(16) National Timberwolf Association, "Mittelbau Dora Concentration Camp," 104th Infantry Division, http://www.104infdiv.org/concamp.htm (accessed Oct. 10, 2009). Liberated on: April 11, 1945 . As the 104th advanced into Thuringia, the unit overran Nordhausen and the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp on April 11, 1945. Breaking out of the Remagen Bridgehead on 25 March, Since the first printing of TIMBERWOLF TRACKS in 1946 there have been subsequent editions printed The boot kept digging in when I saw While under American command on 16 November 1944, the division went on another offensive in support of Operation Queen, taking Stolberg and pushing on against heavy resistance. SS guards barely entered the camp, instead allowing the prisoners to die from neglect. and combat-wise medics, and we thought there was nothing left in the books we [4][12], According to Michael J. Neufeld, the atrocities at Boelcke-Kaserne were minimized after the war to protect the careers of German rocket scientists who had worked at other subcamps of Mittelbau-Dora. TTY: 202.488.0406, The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center. [8] By 1952, the division was turning out 1,500 new reservists per training camp. This camp was created by the SS for prisoners too weak or too ill to work in the tunnels of Dora on the fabrication of the German V1 and V2 rockets. Time dulls the impact of events. and torture. [16] The American soldiers were outraged; one wrote, "No written word can properly convey the atmosphere of such a charnel house, the unbearable stench of decomposing bodies, the sight of live human beings lying cheek by jowl with the ten-day dead"[15] A 15 April report describes the camp as "the most horrifying example of Nazi terrorism imaginable". In a caravan of trucks we rushed into a job which proved Joining the Battle of the Scheldt, the division moved into defensive positions in the vicinity of Wuustwezel, Belgium on 23 October 1944. In the final six months of World War II, the 104th Division "The Frontier Division" launched a series of night attacks against German troops while equipped with only empty rifles, bayonets, and grenades, slicing and exploding their way through enemy lines on the drive to Berlin. The 'Nightfighters' attacked Nazis with empty rifles and grenades [2], As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 104th Training Division (Leader Training):[33]. In addition to burying the dead, the Allied forces attempted to help and comfort the survivors with food, clothing, and medical assistance. lying around the camp and some 750 emaciated, starving and ill prisoners who had been left behind when the SS evacuated the inmates on death marches. with. The "Timberwolf" division discovered 3,000 corpses lying around the camp and some 750 emaciated, starving, and ill prisoners who had been left behind when the SS evacuated the inmates on death marches. [14] Leur and Etten fell as the division advanced to the Mark River, arriving there by 31 October. bodies. is pleased to announce that a 2014 edition of TIMBERWOLF TRACKS is now available. The war-hardened soldiers of the 104th had seen the worst in humanity. majority of prisoners were French (mainly members of the French Resistance). Find topics of interest and explore encyclopedia content related to those topics, Find articles, photos, maps, films, and more listed alphabetically, Recommended resources and topics if you have limited time to teach about the Holocaust, Explore the ID Cards to learn more about personal experiences during the Holocaust. But my job crowded out Along the division's front, the Germans were spread thinly and did not have continuous lines of defense. A few men were able to walk on their . 'Concentration Camp.'. kept walking. of the Timberwolves will endure. Americans of similar background, on the eye witnessed horror stories of an even more sanguine genocide in Turkey three decades earlier. air-armor and night attack on 11 April. 104th Infantry Division Home Page Article. Division saw and lived a story we shall never forget. The 10th Armored Division during World War II. might be saved. the long to be remembered and heart gripping story from first-hand accounts: "In Nordhausen the Division My Grandmother's cousin, Jack Biolchini bore witness to the aftermath of the atrocities committed by the Nazi's at Camp Mittelbau Dora. Meeting between Franklin D. 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(2) Mary Galione-Nahas, The Journey of Private Galione: How America Became a Super Power, (Washington: Pleasant Word Press 2004). 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW This is the story of the It became While the bulk of the division moved near Aachen, Germany, elements remained to secure Moerdijk until 7 November, when they were relieved. would be the weapon that would gain him the upper hand in the war. [5] The 207th and 208th Infantry Brigades did not reactivate as part of an army-wide elimination of brigade commands within its divisions. [4][7], On 2 April, 3,000 prisoners were transported to the Mittelbau main camp and to Ellrich, a subcamp of Mittelbau. I asked myself, 'Is this what is meant by genocide? [4][7], Beginning in late January, many Jewish prisoners in poor physical condition arrived at the Mittelbau-Dora complex from Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen. All medical personnel that could be My legs just A large number of Jews were to come later as the camps in the East were being emptied and slave labor was needed in manufacturing camps such as [23], During World War II, soldiers of the division were awarded two Medals of Honor, 14 Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, 642 Silver Star Medals, six Legion of Merit medals, 20 Soldier's Medals, 2,797 Bronze Star Medals, and 40 Air Medals. webmaster@104infdiv.org, Please Rows upon rows of skin-covered skeletons through the years, and point out the tragedy of this minor concentration camp! Nordhausen was liberated by the 104th US Infantry Division on April 12th, 1945. In December, the 104th was forced into defensive positions by German counterattacks, but in March 1945, the division entered the Rhineland and captured the city of Cologne. Hungarian Jewish Businessman Begins Issuing Papers to Jewish refugees, Allied Nations Issue Statement on Mass Murder. (4) The V2 was developed by Wernher von Braun, who after World War II went The SS was in charge of the [3][4] From 1942, parts of the barracks complex had housed forced laborers for Mabag, a company involved in arms production. The US Army immediately had the prisoners transported out of the camp so that they could be treated by physicians. last token of those who enslaved and killed them. environment of a clean American ambulance. . The 104th Division was then assigned the mission of conducting One Station Unit Training, Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training, and Combat Support training. The in the camp had been worked, beaten and forced at top speed until they could emotional impact was heavy on all who were witness to these incidents but met our eyes. [26] Meanwhile, the 3rd Brigade, 104th Division,[27] as well as the 4th Brigade, 104th Division both activated at Fort Lawton, Washington. Includes over 20 photographs and a glossary. 70th Anniversary Of WWII Concentration Camp Liberation - CBS News German, we rounded up German civilians on the streets of this Nazi city as we In December, the 104th was forced into defensive positions by German counterattacks, but in March 1945, the division entered the Rhineland and captured the city of Cologne. Staring at the human debris on From 1946 until 2008, it was part of the United States Army Reserve. [14], Boelcke-Kaserne housed the largest percentage of Jews in the Mittelbau-Dora complex, except for one labor subcamp for Jewish women. Thousands were killed during death marches under horrendous conditions. Activated in 1942, the 104th Infantry Division landed in France in September 1944, a few months after the Allied invasion of western Europe on D-Day (June 6, 1944). Info@104InfDiv.org. There were no toilets and there was no water. [12] He had previously commanded the 1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One", in North Africa and Sicily and would command the 104th during most of its time in combat. After fierce fighting in the Ruhr pocket, it advanced into central Germany and took the Prussian university town of Halle on April 19. The trial also addressed the question of liability of Nordhausen scientists, who were then living. Note: The 104th . At 1000 hours, the 684 officers and 1,435 enlisted men, then in the division, marched to the central parade grounds, and stood at attention before the speakers platform - - As the first notes of a bugle sounded the Division Commander's party reached the . bodies. [24] The 1st Brigade, 104th Division, activated at Vancouver Barracks,[25] and the 2nd Brigade, 104th Division activated at Pasco, Washington. I saw one man feebly stagger to The capture of this town was the culmination of much hard fighting and having taken the site one could readily see why such strong resistance was met. (13) "United States of America v. Kurt Andrae et al. Jules Helfner's handwritten note on reverse of photo from Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. The US Army forced about two thousand Germans from Nordhausen to bury the corpses in mass graves, a process which took until 16 April. unbelievable to an American; a job distasteful and sobering; one created by the [18] Eschweiler fell on 21 November and the enemy was cleared from the area west of the Inde River, including Inden by 2 December 1944. The Dora-Mittelbau (also known as Dora-Nordhausen or Nordhausen) camp was established in central Germany near the southern Harz Mountains, north of the town of Nordhausen. As an American of Armenian ancestry I had been brought up, as have virtually all first and second generation Many of these scientists, including Wernher von Braun, were recruited by the US as part of Operation Paperclip. The V-2 was worse and more bedsteads, were grotesquely still, yet hanging tenaciously to life's breath. [23], In 1967, the division was reorganized. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The death toll from the first raid was 450 in the block for tuberculosis sufferers,[11] and the second raid killed about 1,000 people. which included and updated the history of the National Timberwolf Association. Easier to pronounce, but impossible to forget, Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp - Holocaust History: Concentration This changed after the [17] The 3rd Armored Division continued eastward and was replaced on the morning of 12 April by the 104th Infantry Division. [3][4], On 8 January 1945, the SS-Totenkopfverbnde, which ran the concentration camp system, took over two two-storey garages of the Luftwaffe barracks to use as housing for 6,000 prisoners who were forced to work in the V-2 rocket production in nearby underground factories. Although there were toilets, they did not work for lack of water, and many prisoners were unable to move. liberation of the camp: I am still amazed today that anyone survived. Galione described the night he ventured off alone, walking for miles on a hunch, to his daughter and the following is an excerpt from her book, "The Journey of Private Galione: How America Became a Superpower": I walked and walked all night. - showing him the first kind act in years. human filth. Requesting help from the 104th Infantry Division, the 3rd immediately begins transporting some 250 ill and starving prisoners to nearby hospital facilities. (Accessed Oct. 22, 2009). Nordhausen did not have the huge inmate of Auschwitz. (3) Richard Murphy, "Survivors of V2 Nazi Slave Camp Mark Liberation," Reuters, April 10, 1995, under "The Nizkor Project," http://nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/camps/buchenwald/press/reuters.040395 (Oct. 24, 2009). became a name to be stamped forever in the annuals of Timberwolf and Photographs and newsreel footage of the camp were reported internationally and made Nordhausen notorious in many parts of the world. At the airport to greet us were Esther Eenhuisen, from the Netherlands, and Vincent De Saedeleer and Ben De Staercke from Belgium. They were still alive. TTY: 202.488.0406, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center. A member of the 104th Infantry Division - known as the Timberwolves - Jack and his We saw in a concentration camp . [19] During the Battle of the Bulge, the 104th actively defended its sector near Duren and Merken (in German only) from 15 December 1944 to 22 February 1945. Massacre was the word here, knives and bullets for the males, desert death marches, send e-mail comments or queries to the Webmaster: Approximately 60,000 prisoners from 21 nations (mostly Russians, Poles, and French) passed through Mittelbau Dora. The full 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW medical resources of the division and from other units did all possible for the It was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald. This page last updated: 6 October, 20101999 National Timberwolf AssociationQuestions? "secret weapon" of Hitler, launched from Holland, first hit London on Downs, Kenneth T. "Nothing Stopped the Timberwolves." prisoners were exposed to gas, noise, and the dust of explosions. French survivor Jean Mialet is quoted as stating "This is what hell must be like" when speaking of Mittelbau Dora. [5] Prisoners called it a "living crematorium" (German: lebendes Krematorium). The 5th Brigade, 104th Division was activated at Salt Lake City, Utah. 104th Division - Wikipedia - French It was like stepping into the Despite their efforts, many survivors died shortly after liberation. It was located inside a former Luftwaffe barracks complex in Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany, adjacent to several pre-existing forced labor camps. and experiences, formed the National Timberwolf Association on October 19, 1945. On the afternoon of 3 April and again the next day, the Royal Air Force bombed Nordhausen; the sick barracks was nearly destroyed. It also served as a reminder of what they were truly fighting for. Up until the camp liberation, From the 104th Training Division (LT) Commander generally speaking, there was no special hatred of the enemy. Time dulls View the list of all donors. As part of an army-wide initiative known as the Reorganization Objective Army Division plan, the division's regiments were disbanded and replaced with larger and more versatile brigades. The division was instead centered on three infantry regiments; the 413th,[9] the 414th,[9] and 415th Infantry Regiments. executed at the slightest suggestion of sabotage. 104th Division may refer to: 104th Division (1st Formation) (People's Republic of China), 1948-1951 104th Division (2nd Formation) (People's Republic of China), 1951-1955 104th Jger Division (Wehrmacht), a unit of the German Army 104th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) 104th Infantry Division "Mantova", a unit of the Italian Army