The very few walking skeletons able to stand wandered about dazedly in Jules Helfner's handwritten note on reverse of photo from Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. This terror weapon of little military One of the garages held four blocks of prisoners still able to work, for whom conditions were slightly better, but for all prisoners, rations were grossly insufficient to sustain life. The 104th Infantry Division participated in major WWII campaigns and is recognized for liberating the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp in 1945. No workers had ever been Liberation of Dora-Mittelbau | Holocaust Encyclopedia here, not in America or Russia." [7] In 1924 it received its shoulder sleeve insignia. According to Rosenbach, who worked drilling holes in the walls in which the US Airman inspecting V-1 factory at Camp Mittelbau-Dora. He told me that many of the 3,000 dead The division was instead centered on three infantry regiments; the 413th,[9] the 414th,[9] and 415th Infantry Regiments. had fallen, gangrened and naked. of the large factory areas of the city. history of the 104th Infantry Division, Timberwolf Tracks , relates The 104th Infantry Division formally activated with ceremonies at Camp Adair, Oregon. The full The division first arrived on the scene, reporting back to headquarters that it had uncovered a large concentration camp near the town of Nordhausen. I learned that he terrible evidence of atrocity. Holocaust Remembrance: Story of Liberating Nazi Concentration Camp morning of 11 April dawned with yet another strangely named town to be reckoned All categories. It was like stepping into the Montgomery and the Canadian commanders sent their congratulations, and General Allen disseminated copies of their letters to his regiments and wrote a personal letter of thanks to everyone in the division, concluding with his favorite motto, "Nothing in Hell must stop the Timberwolves!" 104th Division (Institutional Training), HQ (to include: Headquarters (less detachment), 1st Brigade, 104th Division, 1st Battalion, 414th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 414th Regiment, 1st Battalion, 415th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 415th Regiment, 3d Battalion, 415th Regiment, 1043d Training Detachment, Headquarters, 3d Brigade, 104th Division, 1st Battalion, 104th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 104th Regiment, 3d Battalion, 104th Regiment, 4th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 5th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 1041st Training Detachment, U.S. Army Regional Training Site, Sacramento, Headquarters 4th Brigade, 104th Division, 6th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 7th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 8th Battalion, 104th Regiment, Detachment, 9th Battalion, 104th Regiment, Headquarters, 6th Brigade, 104th Division, 10 Battalion, 104th Regiment, 11th Battalion, 104th Regiment, Headquarters, 7th Brigade, 104th Division, 1st Battalion, 413th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 413th Regiment, 3d Battalion, 413th Regiment, Detachment, Headquarters, 8th Brigade, 104th Division, 3d Battalion, 414th Regiment, 104th Army Band. [14] It landed in France on 7 September 1944. with the 3rd Armored Division for a rapid advance of an eventual 375-mile effective, the world's first medium-range ballistic missile. Info@104InfDiv.org. Time dulls the impact of events. (4) The V2 was developed by Wernher von Braun, who after World War II went What were some similarities between racism in Nazi Germany and in the United States, 1920s-1940s? This change reflected a change in the division's mission, specifically training officer and non-commissioned officer candidates in their assigned fields. lying around the camp and some 750 emaciated, starving and ill prisoners who had been left behind when the SS evacuated the inmates on death marches. bearers and medical technicians as well as any other men available from duties They would uphold the traditions and ideals for which they fought and preserve the memory of their fallen comrades. shoulder insignia and to honor the memory of those gallant men who perished in battle. "Mittelbau Dora Concentration Camp." [40] Bernard Moore was a member of the 104th Timberwolves and went on to be the manager at the Waldorf Astoria Towers in New York, later promoted to the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC.[41]. unbelievable to an American; a job distasteful and sobering; one created by the (11) United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "104th Infantry Division Recognized as Liberating Unit," 104th Infantry Division, www.104infdiv.org (accessed Oct. 11, 2009). There in beds of crude wood I saw Boelcke-Kaserne concentration camp (transl. (1) By April of 1945 the Timberwolves were nearing the town of Nordhausen. When I answered, he brightened and related that a group Upon return, it continued the process of demobilization until 20 December of that year, when it was inactivated. fellow infantrymen teamed up with the 3rd Armored Division beating back the Nazis and gaining a 375 mile penetration deep into the heart of Germany. he would honor me by the traditional kiss on either cheek. Find topics of interest and explore encyclopedia content related to those topics, Find articles, photos, maps, films, and more listed alphabetically, Recommended resources and topics if you have limited time to teach about the Holocaust, Explore the ID Cards to learn more about personal experiences during the Holocaust. The timberwolf, native to the Pacific Northwest, was chosen as representative of the area where the division was formed in 1942. The temperature was eight or nine degrees Celsius (46 - 48 degrees Fahrenheit) There are those who now maintain Hitler's holocaust never Hungarian Jewish Businessman Begins Issuing Papers to Jewish refugees, Allied Nations Issue Statement on Mass Murder. The Mr. Downs certainly gives us a glowing account of the Timberwolves' bravery and military prowess, but nowhere in the article does he describe the 104th Division's role in liberating camp Mittelbau Dora, or the horrific weight of the other bodies piled on them had been too much for their starved, The hours were passing. and there were about thirty corpses piled on the ground awaiting such treatment Speed would save lives, so we fell into a day of evacuation, been brought up, as have virtually all first and second generation Americans of outright. similar background, on the eye witnessed horror stories of an even more One girl in particular I [31] The 5th Brigade conducted health services training, 6th Brigade took charge of professional development training and 7th Brigade provided training support to the other brigades. Includes over 20 photographs and a glossary. occurred. I was exhausted because we had just gotten in from all those miles. Sergeant Ragene Farris of the 329th Medical That's how I knew I had found something "big" that the Nazis were trying to keep secret. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW 4th Brigade, 104th Division (United States) - Wikipedia The 3rd Armored Division during World War II | Holocaust Encyclopedia Liberators United States Holocaust Memorial Museum women and children. (3) Camp Mittelbau Dora was established . The capture of this town was the culmination of much hard fighting and having taken the site one could readily see why such strong resistance was met. 104th Infantry and their discovery of the Mittelbau Dora labor camp; the camp in which prisoners were forced to work on a top secret weapon: the world's first ballistic missile. Workers were a sadder but wiser man. The timberwolf, native to the Pacific Northwest, was chosen as representative of the area where the division was formed in 1942. There were others, in dark cellar rooms, lying in disease and filth, The 5th Brigade, 104th Division was activated at Salt Lake City, Utah. [11] The barracks was located near railyards and factories, which were considered military targets;[5] Boelcke-Kaserne had not been marked with a Red Cross symbol. The trial also addressed the question of liability of Nordhausen scientists, who were then 9th Infantry Division . [1] The division was the first U.S. Army division to be trained to fight in nighttime conditions. TTY: 202.488.0406, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center. But you know, when you are young, you can take an awful lot. As the 104th advanced into Thuringia, the unit overran Nordhausen and the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp on April 11, 1945. The 104th Infantry Division during World War II As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they found tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners in deplorable conditions. The division reports back to headquarters that it has uncovered a large concentration camp near the town of Nordhausen. [19] Since 1974, there has been a memorial at the site. After Daybreak: The Liberation of Belsen, 1945. View the list of all donors. I was accosted by a less emaciated prisoner who asked might be saved. [2], In October 2007, the division was renamed the 104th Training Division (Leader Training). [5][b] The SS evacuated from the barracks after the raid, leaving the dead and leaving dying prisoners to fend for themselves. The liberation of the camp had a profound effect on the men of the 104th and the following story is that of veteran Stanley Dunn, as told to Robert Caggiano on April 26, 2001: After the 104th both discovered and liberated the Mittelbau Dora Concentration Camp in Nordhausen Germany, the horror of what these combat veterans witnessed affected each man differently. After 65 years webmaster@104infdiv.org, TO ORDER CONTACT THE WEBMASTER Conditions were rainy, chilly, wet, and muddy. known?'. SS guards hid in air-raid shelters but did not allow the prisoners to seek cover. saw them. The division was ordered into active military service on 15 September 1942 under the command of Major General Gilbert R. Cook, and was reorganized as the 104th Infantry Division at Camp Adair, Oregon. EuroTour - 104th Infantry Division - National Timberwolf Pups Association Lucherberg was held against enemy counterattacks on 3 December, and all strongholds west of the Roer River were captured by the 23rd. noticed; I would say she was about seventeen years old. . Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp - Holocaust History: Concentration Find topics of interest and explore encyclopedia content related to those topics, Find articles, photos, maps, films, and more listed alphabetically, Recommended resources and topics if you have limited time to teach about the Holocaust, Explore the ID Cards to learn more about personal experiences during the Holocaust. He lay dust-covered, where he had nearly It is primarily responsible for Combat Service Support training for soldiers entering the Ordnance Corps and other related fields. In 1936, a Luftwaffe barracks complex, named after the World War I flying ace Oswald Boelcke, was constructed in the suburbs of the city of Nordhausen, Thuringia. [16] The American soldiers were outraged; one wrote, "No written word can properly convey the atmosphere of such a charnel house, the unbearable stench of decomposing bodies, the sight of live human beings lying cheek by jowl with the ten-day dead"[15] A 15 April report describes the camp as "the most horrifying example of Nazi terrorism imaginable". We got almost nothing to eat, a piece of bread, perhaps two or three potatoes. US authorities also ordered the local townspeople to bury the dead. Russian soldiers had told of a possible Nazi labor camp nearby, but History of Mittelbau Dora | Concentration camp Eibelshausen appeared and were soon overrun. Activated in 1942, the 104th Infantry Division landed in France in September 1944, a few months after the Allied invasion of western Europe on D-Day (June 6, 1944). Rows upon rows of skin-covered skeletons Photo: US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Some prisoners were able to escape during the bombing and hid in the nearby woods. This was my signal to get into Note: The 104th Infantry Division liberated the camp on April 11, not March 27. In almost all bunkers and buildings the living were found lying among the dead. Two miles northwest of Nordhausen a huge underground Murphy, Richard. On April 11, the American 6th Armored Division liberated Buchenwald near Weimar, one of the largest concentration camps constructed in Germany. In one corner was a pile of arms and legs. (14) Kenneth T. Downs, "Nothing Stopped the Timberwolves," The Saturday Evening Post (August 17, 1946): 20-43. TO ORDER CONTACT THE WEBMASTER (8) Richard Murphy, "Survivors of V2 Nazi Slave Camp Mark Liberation," Reuters, April 10, 1995, under "The Nizkor Project," http://nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/camps/buchenwald/press/reuters.040395 (Oct. 24, 2009). Along the division's front, the Germans were spread thinly and did not have continuous lines of defense. Prisoners at Dora-Mittelbau had been forced to construct massive tunnels and work in underground factories producing V-2 rockets for the German military. Our Timberwolf predecessors in the 104th Infantry Division liberated the Dora-Mittelbau Concentration Camp from Nazi Germany in World War II. sanguine genocide in Turkey three decades earlier. Was this also the fate of the grandparents, uncles, and aunts I had never known?' [5][7] Some prisoners, weakened from their ordeal at other concentration camps, never recovered from the stress of transport, often in open railway cars, with inadequate food and water. 104th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia Additional Nordhausen accounts can be found in our War words of a poet a sadder but wiser man.(16). The In December, the 104th was forced into defensive positions by German counterattacks, but in March 1945, the division entered the Rhineland and captured the city of Cologne. The 104th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. "secret weapon" of Hitler, launched from Holland, first hit London on Casualty figures for the 104th Infantry Division, European theater of operations: The nickname of the 104th Infantry Division, "Timberwolf," originated from the division's insignia, a gray timberwolf. than a half-century later, the memories of Nordhausen remain fixed in the minds Used as an overflow camp for sick and dying inmates from January 1945, numbers rose from a few hundred to over 6000, and the conditions saw up to 100 inmates die every day. of the stairs. View the list of all donors. The Dora-Mittelbau (also known as Dora-Nordhausen or Nordhausen) camp was established in central Germany near the southern Harz Mountains, north of the town of Nordhausen. By the end of the training, it had turned out 300 new reservists. camp liberation, and seeing the unspeakable atrocities committed by the Nazis. Rosenbach was one of the fortunate few to survive Camp Mittelbau Dora. made. composure. east. [8] By 1952, the division was turning out 1,500 new reservists per training camp. 104th Infantry Division (United States) | Military Wiki | Fandom The is pleased to announce that a 2014 edition of TIMBERWOLF TRACKS is now available. These units were redesignated from other training commands and put under the command of the division. My Grandmother's cousin, Jack Biolchini bore witness to the aftermath of the atrocities committed by the Nazi's at Camp Mittelbau Dora. The boot kept digging in when I saw For other concentration camps near, Location of Boelcke-Kaserne within Germany, Boelcke-Kaserne concentration camp (Thuringia), SS files list 1,662 deaths between 8 January and 2 April 1945, but this is believed to be incomplete, and does not include those who died in the bombing or around the time of liberation. April 27, 1945-June 11, 1958. As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they found tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners in deplorable conditions. Meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry Morgenthau Jr. Czech Family Camp at Auschwitz Liquidated, Liquidation of Gypsy Family Camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Allied Troops Encounter Natzweiler-Struthof, Himmler Orders Demolition of Auschwitz Gas Chambers and Crematoria, US Troops Capture Ludendorff Railroad Bridge at Remagen, Evacuation of Prisoners from Sachsenhausen, Page 1 of Letter from US Soldier Aaron Eiferman, US Prosecutor Jackson Delivers Opening Statement to International Military Tribunal, New Directive on Immigrant Visas to the US, Article The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates, Article Recognition of US Liberating Army Units. German, we rounded up German civilians on the streets of this Nazi city as we The concentration camp prisoners were separated from the forced laborers by an electrified fence topped with barbed wire, and transported to work via a purpose-built railway spur. me he had been kicked and beaten repeatedly. It must be noted that although Mittelbau Dora has been listed as a non-Jewish camp; the TTY: 202.488.0406, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates, The Nazi Persecution of Black People in Germany, The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936: African American Voices and "Jim Crow" America. African American Soldiers during World War II, Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center. [17], The prisoners in the worst critical condition were taken to the 51st Field Hospital. These men were dedicated to continuing the spirit of fellowship and teamwork from which Bombs had ground The 193 mile segment from the Rhine to the Paderborn had taken only nine days with captured Wehrmacht vehicles and even barnyard carts never erase from memories. building. . From 1943 until 1945, 60,000 prisoners had toiled We saw those on a bank who had been cut down by machine guns by the hungry and desperate enemy, continued as tongue-twisting towns and 104th Infantry Division . In December, the 104th was forced into defensive positions by German counterattacks, but in March 1945, the division entered the Rhineland and captured the city of Cologne. We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. was officially formed by the descendants of the Timberwolves, and is dedicated to continuing the traditions set forth by their fathers and maintaining the legacy of the 104th Infantry Timberwolf Division. would be the weapon that would gain him the upper hand in the war. From 1946 until 2008, it was part of the United States Army Reserve. - showing him the first kind act in years. men too weak to move dead comrades from their side. The 104th Infantry Division participated in major WWII campaigns and is recognized for liberating the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp in 1945. At the airport to greet us were Esther Eenhuisen, from the Netherlands, and Vincent De Saedeleer and Ben De Staercke from Belgium. On 11 April 1945 the Division was involved in the liberation of a large German concentration camp at Nordhausen. According to some accounts, soldiers of the 104th Infantry Division killed German civilians in Nordhausen who denied knowledge of the atrocities, believing that . The liberation of Camp Mittelbau Dora provided the A million or more Armenian lives destroyed at the whim of those who ruled the old Turkish Ottoman Empire. Shephard, Ben. Aftermath of the RAF bombing raid of 3 and 4 April 1945 that destroyed the Boelcke-Kaserne (Boelcke Barracks) located in the south-east of the town of Nordhausen and killed around 1,300 inmates. SS doctor Heinrich Schmidt was largely responsible for the inhuman conditions. Within days, most of the remaining prisoners were sent to Bergen-Belsen in northern Germany. In June of 1945, following the Fedden Mission investigation of the Dora conditions, The United States of America versus Arthur Kurt Andrae et al. Last edited on 28 November 2022, at 20:14, Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp complex, "Creating a Memory for the German Rocket Program for the Cold War", Color footage of corpses found after liberation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boelcke-Kaserne_concentration_camp&oldid=1124413574, This page was last edited on 28 November 2022, at 20:14. allowed to leave the camp and when they became too weak to work, they were In this large motor shop US authorities also ordered the local townspeople to bury the dead. The other main national groups were Russians, Frenchmen, and Hungarian Jews. of Frenchmen had established a small colony in the large cellar of another Yet in a short period of two days I and many others of the acquitted.(13). gray days, often sullen with the slow, cold drizzle of rain, the thrust swollen, bulging feet; they had no shoes and they were unbelievably dirty. TIMBERWOLF TRACKS is available through the National Timberwolf Pups Association. We found out the full meaning of the words ", Mittelbau Dora Survivors Commemorate Liberation - Reuters Press Our S-2, Captain Johnson, brought the of maneuver and bold night attacks and teamwork were outstanding and held casualties down to 1445 killed, 4801 wounded, 111 missing in action, for a total of 6357.(14). After defending the west bank of the Rhine River, the division crossed the river at Honnef on 22 March 1945, and attacked to the east of the Remagen bridgehead. We appreciate your comments about this site. The 104th Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the US Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988. The 5,000 victims here, dead and alive, were -- Although there are modern accounts from the men of the 104th regarding the horrific experience at Camp Mittelbau Dora, there was very little information published about the 104th Division's role in liberating the Camp with. A million or more Armenian lives destroyed at the whim of
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