UNRRA personnel and army officers hampered communication. First Lieutenant Clinton Gardner volunteered to be a part of the first administrative team that went to Buchenwald a week after its liberation.110 He was the only one in his team that was able to communicate with the survivors, as he was able to speak both French and German. As a result, a week after his arrival at Buchenwald, he was placed in the management position of the camp. From May to June his team worked to repatriate those left in the camp.111 His team had much success transporting the DPs back to their homelands, and by the time the camp was turned over to the Soviets on July 4, hardly any survivors remained.112  Harry Lerner, in a series of letters to his parents, gives insight on how the DP camps were being run by the army; “So far I’ve had lots of work from my job, and darn little result. I don’t  108 “U.S. Policy During WWII: U.S. Army and the Holocaust,” Jewish Virtual Library.   109 Abzug, Inside the Vicious Heart, 151.   110 Clinton Gardner, Interview by The National WWII Museum, 2015, https://www.ww2online.org/view/clinton-gardner#segment-6.   111 Ibid.     112 Ibid.     U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        29know whether other Jewish camps in Germany are better or worse off than this one. I cannot understand how those of us who are with the UNRRA have worked so long and so hard and so earnestly with so little result.”113 It was increasingly difficult to maintain conditions in the camps while simultaneously registering new arrivals who sought refuge. Lerner notes, that it was nearly impossible to get ahead. How could conditions improve if they could barely maintain the number of DPs they had? He notes that the military forbade him to take any more DPs, but the DPs still came. He had nowhere to house them as they huddled around the outskirts of the camp. Lerner recalled that in: “Stuttgart, the Military Government has forbidden me to accept any more people. But so far they have not set up another place for the newcomers to go. Now I have about 400 people squeezed into corners and attics.”114 The army sought to divide the DPs into camps based on their nationality; however, this was not always successful. At this time, the Jewish DPs were spread out in various camps, at times housed with their prior aggressors. The majority of Jews were stateless; therefore, they were not often separated from other nationalities. Nevertheless, the Jews were “distinguishable by their pallor, emaciated physiques, shaved heads, lice-infested bodies, and the vacant look in their eyes.”115 The Jewish DP, unlike that of other DPs, were unable to leave the camps to search for better housing or family members. The “vast majority of Jewish survivors remained in the  113 Harry Lerner to Claire Lerner, December 21, 1945, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://perspectives.ushmm.org/item/letters-from-harry-lerner-to-his-parents/collection/german-police-and-the-nazi-regime.   114 Ibid.    115 Nasaw, The Last Million, 2.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        30camps, too ill to leave on their own.”116 The Jews who obtained some health back were eager to start anew even before they found a permanent place to dwell.  Many Jewish survivors created communities in the DP camps in which they lived. Although they certainly lacked material possessions, that was not their main concern; rather, they wished for normal routines to be established once again. W. Gunther Plaut served as a chaplain with the 104th and noted: “Although the survivors had not eaten for a long time their first request was not for food but for Jewish religious items, and for our troops to get in touch with their relatives in the United States or somewhere in the world.”117 When it came to establishing schools, synagogues, and hospitals, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee came alongside the army and the UNRRA to establish such places. The JDC provided these camps with, “doctors, teachers, nurses, social workers, and administrators.”118 At the Buchenwald DP camp many Jewish survivors took it upon themselves to form their own communities, while they awaited repatriation. An example of this is the Kibbutz Buchenwald. This community, founded in June by Jewish survivors, was the first agricultural camp established in Germany after the Holocaust.119 They organized many religious and cultural events as a means to recognize those who had not survived.120 Sports teams were established and  116 Ibid., 3.    117 Abzug, GIs Remember, 20.   118 “American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Refugee Aid,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/american-jewish-joint-distribution-committee-and-refugee-aid.   119 “November 12, 1945, The Dining Room of Kibbutz Buchenwald, Germany,” Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust/this-month/november/1945.html.   120 “Buchenwald DP Camp and Kibbutz - Jugend Im KZ,” May 31, 2022, https://www.jugend-im-kz.de/en/buchenwald-dp-camp-and-kibbutz/.  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        31surrounding DP camps would compete with one another. These communities also sought to prepare survivors to go to Palestine. Such Jewish communities served as a way to transition back to their normal lives.  Although a sense of routine was being established in the DP camps, there were still difficulties present. Tensions developed at times between the GIs and the Jewish DPs. Most of the GIs present at the scene during the first hours and days of liberation were no longer at the camps. They were replaced by new troops assigned to occupational duties. With few exceptions, the occupational troops did not see the terrible state of the concentration camps upon liberation and only witnessed the state of the camp amid the army’s efforts to clean. The initial liberators understood the Jews as a group in need of special attention as they saw firsthand how the Nazis had treated them. The new wave of GIs assigned to occupation had not seen what the liberators saw and often did not understand the state of the Jews or the history of the camp they were at. Many “New GIs found it difficult to understand and like people who pushed, screamed, clawed for food, smelled bad, who couldn’t and didn’t want to obey orders.”121  It goes to show that the army had cleaned the camps in such a way that the new wave of GIs could not fathom what had taken place there. Although the new GIs’ thoughts towards the Jewish DPs cannot be condoned, it can be understood. They, at the time, could not understand that Jews required special attention. However, for General Patton to hold such views is not as dismissible. The same man who would not enter places at Ohrdruf because the sights were so horrific now looked down on Jewish DPs. General Patton wrote that the Jews were “lower than   121 Dinnerstein, “The U.S. Army and the Jews,” 363.  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        32animals.”122 Such sentiments ultimately led President Harry Truman to send Earl G. Harrison, the U.S. representative on the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, to inspect the state of the camps. The Harrison Report  It quickly became apparent that the Jews required special attention because in most cases they had greater needs. In June 1945, Harrison conducted inspections of multiple DP camps located throughout Germany and Austria: “to inquire into the needs of the non-repatriables with particular reference to stateless and Jewish refugees.”123 On August 24, he personally handed President Harry S. Truman his highly critical report regarding the U.S. Army’s treatment of DPs. He noted, “As matters now stand, we appear to be treating the Jews as the Nazis treated them except that we do not exterminate them.”124 He added, outside of “knowing that they are no longer in danger of the gas chambers, torture, and other forms of violent death, they see–– and there is–– little change.”125 Harrison did highlight in his report that the health of the inmates appeared to have improved. However, he goes on to say that “Although some camp commandants have managed, in spite of the many obvious difficulties, to find clothing of one kind or another for their charges, many of the Jewish displaced persons, late in July, had no clothing other than their concentration   122 “George Patton (1885-1945),” Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/george-patton. 123 “Earl G. Harrison Mission,” FDR Library (June 12, 1945), http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/wrb/wrb0252.pdf.  124 The Harrison Report, President Truman, and General Eisenhower,” National Archives and Records Administration, https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2015/12/15/the-harrison-report/.   125 “Report of Earl G. Harrison,” Eisenhower Presidential Library, 1945, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/holocaust/report-harrison.pdf.   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        33camp garb.”126 Some even were clothed in former SS guards’ uniforms. He expressed concern for the Jews who constantly had to vacate their living accommodations in army barracks when the army needed them. Harrison noted that he found it difficult to believe that, in such conditions, the army was helping the DPs for the long term. Harrison noted: “With few notable exceptions, nothing in the way of a program of activity or organized effort toward rehabilitation has been inaugurated and the internees, for they are literally such, have little to do except to dwell upon their plight.”127 One of the most important changes that Harrison advocated was the recognition of Jews as “a separate group with greater needs.”128 He advocated for expedited emigration, preferably to Palestine. Until this was obtainable, he recommended separate camps be established for Jews and operated by Jews. He knew that the Jews had suffered the most and did not see it appropriate that they were in some cases being housed with their prior aggressors. Additionally, free access to the camps should be permitted even for the Jews (where prior the Jews were not allowed to travel). Additionally, he advocated for unguarded facilities, better housing accommodations, and authorities that regularly checked in to ensure such conditions remained.  He noted that: “a more extensive plan of field visitation by appropriate Army Group Headquarters be instituted, so that the humane policies which have been enunciated are not permitted to be ignored in the field.”129   126 Ibid.   127 Ibid.    128 Ibid.  129 “The Harrison Report, President Truman, and General Eisenhower.”  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        34Further, Harrison requested that the UNRRA assume full responsibility over the camps. General Eisenhower wanted this to happen as well. He notes, “As quickly as possible, the actual operation of such camps should be turned over to a civilian agency––UNRRA. That organization is aware of weaknesses in its present structure and is pressing to remedy them.”130 Until this could be made possible, Harrison advocated for military authorities to get help from other agencies to complete their tasks. Military officers who remained in charge were to preferably have a social work background to ensure they would work well alongside the JDC and UNRRA. Harrison noted: “Officers who have had some background or experience in social welfare work are to be preferred and it is believed there are some who are available. It is most important that the officers selected be sympathetic with the program and that they be temperamentally able to work and to co-operate with UNRRA and other relief and welfare agencies.”131 This, he believed, would allow smoother working relations between the organizations and thus expedite finding the DP’s family members.   Harrison concluded his report by stating, “The civilized world owes it to this handful of survivors to provide them with a home where they can again settle down and begin to live as human beings.”132 When President Truman received this report, he was bothered and ordered Eisenhower to inspect the camps and make such improvements. General Eisenhower informed President Truman that he would make a personal visit to inspect the situation of the Jewish DPs but to be assured that “in the United States Zone in Germany no possible effort is being spared to   130 Ibid.   131 Ibid.    132 Ibid.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        35give these people every consideration toward better living conditions, better morale and a visible goal.”133Although Harrison’s overall assessment of the army was harsh, his report did bring about many positive improvements to the state of the DP camps.   As a result of the Harrison Report, Eisenhower toured the DP camps and implemented changes. The first major change was separating Jews into separate DP camps under the administration of Jewish UNRRA personnel. Additionally, Eisenhower added a Jewish advisor to his staff to serve as a mediator between the Jews and the GIs. He also increased rations for the Jews to 2,500 calories a day.134 More recreational facilities were established for enjoyment. General Eisenhower also ordered frequent inspections to ensure that his orders were being carried out. One general recalled that after the report, “I have been getting orders fired at me so fast since then that I have been unable to keep up with them.”135   General Eisenhower ordered the barbed wire to be taken down and replaced the guards with unarmed DP police forces. Just as Harrison wished, General Eisenhower wanted agencies such as the UNRRA to assume responsibility and relieve the GIs; however, that was just not possible at the time. It was never ideal for the military to be in such a role but that was the reality. After Eisenhower made such improvements, he wrote of the progress to President Truman:   133 Dwight Eisenhower to President Truman, September 14, 1945, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/holocaust/1945-09-14-dde-to-truman.pdf.    134 Dinnerstein, “The U.S. Army and the Jews,” 358.    135 Ibid.    U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        36 The army in this area has been faced with the most difficult types of redeployment  problems; has had to preserve law and order; furnish a multitude of services for itself and  for thousands of people it employs, and on top of this has had this question of displaced  persons with unusual demands upon transportation, housing, fuel, food, medical care and  security, you can well understand that there have been undeniable instances of  inefficiency.136  Eisenhower went on to tell President Truman that “The assertion that our military guards are now substituting for SS troops is definitely misleading.”137 Eisenhower explained that they were aware of the problems, and they were seeking to address them with the help of chaplains, Jewish agencies, and members of the UNRRA.138 He acknowledged that “in certain instances, we have fallen below standard,” but goes on to say that an entire army has been thrown from, “combat to mass repatriation.”139 General Eisenhower saw the barbed wire, armed military guards, and passes for travel necessary at the time for the protection of the DPs. The general noted: “Many others died by violence or were injured while circulating outside our assembly centers.”140 Complications were bound to occur, there was no easy solution for the army at the time.   The army met a crisis that contained no blueprint. It sought to do the best they could at the time. Politicians such as Harrison expected different results than what the army produced. To this end, General Eisenhower wrote to President Truman reaffirming the fact that he had no  136 Dwight Eisenhower to President Truman, September 18, 1945, Eisenhower Presidential Library, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/holocaust/1945-09-18-dde-to-truman.pdf.   137 “Harry Truman Administration: Eisenhower’s Response to President Truman on Harrison Report,” Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/eisenhower-s-response-to-president-truman-on-harrison-report.    138 Ibid.    139 Ibid.   140 “The Harrison Report, President Truman, and General Eisenhower.”   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        37jurisdiction over who was able to be admitted into Palestine. The general emphasized throughout the occupational period that: “I am an executor not a policy-maker.”141 During this period of waiting from the day of liberation in April until the end of the year the army picked up the pieces, all while maintaining a sense of order. By October, UNRRA was solely responsible for the DPs. By the end of the year, the Allies, along with the UNRRA, collectively repatriated 6,000,000 DPs.142 The last DP camp to close was Foehrenwald in February 1957.143  Although the Harrison Report did bring about positive improvements in the DP camps for the remainder of their existence, it was not a fair assessment of the army’s efforts. The army could not prepare for what they faced that spring. It is easy to make suggestions and criticize the efforts of the army while being absent from witnessing the initial state of the camps upon the army’s arrival. Although the DP camps were far from ideal conditions, they were safer places to live in and allowed the DPs time to determine how to resume their lives. Kibbutz Buchenwald was a prime example of this mentality. The army realized that allowing the survivors to build communities was the best way to help them move on. The army and other organizations provided the survivors with the necessities, protection, and transportation that they could at the time to help them start a new life.    It must be remembered that the U.S. Army addressed the crises initially while the war still raged. It was the army that was met with tens of thousands of starved and emaciated human   141 “Transcript of Press Conference of General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower,” Eisenhower Presidential Library, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/holocaust/press-conference-1945-06-18.pdf.   142 Theodore Comet, “Life Reborn in the Displaced Persons Camps (1945-51): An Untold Story of Courage,” Berman Archive, https://www.bjpa.org/content/upload/bjpa/jjcs/JJCS76-4-10.pdf.   143 “Displaced Persons Camps.”  U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        38beings. Although organizations stepped in to aid the army, the GIs were the ones that discovered and were left with no option but to address the emergencies. General Eisenhower said it best: “Perfection never will be attained… but real and honest efforts are being made to provide suitable living conditions for these persecuted people.”144 Gerda Weissmann, a survivor from the Gross-Rosen camp, went on to marry her liberator, Kurt Klein, and recalls: “He opened the door to my life and future.”145 Gerda noted that just him holding the door open for her was the first time that she had felt human in a long time. Small acts such as this made by the army had lasting impacts on the survivors. Lives were saved, and many were able to return home because of the army’s efforts. When all of this is considered, it is safe to say that the U.S. Army did a credible job in the liberation of concentration camps and the transition to DP camps. Germany’s surrender marked the start of a new challenge and a new beginning. April to October of 1945 is a window of time that all too often is left out of the Holocaust narrative but is essential to understanding the consequences of the Nazi regime. Over these months every day, the army faced bridging the gap from persecution and death to hope. The army’s roles shifted that day in April. No longer did it seek to meet a military objective, they sought to bring these survivors meaning and purpose again. The soldiers’ efforts, although not perfect, deserve applause. An army trained for combat was left administering humanitarian aid to these victims. While most of the world stood in awe and debated the next steps, the U.S. Army was left to pick   144 “Harry Truman Administration: Eisenhower’s Response to President Truman on Harrison Report.”   145 “Gerda Weissmann Klein Describes Her Liberation by a US Soldier After a Death March in Czechoslovakia,” Interviewed by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/oral-history/gerda-weissmann-klein-describes-her-liberation-by-a-us-soldier-after-a-death-march-in-czechoslovakia.   U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        39up the pieces of a broken continent. The greatest achievement of the American Army and its men was in the continual effort to address the implications of how to bring a sense of life back to those left behind by the Nazi regime. With few exceptions, they did.                      U.S. ARMY’S LIBERATION OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS        40 Bibliography Primary Sources: Alexander Frieder to Dwight Eisenhower. 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