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24 Army Hist. 1 (1992-1993)

handle is hein.milandgov/aryhsy0024 and id is 1 raw text is: ARMY HISTORY TUE PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN OF ARMY HISTORY PB-20-93-1 (No. 24) Washington, DC. Fall fWinter 1992M1993 Recognizing the Liberators U.S. Army Divisions Enter the Concentration Camps Edward Jr Drea Since 1985 the US. Army Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Counc, an Independent U.S. Government estabsh - mnm re sponsi ble for tMe creation and operation of the United States } lOlcaust Memorial Museum, have co- operated to recognize U.S. Army divisions that Iber- atd Nazi concetration camps dunng World War 11. Ti pur of recogniion is twofold: first, to honor lhc otfikcrs and men of the liberating divisions and, second, io remember the victims of Nazi tyranny. As with any cooperative venture, the passage of time has led to a gradual evolution of policies and procedures for e re gnitton of liberating units: Since the U S. olocaust Memorial Museum will open adjacent to the Naional Mal in ApIl 1993, it is appropriate to review the work of the seven previous years, On 9 February 1985. Messrs. Sigmund StrnchcBz and Ienjamin Meed, cochairmen of the United States holocaust Memoril Council Days of Remembrance Comminee, wrote to Secretary of the Army John 0. Marsh, ir, requesting that the U S Army present its colors and thoseof the units that panicipated in libera- lion tor permanent display in the United States 1lolo- caust Memorial Museumthenbeing planned inWash- ington, D.C. The occasion for the prsentation was to le the 18 April 1985 national civil ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, at which the Council wished to honor the U S. Army on the fortierh anniversary of its rule in the Iherationof the World War11concentratloncamps. On 25 February. the Acting Chief of Public At ,airs. k!g Gen. Richard B. Griffiuts, submitted a memorandum to the secretary of the Army recom. mending how the Army might participate in the A pril event. Mr. Marsh's approval of General GrifUAs' memorandum established the policy that the U.S. Army would present the Army Flag with streamers and the flags of appropnate Army divisions involved in the libe ration of Nazi concentration camps. Meanwhile, Public Affairs had already comacted the Ceier of Military History for research support After meetings with Public Affairs and the lHolocaust Memorial Council, Public Affars devised a isst of US. Army liberating units and asked Center historians to verify the accuracy of the selections. On 21 February however, the U.S. Arnmy Institute of iferaldry notified the Center that ii needed forty-five days' lead ume to have ten division flags manufactured at the Defense Personnel Support Center in Philadelphia. This meant, in tur, that the Center had to venfy the Public A ffairs list by 28 February or else the Institute of Heraldry could not guarantee that the division flags would be available for the A pril ceremony. With this short suspense. Center historians had to rely on secondary sources to venfy the unit list The units cetifed as liberating divisions were the 3d, 4th, 6th, 10th, and 11ith Arored Divisions and the 42d, 45th. 80th, 90th, and 103d infantry Divisions. It was obvious at this time that because of the magntude of the concentration camp network, more U S. Army divisions deserved recognition as liberating units, Because the names Dachau, Buchenwald. Mauthausen, Ravensbrneck, and Auschwitz forever will be linked with man's chilling inhumanity to his fellow human beings, many believe that these were the only concentration camps under the Nazi regime. In fact, as the wardragged on, wherever German industry needed labor other camps were set up and grew into an extensive system that included the occupied counties as well, (1) The notorious major camps were surrounded by dozens and even hundreds of subcamps (see accompa- nying ma4p Auschwitz, for example, boasted 38 Auseonmmanrdo (subeamps). Buchenw ald had 134 subcamps-120 Aus senkommando and 14 Unerkom mando (smaller camps under a subcamp's administration). Ravensbruck 42 Ausanerkomando,

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