World War II will be remembered in infamy for countless reasons, the most horrific being the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews during the years of the Holocaust. As many around the world observe Yom Hashoah, Israel’s solemn Holocaust Remembrance Day, on April 23-24, it is crucial to commemorate the traumatizing experiences that Allied soldiers witnessed while liberating Nazi concentration camps.
In the spring of 1945, as troops pushed deeper into the collapsing German Nazi regime, American forces encountered scenes that defied comprehension. Thousands of young soldiers—far from home and hardened by war—were unprepared for the horrifying cruelty and dehumanization they encountered. Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, while British and Canadian troops liberated other notorious death camps. For these soldiers, the liberation of Nazi death camps became more than just a military operation; they documented the horrors of the Holocaust. This sent many spiraling into a nightmare that would forever alter their understanding of humanity.
Unforeseen horror: ‘War did not prepare us for this’
Gen. George S. Patton’s troops at Buchenwald, the 45th Infantry Division at Dachau and the 7th Army at Landsberg did not face enemy combatants in these camps. They confronted the victims of a genocidal ideology: emaciated survivors, piles of corpses and the overwhelming stench of death. This was not the expected brutality of battle but a calculated and industrialized system of extermination, fueled by a virulent hatred of Jews and other targeted groups.
U.S. veteran Ernest James recalled the shock his unit encountered at the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp in Germany: “It’s indescribable. Some of my men threw up, others got violently angry. First of all, we were almost numbed to war. We’ve been in war from June to April and almost constantly in battle of one sort or another. We’d seen many, many people who were killed, violently killed. Yet, none of that had the same effect as seeing all this.”
The soldiers’ experiences transcended the horrors of conventional warfare. They found themselves thrust into a world where human beings were systematically stripped of their humanity, reduced to skeletal figures and subjected to unimaginable suffering. The soldiers witnessed the devastating consequences of unchecked hatred of Jews, a sight that would haunt their memories for decades to come.
Documenting atrocities: ‘Take photos to prevent Holocaust denial’
The liberation of extermination camps was a profoundly gut-wrenching experience for soldiers. Amid the shock and horror, they were compelled to act. They provided immediate aid to the survivors, sharing their rations, arranging for medical care and documenting the atrocities for the world to see. The liberators became witnesses to a crime against humanity on a scale that few could have imagined. Their actions in the aftermath of liberation played a crucial role in bringing the truth of the Holocaust to light.
American liberator Alan Moskin served under Patton. In his testimony, he recalled the orders delivered by his captain, in the name of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force: “I want you to take photos, I want you to get everything down, I don’t want my ‘grunts’ to pick up those bodies. I want you to bring people in from town, bring the trucks, let them see the bodies, make them put them on the trucks, because someday people are going to say we made it up. They won’t believe it.” Eisenhower correctly predicted Holocaust denial.
Moskin also described the effects of what he witnessed: “I had severe nightmares after the war. I was crying; I had sweats and fits of cursing. They called it shell shock and battle fatigue, and they didn’t know how to treat it. So I locked up part of my brain and said I was not going to talk about those experiences because I was afraid to bring back those memories. I didn’t tell my wife or kids.”
He did not speak about his experience until 1995. Dachau liberator Seymour Kaplan was not diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder until 2009.
Enduring impact: ‘Liberators suffered terribly’
George Kaiser, a liberator at Dachau, stated: “It was as if I had entered hell. The smell was so overpowering, I got sick and ran out. In the courtyard, I couldn’t move. My mind froze. The shock was complete and total. Especially when we saw the crematoria—it was still hot, with these piles of bodies, stacked five bodies high.” He began shaking when he told his story to Leila Levinson, a therapist and daughter of a liberator, who interviewed Americans in Concentration Camp Liberators Reveal Their Silent Trauma.
Nat Futterman recounted that “when we got outside of Germany, you could smell something was wrong. Smell it. The thing that got me was when I looked at the leaves on the trees. I said, what the hell is the matter with them? The leaves were gray. I rubbed one, and it was covered with ash. What is this? And then when we walked through the gates. It’s very hard to even think about it because it was so overwhelming.” Nat also trembled when recounting his story.
Levinson summarized the tragedies faced by the liberators: “We need to acknowledge how the GIs who liberated the Nazi death camps have suffered terribly from what they witnessed. We need to put into the record of history that by stumbling upon the camps without any preparation, these men and women would be haunted for the rest of their lives by the images and smells of the Final Solution’s gruesome last moments.”
‘48% of American young adults could not name concentration camp’
Dr. George Tievsky, a physician who participated in the liberation of Dachau, said: “I didn’t talk about it for 40 years. I couldn’t talk about it because there were no words that could describe the horror. Also, my own mother would say, ‘Forget about it, don’t even talk about it, it’s all behind you now.’ People seemed so oblivious, unconcerned. Oh, those concentration camps couldn’t have been that terrible.’ I heard them say more about going to a bad movie.”
Recent Holocaust knowledge surveys showed shocking levels of ignorance, especially among Gen Z and Millennials, across America and around the world. An alarming number of individuals could not name a single concentration camp, did not know what Auschwitz was, did not know that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust—or thought it was less than 2 million. Some thought that Jews caused the Holocaust.
Yom Hashoah serves as a crucial reminder of this dark chapter in human history. It is a day to mourn the millions who perished and to honor those who, like the American liberators, confronted its horrors. Their story is a testament to both the depths of human cruelty and the resilience of the human spirit.
MTV airing Oct. 7 documentary
American singer, dancer, social-media influencer and activist Montana Tucker, the granddaughter of Auschwitz survivors, interviewed Israeli children for a documentary titled “The Children of October 7.” MTV aired the 36-minute film commercial-free on Yom Hashoah, April 24, at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
“Hearing children, ages 11 to 17, describe being taken hostage by Hamas, witnessing their families murdered, losing their homes and innocence in one morning felt hauntingly familiar,” said Tucker. “There is a painful and undeniable parallel between the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and the testimonies from these children. The fear, the loss, the trauma; it’s the same. History is repeating itself, and we cannot stay silent.”
An Israeli therapist also described the trauma suffered by Israeli children since Oct. 7.
Points to consider:
- Allied liberators witnessed Nazi barbarity and showed immense courage.
American, British, Canadian and Soviet troops encountered scenes of profound horror in Nazi concentration camps. They displayed courage beyond what they even experienced in brutal combat. These brave individuals became direct witnesses to the systematic cruelty and utter dehumanization inflicted upon millions of innocent victims. Their eyes saw the stark reality of unimaginable suffering. They offered comfort to survivors and meticulously documented the Nazi atrocities. This firsthand exposure to such profound evil severely affected many soldiers for the remainder of their lives.
- Many soldiers also suffered from Holocaust horrors.
Beyond witnessing the unimaginable atrocities, numerous Allied liberators carried profound psychological wounds long after the war ended. The sheer scale of death, the pervasive stench and the haunting images of emaciated survivors left deep, invisible scars. Many soldiers endured nightmares, crippling anxiety and a profound sense of loss, often suffering in silence as the long-term trauma of what they had seen went unacknowledged and untreated for decades.
- More education is needed to stand up to all forms of hatred.
The Holocaust highlights the catastrophic consequences of unchecked hatred. Contemporary surveys reveal a staggering lack of knowledge, especially among younger generations, about the Holocaust, American civics and other topics. Comprehensive education about the Holocaust and other genocides is vital to help prevent intolerance, foster empathy and promote a commitment to preserve human dignity. It is a call to action, urging us to remain vigilant against all forms of hatred, ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten.