By staff
Title: Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps and Camp Site Memorials, 1944-ca.1970s
Predominant Dates:1945
ID: RG-09/RG-09
Primary Creator: United States. Army. Signal Corps
Extent: 0.0
Arrangement:
The arrangement scheme for the record group was imposed during processing in the absence of an original order. Materials are arranged by subject/donor, then by identifier, as assigned by the processor.
Record group is comprised of thirteen collections and two items, the collections of which are: 1. Collection on the Gardelegen massacre; 2. Collection on the liberation of Mauthausen; 3. Collection on the liberation of Majdanek concentration camp; 4. Collection on the liberation of Ravensbrück concentration camp; 5. Collection on the liberation of Dachau concentration camp; 6. Collection on the liberation of Gusen concentration camp; 7. Collection on the liberation of Buchenwald; 8. Collections on the liberation of Dora-Nordhausen concentration camp; 9. Collection on the liberation of Landsberg concentration camp; 10. Zeymour Herman collection; 11. Photographs of post-liberation of concentration camps; 12. Kurt Wittler collection; 13. Anthony Hinds collection.
Subjects: Allied discovery of Nazi war crimes, evidences of the crimes of National Socialist regime, liberation of Nazi concentration camps, Europe
This record group contains photo-documents and narratives produced by the personnel of the Allied armed forces in the aftermath of liberation of the German concentration camps in Europe. Additionally, there is a collection of postwar publications and brochures on museums and memorials at the sites of former camps.
Materials in this record group include photographs, reprints of original photographs, and publications about the camp memorials. Photographs are digitized.
Photography at the liberated camps began spontaneously. Allied military personnel largely experienced a shock after being exposed to the evidence of Nazi crimes. Initially, they instantly took photographs for themselves. The US Army Command decided to organize the process of photographing the remaining traces of Nazi crimes. This task was entrusted to the Signal Corps of the American armed forces in Germany and Austria. An order followed to circulate these sets of photographs, depicting the crimes of National Socialism, among the American units stationed in Germany, Austria and France. After the end of the war, American Military Government in Germany started publishing newspapers for the German population, which also published these photo-documents depicting the Nazi crimes against prisoners of the concentration camps.
RG-09.01, Gardelegen Massacre Collection: On 13th April 1945, the SS massacred 1016 religious, political, and military prisoners from the Nordhausen, Rottleberode, Wiede, and Ilfeld concentration camps. They burned them in the barn. Only seven of them survived. They were discovered by the U.S. Army 102nd Infantry Division’s 405th Regiment 2nd Battalion on 15th April 1945. Vern Ecklund, Army Signal Corps photographer, documented the site of massacre.
RG-09.01.01, Nine photographs, Gardelegen Massacre, Copies of the originals made by the soldiers of the 102nd Infantry Division of the US Armed Forces
RG-09.01.02, Sixteen original photographs, some are clearly of the massacre at Gardelegen. Several photographs represent crematories and other scenes. Two have handwritten comments on the back, one identifying a corpse as that of an SS guard who tried to escape and the other of German civilians forced to bury corpses by the US military
RG-09.01.03, Photograph, Massacre at Gardelegen. Cut from a book with a German caption. Photograph portrays corpses at the door of the barn, one apparently having struggled to escape the burning barn
RG-09.01.04, Handwritten letter by Vern Ecklund, Army Signal Corps photographer, the US 102nd Infantry Division’s 405th Regiment, 2nd Battalion. The massacre scene was discovered by these soldiers on 15th April 1945. The letter asserts that bodies were still burning when he saw them. Copy from the original
RG-09.02, Liberation of Mauthausen, Collection of Photographs
RG-09.02.01, Six photographs (copies) taken in the aftermath of liberation at the Mauthausen concentration camp. The pictures were taken by the soldiers of the 328th Infantry Regiment of the US Armed Forces
RG-09.02.02, Photograph, Mauthausen, in the aftermath of the liberation, 1 May 1945. Caption on the reverse side reads: “May 1 ’45 – Mauthausen, Austria – We freed this camp a few days before the War was over – some of these are dead – some not yet”; Provenance: Gary Smith, 1512 English Drive, San Jose, CA 95129; tel. 408 725-0320; 1-888-741-5824
RG-09.02.03, Photograph, Mauthausen after liberation, a row of dead bodies
RG-09.03, Liberation of Majdanek, Collection of photographs (original photographs taken in July 1944)
RG-09.03.01, Two photographs depicting a mass grave in Majdanek concentration camp. One photograph shows the entire trench, the other is a close up on the dead bodies
RG-09.03.02, Photograph, Hanging on the site of the Majdanek concentration camp, apparently an execution of the Nazi collaborators after liberation
RG-09.03.03, Four emaciated female survivors of the Majdanek concentration camp. Camera depicts them from the back
RG-09.03.04, Photograph, Majdanek after liberation, a pile of corpses
RG-09.03.05, Photograph, Majdanek after liberation, Soviet soldiers examine the dead prisoners
RG-09.03.06, Photograph, Majdanek, a dead prisoner on the barbed wire
RG-09.03.07, Photograph, Majdanek, an emaciated female survivor, camera depicts her from the back
RG-09.03.08, Photograph, Majdanek, emaciated male survivors, depicted naked
RG-09.04, Liberation of Ravensbrück concentration camp
RG-09.04.01, Three photographs depicting: the crematoria, the execution passage, and the inside view of the prison with cells
RG-09.04.02, A photograph depicting a transport from the Ravensbrück concentration camp to Auschwitz
RG-09.05, Dachau concentration camp
RG-09.05.01, Photographs depicting a view of the former Dachau concentration camp as of 6 August 1945. The caption on the back states that the camp was an incarceration center for the prisoners of the SS
RG-09.05.01A, Photographs, Dachau in the aftermath of liberation, crime scenes, page one
RG-09.05.01B, Photographs, Dachau in the aftermath of liberation, crime scenes, page two
RG-09.05.01C, Photograph, Dachau in the aftermath of liberation, crime scenes, page three
RG-09.05.02, This sub-collection contains 20 photographs depicting Dachau Memorial Camp-Site in 1947. On the photographs one can see camp installations, execution sites, and devices of tortures. The latter are replicated as models
RG-09.05.02A, Dachau Memorial Site, page one
RG-09.05.02B, Dachau Memorial Site, page two
RG-09.05.02C, Dachau Memorial Site, page three
RG-09.05.02D, Dachau Memorial Site, page four
RG-09.05.02E, Dachau Memorial Site, page five
RG-09.05.03, Liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp; It is regarded that 12 photographs taken in April 1945 depict the crime scenes seen by the liberators of Dachau concentration camp. Ultimate identification is pending
RG-09.05.04, A stone from Dachau. Associated with the prisoner No. 52877
RG-09.05.05, A view of the former Dachau concentration camp in August 1945. Then the camp became an incarceration center for the SS prisoners
RG-09.06, Liberation of Gusen Concentration Camp
RG-09.06.01, Collection of photographs taken by the US soldiers in May 1945 after the camp was liberated. This collection contains 23 photographs depicting the Gusen concentration camp in the aftermath of liberation. Three photographs are unrelated to the camp theme: two of them depict the US soldiers embarking on an ocean ship, and one photograph, presumably, shows a street view of an Austrian town
RG-09.06.01A, Photographs, Gusen concentration camp in the aftermath of the liberation, page one
RG-09.06.01B, Photographs, Gusen concentration camp in the aftermath of the liberation, page two
RG-09.06.01C, Photographs, Gusen concentration camp in the aftermath of the liberation, page three
RG-09.06.01D, Photographs, Gusen concentration camp in the aftermath of the liberation, page four
RG-09.06.01E, Photographs, Gusen concentration camp in the aftermath of the liberation, page five
RG-09.07, Liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp; Approximately 21,000 victims of the Nazi regime were liberated when troops of the Third U.S. Army seized the camp on April 13, 1945. It is estimated that in the previous 10 years more than 70,000 opponents to National Socialism had been starved and murdered in this camp
RG-09.07.01, Collection of photographs depicting post-liberation scenes and activities in the former Buchenwald concentration camp. This collection consists of 12 photographs that are copies from the originals
RG-09.07.01.01, Buchenwald, a pile of corpses in a room with a tiled floor with a drain
RG-09.07.01.02, Buchenwald, crematory with skeletons in the foreground
RG-09.07.01.03, Buchenwald, eight inmates displaying wounds on their feet
RG-09.07.01.04, Buchenwald, flatbed truck piled high with corpses, surrounded by US military personnel
RG-09.07.01.05, Buchenwald, flatbed double axle trailer piled high with corpses
RG-09.07.01.06, Buchenwald, flatbed truck piled high with corpses, close up to the heads
RG-09.07.01.07, Buchenwald, flatbed truck piled with corpses, two US solders standing aside
RG-09.07.01.08, Buchenwald, flatbed truck piled with corpses, German civilians are forced to watch on
RG-09.07.01.09, Buchenwald, ledger book with names of registered prisoners
RG-09.07.01.10, Buchenwald after liberation, men place corpses on the cart
RG-09.07.01.11, Buchenwald, two men examine a pile of corpses near the building
RG-09.07.01.12, Buchenwald, US troops are in the foreground, the camp barracks are in the background
RG-09.07.01.13, Buchenwald Camp, British Parliamentary Report in the aftermath of the liberation
RG-09.07.01.14, German women are brought from Weimar to see the horrors of the Buchenwald concentration camp
RG-09.07.01.15, This heap of ashes and bones represents only one day’s killing of prisoners in Buchenwald concentration camp
RG-09.07.01.16, Buchenwald concentration camp. On the foreground, there is a Hungarian Jew, prisoner of the camp. He reached a point of starvation where the outline of his backbone literally could be seen from the front of his body.
RG-09.07.02, Patricia Fishtein Collection, Liberation of concentration camp sites, 32 photographs. Buchenwald and Ohrdruf, April 1945
RG-09.07.03, Clifton Gallup Collection of postliberation photographs taken in the Buchenwald concentration camp
RG-09.07.03.01, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 1 of 22
RG-09.07.03.02, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 2 of 22
RG-09.07.03.03, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 3 of 22
RG-09.07.03.04, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 4 of 22
RG-09.07.03.05, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 5 of 22
RG-09.07.03.06, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 6 of 22
RG-09.07.03.07, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 7 of 22
RG-09.07.03.08, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 8 of 22
RG-09.07.03.09, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 9 of 22
RG-09.07.03.10, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 10 of 22
RG-09.07.03.11, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 11 of 22
RG-09.07.03.12, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 12 of 22
RG-09.07.03.13, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 13 of 22
RG-09.07.03.14, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 14 of 22
RG-09.07.03.15, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 15 of 22
RG-09.07.03.16, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 16 of 22
RG-09.07.03.17, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 17 of 22
RG-09.07.03.18, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 18 of 22
RG-09.07.03.19, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 19 of 22
RG-09.07.03.20, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 20 of 22
RG-09.07.03.21, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 21 of 22
RG-09.07.03.22, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photo 22 of 22
RG-09.07.03.23, Clifton Gallup Collection, Buchenwald photos envelope
RG-09.08, Liberation of Nordhausen Concentration Camp Collection: Nordhausen was a subsidiary camp of the Dora-Mittelbau production complex and concentration camp. The SS authorities established Nordhausen camp for prisoners too weak or too ill to work in the tunnels of Dora on the manufacturing of the German V1 and V2 missiles. Nordhausen concentration camp is shown shortly after liberation: 25 photographs depicting lying-on-the-ground corpses of prisoners scattered all over the camp and other camp scenes. The photographs were taken by US military personnel of the 1151 Combat Engineer Group. The camp was liberated on 12 April 1945.
RG-09.08.01, Sig Halbreich photo collection of liberation of Nazi concentration camps, Dora-Nordhausen; This collection includes 34 photographs taken in the aftermath of the camp liberation
RG-09.08.02, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, a bunker used by SS during Allied bombing
RG-09.08.03, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, US soldiers oversee Germans digging graves
RG-09.08.04, Dora-Nordhausen, 25 photographs, in the aftermath of liberation
RG-09.08.05, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, US military doctors inspecting corpses
RG-09.08.06, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, mass graves organized after the war
RG-09.08.07, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, mass graves of crosses and Jewish stars
RG-09.08.08, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, mass grave dug by Germans at order of the American military
RG-09.08.09, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, German civilians place corpses into mass grave
RG-09.08.10, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, American doctors inspecting corpses
RG-09.08.11, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, American doctor performing autopsy
RG-09.08.12, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, displaced persons camp, survivors
RG-09.08.13, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, tunnels where rocket parts were manufactured
RG-09.08.14, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, entrance to tunnels
RG-09.08.15, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, a prisoner in the foreground
RG-09.08.16, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, barracks with banks
RG-09.08.17, Photograph, Dora-Nordhausen, electric fences
RG-09.09, Liberation of Landsberg Concentration Camp Collection; Seven photographs of postliberation at the site of Landsberg Concentration Camp taken by a U.S. military serviceman from the 12th Armored Division
RG-09.10, Zeymour Herman Collection; This collection of photographs was donated by Zeymour Herman of Van Nuys. Although the photographs are not dated, the museum accession records date them to March 1945. It is likely that this concentration camp was located in the American theater of war zone at the end of the war. There is no certainty in what concentration camp these photographs were taken; Original archive description: “Photos of bombed building, army vehicles, concentration camp postcard (March 1945), newspaper”; Provenance: Zeymour Herman, 6525 Ventura Can., Van Nuys, CA 91401; Accession #: 89.64.02; Accession Date: 5 December 1989
RG-09.10.01, Zeymour Herman Collection, Liberation of a concentration camp, six photographs; Photograph #1, A concentration camp lane or area between two rows of barracks. The photograph is taken looking through barbed wire; Photograph #2, Soldiers walking down a concentration camp lane or area between two rows of barracks, backs facing the camera. The foreground shows the electric barbed wire fence; Photograph #3, A concentration camp lane or area between two rows of barracks. Emaciated corpses lie in the background; Photograph #4, Men walking by a pile of corpses, both nude and in uniform, in front of building 16 at a concentration camp. The man walking in the foreground is a blur; Photograph #5, Double photograph – On the left, an American soldier is getting off the back of a jeep; on the right, a photograph of a building at a concentration camp. Dead bodies are piled in front of the building; Photograph #6, Close-up of a pile of dead corpses, some nude and some with uniform. The pile is next to a row of buildings at a concentration camp
RG-09.11, Various post-liberation photographs
RG-09.11.01, Photograph, Monument to victims of the concentration camp Stutthof, Poland
RG-09.11.02, Photograph, Soldiers walking down a concentration camp lane or area between two rows of barracks, backs facing the camera
RG-09.11.03, Photograph, Monument to Victims of Chelmno death camp, Poland
RG-09.11.04, Photograph, Ebensee concentration camp, liberated prisoners, Austria, May 1945
RG-09.11.05, Photograph, Woebbelin and Ebensee camps liberated (left); prisoner freed from Woebbelin camp (right)
RG-09.12, Kurt Wittler Collection
RG-09.12.01, Kurt Wittler, Nazi crimes in the camps, photo-documents
RG- 09.13, Documentary from the USHMM, Nazi atrocities by the War Department, narrated
RG-09.14, Letter from Mr. Smith
RG-09.15, Anthony Hinds Collection
RG-09.15.01, Human remains, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.15.02, Corpses, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.15.03, Reconstruction of a body being dragged in a crematory, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.15.04, Pile of human remains, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.15.05, Cart filled with human remains being wheeled along a sidewalk
RG-09.15.06, Three men look down into a mass grave full of human remains
RG-09.15.07, A cart filled with human remains sits in front of the barracks
RG-09.15.08, A truck containing disheveled clothing reads 'OFF LIMITS'
RG-09.15.09, Three American soldiers in front of a pile of human remains
RG-09.15.10, Close-up of a pile of human remains, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.15.11, Close-up of a pile of human remains with two clearly defined skulls in the foreground
RG-09.15.12, Close-up of the lower half of a human skeleton in a crematory
RG-09.15.13, Pile of tattered clothing and other personal belongings
RG-09.15.14, Re-creation of a cremation, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.15.15, Two men lift the arm and leg of a corpse, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.15.16, Reconstruction of a crematory scene, post-liberation of a concentration camp
RG-09.16, Postwar Camp Memorial Sites
RG-09.16.01, Postcards of Ravensbrück Memorial, Eight black and white postcards. Text is in German
RG-09.16.02, Stutthof Guide Book, 1968. Language: English. A guidebook detailing the history of the camp. Includes black-and-white photographs of the camp during the war
RG-09.16.03, “What was it like in the Concentration Camp at Dachau?” Written by Dr. Johann Neuhausler, Auxiliary Bishop of Munich, translated from the German, 8th ed.
Accession #: 82.385; A book written by Dr. Johann Neuhausler, Auxiliary Bishop of Munich, who was a “special prisoner” confined in the “Bunker” (jail) of the Dachau concentration camp because he spoke to the Priest and other bishops about National Socialist injustices. The book draws from his personal experiences as a prisoner and from other publications about Dachau
RG-09.16.04, Memorial booklet, Dated 16 April 1967, Provenance: Alex Schwartz (Kopfl) and Family, Accession #: 84.165; Language: Polish
RG-09.16.05, Oswiecim (Auschwitz) Memorial Wimples, c. 1960-70s. Two Oswiecim (Auschwitz) Memorial Wimples, c. 1960-70s. One side is blue-and-white-striped with the upside-down red triangle of a political prisoner. The back depicts a black graphic logo of barbed wires and a watchtower
RG-09.16.06, Treblinka, Memorial booklet, Provenance: The Library of Benjamin Grey,
Language: English, Two Treblinka Memorial booklets containing text in English and black-and-white photographs
Allied discovery of Nazi war crimes
evidences of the crimes of National Socialist regime
liberation of Nazi concentration camps, Europe
Repository: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Access Restrictions: no restrictions
Use Restrictions:
Copyrighted materials, credits to and references to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust are required
Digital copies might be available upon request
Preferred Citation: RG-09, Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps and Camp Site Memorials. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Archive.
Processing Information: Materials are primarily described using the local descriptive standards of the LA Museum of the Holocaust.
Photographs, depicting the aftermath of the liberation of Mauthausen concentration camp
RG-09.02, Liberation of Mauthausen, Collection of Photographs
RG-09.02.01, Six photographs (copies) taken in the aftermath of liberation at the Mauthausen concentration camp. The pictures were taken by the soldiers of the 328th Infantry Regiment of the US Armed Forces
RG-09.02.02, Photograph, Mauthausen, in the aftermath of the liberation, 1 May 1945. Caption on the reverse side reads: “May 1 ’45 – Mauthausen, Austria – We freed this camp a few days before the War was over – some of these are dead – some not yet”; Provenance: Gary Smith, 1512 English Drive, San Jose, CA 95129; tel. 408 725-0320; 1-888-741-5824
RG-09.02.03, Photograph, Mauthausen after liberation, a row of dead bodies
Majdanek concentrtation camp, located at the outskirts of Lublin, was liberated by the Soviet Red Army in the late July 1944
RG-09.03, Liberation of Majdanek, Collection of photographs (original photographs taken in July 1944)
RG-09.03.01, Two photographs depicting a mass grave in Majdanek concentration camp. One photograph shows the entire trench, the other is a close up on the dead bodies
RG-09.03.02, Photograph, Hanging on the site of the Majdanek concentration camp, apparently an execution of the Nazi collaborators after liberation
RG-09.03.03, Four emaciated female survivors of the Majdanek concentration camp. Camera depicts them from the back
RG-09.03.04, Photograph, Majdanek after liberation, a pile of corpses
RG-09.03.05, Photograph, Majdanek after liberation, Soviet soldiers examine the dead prisoners
RG-09.03.06, Photograph, Majdanek, a dead prisoner on the barbed wire
RG-09.03.07, Photograph, Majdanek, an emaciated female survivor, camera depicts her from the back
RG-09.03.08, Photograph, Majdanek, emaciated male survivors, depicted naked
Ravensbruck was the largest concentration camp for women ever built in Germany. The first prisoners arrived in the spiring of 1941. The majority of the prisoners were Polish women not Jews. In 1945, when news reached the camp that Soviet forces were approching, the Nazis sent the prisoners who were well enough to leave on a death march. Ravensbruck was liberated on April 30, 1945. Soviet forces found only extremely ill women left at the camp.
The documents in this collection include photographs of the Ravensbruck concentration camp crematoria, execution passage, inside view of the prison corridor with the cells, and a transport from Ravensbruck to Auschwitz concentration camp.
Dachau was the first concentration camp established by the Nazis in 1933. Its initial prisoners were political opponents, but later many Jews were sent there as well. Dachau was a labor camp where many died or were sent to an extermination camp in Austria. On April 27, 1945 the Nazis forced 7,000 prisoners on a death march. Two days later, on April 29, 1945, the camp was liberated by American forces.
The sub-collection includes photographs of dead prisoners after the liberation of Dachau and photographs of the Dachau concentration camp memorial site in 1947.
Approximately 21,000 victims of the Nazi regime were liberated when troops of the Third U.S. Army seized the camp on April 13, 1945. It is estimated that in the previous 10 years more than 70,000 opponents to National Socialism had been starved and murdered in this camp.
This sub-collection contains photographs of dead bodies and US soldiers after the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp..
RG-09.11, Various post-liberation photographs
RG-09.11.01, Photograph, Monument to victims of the concentration camp Stutthof, Poland
RG-09.11.02, Photograph, Soldiers walking down a concentration camp lane or area between two rows of barracks, backs facing the camera
RG-09.11.03, Photograph, Monument to Victims of Chelmno death camp, Poland
RG-09.11.04, Photograph, Ebensee concentration camp, liberated prisoners, Austria, May 1945
RG-09.11.05, Photograph, Woebbelin and Ebensee camps liberated (left); prisoner freed from Woebbelin camp (right)
