Buchenwald Concentration Camp, 1945

Buchenwald Concentration Camp, 1945

The pass-through of the Buchenwald Concentration camp was a horrible and hurried one for our unit as we were on our way to Pilzen, Czechoslovakia as our ultimate destination. Those surviving souls that were streaming from the confines of the enclosure and milling around the location were in complete and total disarray, not knowing or caring in which direction they were going. A liberation area of a mixture of death and half death. The roadways were filled with onward moving vehicles and troops intermingled with shoeless inmates, one of which was grateful for a pair that I gave. As far as I can recollect, the time period was early April 1945, although I may not be accurate. The US Military Forces were cordoning off the buildings and surroundings and severe restrictions were in order. These photos can express more than any written description, and the scenes merely added to the graphic horror of the experience of war.

Robert Howard Searl Sr.

1945-04

Chas Copeland