The Discovery and reaction of American Soldiers to Nazi Death Camps

When people remember WWII, the Holocaust is a major event that comes to mind. From
1933 to 1945, Hitlers Nazi Germany killed almost six million Jews along with other small
minorities. He called this plan of his the Final Solution, as if killing an entire race of people
was a solution to anything, but in his eyes it was. One of the scariest parts about the Holocaust,
is that no one knew what was happening. Until American soldiers discovered the death camps,
people had no idea of the horror behind Hitlers reign.
American soldiers first stumbled upon one of the death camps in Poland, in July of 1944.
Majdanek, the camp they found, was burned to try to hide its presence, but the terrifying gas
chambers were left evident. After the discovery of this camp, the troops also liberated the camps
of Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka, which were all abandoned by the Germans. In the article
Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust, C. Peter Chen shows an incredible
timeline displaying every little detail about the Holocaust starting from February of 1933 when
initial plans were made for a detention camp, to March of 1946 when confessions were made by
those who witnessed the countless murders of the Jews in these camps. So much destruction was
done throughout this time period, and that wasnt even all of the detriment resulting in WWII.
The discovery of these death camps left American troops at a complete loss of words.
Who wouldnt be completely shocked after finding a gas chamber and human remains scattered
around? Picturing it is frightening. Luckily, there were some survivors, although hardly any
compared to those that were lost; thousands compared to millions. Those that survived were
extremely weak, diseased, and malnourished. In the article, Oh, No, It Cant Be, from the
Holocaust Teacher Resource Center, quotes from some of the Americans who liberated these
camps were given. When we walked through those gates1 saw in front of me the walking

dead. There they stood. They were skin and bone. They had skeletal faces with deep-set eyes.
Their heads had been clean shaved. They were holding each other for stability. I couldnt
understand this (Leon Ball liberator of Buchenwald) Although most of the survivors were
extremely grateful for their freedom, some were afraid to come out like they didnt think it was
actually real. Americans offered as much support as they could, but no one could fully help them
through the things they had to endure. Its hard to say if the Holocaust survivors ever did fully
recover from the horror they faced. They will never be able to un-see what theyve seen and get
the years of their lives back that they lost. But at least they have years ahead of them, unlike
some of their friends and family members.
One of the most interesting things to learn about in middle school and high school is the
Holocaust and WWII. Theres so much to know and luckily for those growing up, there are
many movies, documentaries, and stories to help further their education about it. The most
popular book about the Holocaust is probably The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Anne
and her family were hiding away from the Nazis in an attic above her fathers work place for
years before they were found. Annes father, Otto Frank, was the only survivor of the Frank
family. (Christianson) This book and many others were a result of the liberation of the death
camps. Having the American soldiers find these camps, allowed a new door to open so many
people could learn more about what was happening on the other side of the world. Personally,
watching the movie The Diary of Anne Frank, really opened my eyes and made me hurt for
those that lost their friends and family in that tragic event.
If it werent for the American soldiers, so many things would have been different for
everyone. So many more Jewish lives would have been lost for no good reason. Its scary to
think how things might be if America never entered WWII at all. With the help of the U.S.,

Germany was defeated and the Ally powers won yet again. The American losses were
detrimental, but they were nothing compared to what they were faced with at the concentration
camps. An American soldier, Harry J. Herder Jr. talks about his journey as a 19 year old liberator
of Buchenwald. He states, I wonderedSuppose my ancestors had not come to the United
States; suppose they had stayed in Germany, and, through some fluke, the two people who had
become my mother and father had met, and I had been born a German citizen. What would I be
like? Would I be like the people who had instituted and guarded a place like Buchenwald? This
statement really influenced me. We dont choose who our family is or where we grow up. I
wonder if some of the people in the German army really wanted to do what they were told to do.
Many people did not have a choice but to follow Hitler. Did they really believe what he was
doing was good for the country? Or were they just trying to save themselves and their families?
Unfortunately, well never fully know.

Annotated Bibliography
Chen, C. Peter. Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust. World War II Database.
2004-2016. Web. 19 March. 2016.
Chens article first starts with talking about the discovery of the concentration camps by
the American soldiers. Also, a little bit of their reactions were discussed as well. The
article then goes in to talking about the origins of the Holocaust. It talked about how it
began and how the term Holocaust is looked at now after the war. At the end of the
article there is a huge timeline that shows every little detail about the Holocaust from the
beginning to the end, which was really amazing to read.

Christianson, Scott. How Anne Franks Diary Changed the World. Smithsonian.com 12 Nov.
2015. Web. 19 March. 2016.
Christiansons short article discusses who Anne Frank is and what she was writing about
in her diary. He talks about how long her and her family spent in the attic and how her
diary came to be published with the help of the Franks family friend. The book was
translated in so many different languages and is award winning. He also put a short
paragraph from the diary that she wrote before her family was taken away by the Nazis.

Herder, Harry J. Jr. Liberation of Buchenwald. A Peoples History of the Holocaust &
Genocide. 28 April. 2015. Web. 19 March. 2016.
Herders entire article talks about his journey as an American soldier liberating the
concentration camp called Buchenwald. He goes into detail about everything that he saw
and experienced with his close friends. He talks about what he did day to day and even

the things he heard by the prisoners. Astounded by everything, he began to think about
what it would be like if he were a German soldier rather than an American one, and how
different his life would be.

Oh, No, It Cant Be. Holocaust Teacher Resource Center. 2015. Web. 19 March. 2016.
This article goes into the hearts of the American soldiers and how they really felt after
finding the concentration camps. It talks about the conditions that the survivors were
dealing with upon the soldiers arrival and the thousands of dead bodies stacked around.
It also discusses how the survivors felt after being liberated, some being excited while
others were nervous as if they werent sure it was really happening. At the end of the
article, there are many quotes of actual soldiers who helped to liberate many of the
concentration camps.