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). predominantly Polish slave workers, with some French, conscripted to turn out [10] On 1 April, there were 5,700 prisoners in the camp; the death rate approached one hundred per day. Note: The 104th . Now we approached the cellar stairs leading to the French group. Jules Helfner's handwritten note on reverse of photo from Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. African American Soldiers during World War II, Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center. The Liberation of the Nazi Concentration Camps - WWII Memorial. Friends The figure of 3,000 does not include the 2,250 sick and dying prisoners who were sent on an "annihilation transport" to. Hitler's once mighty war machine was beginning to fail, but the 104th of maneuver and bold night attacks and teamwork were outstanding and held casualties down to 1445 killed, 4801 wounded, 111 missing in action, for a total of 6357.(14). east. bearers and medical technicians as well as any other men available from duties [18] The division took temporary command of assets from the 69th Infantry Division in early May. Factory occupied large tunnels underneath a mountain near Nordhausen in the Harz Mountains in central Germany. Upon return, it continued the process of demobilization until 20 December of that year, when it was inactivated. The division was instead centered on three infantry regiments; the 413th,[9] the 414th,[9] and 415th Infantry Regiments. 104th Infantry Division (United States) | Military Wiki | Fandom Photo courtesy of NARA. [14] That same day, General Allen received orders from the U.S. First Army, releasing it from Canadian control. Their rapidity [18] The sector to the Mulde River was cleared by 21 April, and after vigorous patrolling, contacted the Red Army at Pretzsch on 26 April. [6] As a unit of the Organized Reserves, the division's subordinate units were spread among the states of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Monuments - 104th Infantry Division Home Page "secret weapon" of Hitler, launched from Holland, first hit London on The division insignia is a gray Timberwolf's head on a balsam green disc. It began taking on the responsibility of holding training programs for new soldiers of the US Army Reserve. 104th Infantry Division (United States) - WikiMili.com The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945, by the soldiers in the Sixth Armored. Rosenbach was one of the fortunate few to survive Camp Mittelbau Dora. Comments? The Saturday Evening Post (August 17, 1946): 20-43. patients, set up improvised hospital wards, and feed many mouths without help. webmaster@104infdiv.org, TO ORDER CONTACT THE WEBMASTER gray days, often sullen with the slow, cold drizzle of rain, the thrust US Airman inspecting V-1 factory at Camp Mittelbau-Dora. Rosenbach was sent to Auschwitz, then Buchenwald, and at age fifteen he found himself toiling at Mittelbau Dora. generally speaking, there was no special hatred of the enemy. We were battle-tired The US 104th Infantry and 3rd Armored Division liberated Dora-Mittelbau on April 11, 1945, but found only a few prisoners. he raised up and said, in beautiful Parisian French, that if he were stronger He lay dust-covered, where he had nearly in trying to escape the fury of the guards. Main telephone: 202.488.0400 Colonel Taggart called into action, early 12 April, the litter 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. In almost all bunkers and buildings the living were found lying among the dead. 8 September, 1944.). TIMBERWOLF TRACKS is available through the National Timberwolf Pups Association. The 104th Division was then assigned the mission of conducting One Station Unit Training, Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training, and Combat Support training. [14], The division was reactivated on 1 December 1946 in the organized reserves in Portland, Oregon. Hitler had hoped that the V2s - the "V" standing for "Vergeltung", meaning "Retaliation" in German - The division first arrived on the scene, reporting back to headquarters that it had uncovered a large concentration camp near the town of Nordhausen. It was like something was telling me to keep following the trains; and somehow it gave me the strength to keep going. medical resources of the division and from other units did all possible for the the impact of events. Eibelshausen appeared and were soon overrun. After fierce fighting in the Ruhr pocket, it advanced into central Germany and took the Prussian university town of Halle on April 19. [7] Some were not concentration camp prisoners, but forced laborers who could no longer work. camp. Prisoners at Dora-Mittelbau had been forced to construct massive tunnels and work in underground factories producing V-2 rockets for the German military. any serious impressions at the moment. The A new subcamp of Buchenwald Concentration Camp was thus founded: the Arbeitslager Dora (Dora labour camp), as it was officially designated by the SS. Too weak to . he had been in camp only three months. Germans would go through the trouble of building an entrance hidden inside a mountain. Father Edward Doyle's Testimony It is primarily responsible for Combat Service Support training for soldiers entering the Ordnance Corps and other related fields. We found out the full meaning of the words death had overtaken them, but some were stacked like cordwood under stairways. causes including starvation, fatigue and execution. Search the Holocaust Encyclopedia. factory. [2], As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 104th Training Division (Leader Training):[33]. In all, around 5,000 V2s were launched from sites along the English Channel, killing thousands of British civilians. This page last updated: 6 October, 20101999 National Timberwolf AssociationQuestions? As the 104th advanced into Thuringia, the unit overran Nordhausen and the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp on April 11, 1945. Medics with patient at Camp Mittelbau-Dora, Corpses at the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp. [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. Some prisoners were able to escape during the bombing and hid in the nearby woods. there were no living beings; only the distorted dead. There in beds of crude wood I saw US Army 104th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve patch with a howling December 1, 2009. Explosions set off during construction of the tunnels claimed many lives. History of Mittelbau Dora | Concentration camp beginning of the National Timberwolf Pups Association . Liberation of Dora-Mittelbau | Holocaust Encyclopedia The barracks was a subcamp of the Mittelbau-Dora Nazi concentration camp. When my great-uncle liberated a Nazi concentration camp There were lots of accidents, people buried alive under rocks and rubble. [14] It landed in France on 7 September 1944. They were either sent by train or forced on death marches to Bergen-Belsen. The 104th Infantry Division was first constituted on 24 June 1921 as the 104th Division, before being organized and activated in October of that year in Salt Lake City, Utah. We arrived in Amsterdam, Thursday, May 2nd, at Schiphol Airport ready to complete our journey following the footsteps of the 104th Timberwolf Infantry Division as they fought through Europe during WWII in 1944 and 1945. This comes as no surprise. This was my signal to get into executed at the slightest suggestion of sabotage. Many of these scientists, including Wernher von Braun, were recruited by the US as part of Operation Paperclip. [19], The division returned to the United States on 3 July 1945. The 4th Brigade, 104th Division is an infantry brigade of the United States Army. Nor did it . It must be noted that although Mittelbau Dora has been listed as a non-Jewish camp; the The timberwolf, native to the Pacific Northwest, was chosen as representative of the area where the division was formed in 1942. Massacre was the word here, knives and bullets for the males, desert death marches, Prisoners assigned to this duty could draw the rations of the dead. 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 Allies firmly on the north side of the Mark River, German resistance collapsed. There were many bodies strewn about. By the end of World War II, many soldiers had witnessed the It was designed by Charles Livingston Bull, artist and authority on wild life, and represents the northwest. [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. Despite their efforts, many survivors died shortly after liberation. Caggiano, Robert . (10) Mary Galione-Nahas, The Journey of Private Galione: How America Became a Super Power, (Washington: Pleasant Word Press 2004). US authorities also ordered the local townspeople to bury the dead. The 104th Infantry Division during World War II [8] After the arrival of 3,500 emaciated and ill prisoners from Gross-Rosen in mid-February, the SS decided to use the barracks compound to house prisoners who were no longer able to work,[7] since Dora had no gas chamber and transports to Bergen-Belsen could not be arranged. [18] During this time, some of the division's assets fell under command of the 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Armored Division. Stories . of the large factory areas of the city. [38] NFL Player Bob Shaw also served with the 104th and was awarded the Bronze Star during World War II. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW of the pile; they had been struggling for five or six days to get out but the The environment of a clean American ambulance. responsible for the operation of Mittelbau Dora Camp. The temperature was eight or nine degrees Celsius (46 - 48 degrees Fahrenheit) After several decades, the division then expanded its role to conducting entry-level training for soldiers of all branches of the Army in the northwestern United States. I was exhausted because we had just gotten in from all those miles. Initially [32] In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure suggestions included the closure of the Vancouver Barracks, and the 104th Division was subsequently relocated to Fort Lewis, Washington. conventional means of military transport for the relentless push to the The 104th Infantry and the Liberation of Camp Mittelbau Dora Would that it was possible to take the doubters by the hand, back In addition to burying the dead, the Allied forces attempted to help and comfort the survivors with food, clothing, and medical assistance. There were lash marks on many of their scantily covered backs - definite proof Murphy, Richard. Requesting help from the 104th Infantry Division, the 3rd immediately begins transporting some 250 ill and starving prisoners to nearby hospital facilities. He was comparatively healthy, as We went downstairs into a filth indescribable, Heinrich Schmidt and an SS guard were tried in 1947 in the Dora Trial at Dachau for abuses at Boelcke-Kaserne, but they were acquitted for lack of evidence. The order was, "You will work." their war experiences had instilled. walk, this man was genuinely moved to pay tribute to those who were helping him The 104th Infantry Division participated in major WWII campaigns and is recognized for liberating the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp in 1945. He looked to be spared in the Division were rushed to the scene to give medical aid. the near skeletonized to the newly dead. walking into a world apart and returning to bring these shadow-men into the [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. fanatical inhuman Nazi machine. if anyone spoke French. among those who can't forget: "Nordhausen was to provide a ghastly traumatic Today, it is known as the 104th Division (Leader Training) and based at Fort Lewis, Washington, as a training unit of the United States Army Reserve. Battalion,104th Infantry Division, was there and explained the impact of the After fierce fighting in the Ruhr pocket, it advanced into central Germany and took the Prussian university town of Halle on April 19. [23], In 1967, the division was reorganized. From where I was standing I could see a hidden tunnel coming out of the side of a mountain. Holocaust Remembrance: Story of Liberating Nazi Concentration Camp Washington, DC 20024-2126 107 prisoners from Buchenwald began work on the tunnels with the intent of expanding the existing storage depot into a secret underground missile [24], In 1996, three more brigades were added to the division's structure. [5] The 207th and 208th Infantry Brigades did not reactivate as part of an army-wide elimination of brigade commands within its divisions. It was like stepping into the 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. There were others, in dark cellar rooms, lying in disease and filth, On April 11, the American 6th Armored Division liberated Buchenwald near Weimar, one of the largest concentration camps constructed in Germany. hundred German litter bearers were gathered up and rushed to the never erase from memories. Washington, DC 20024-2126 majority of prisoners were French (mainly members of the French Resistance). Time dulls the impact of events. never occurred. [14] Leur and Etten fell as the division advanced to the Mark River, arriving there by 31 October. (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). might be saved. remainder died mainly from disease and starvation. [14] The division received 9 Distinguished Unit Citations and three campaign streamers during 200 days of combat. The 5th Brigade, 104th Division was activated at Salt Lake City, Utah. [5] Prisoners called it a "living crematorium" (German: lebendes Krematorium). These men were dedicated to continuing the spirit of fellowship and teamwork from which their war experiences had instilled. Rows upon rows of skin-covered skeletons It was located inside a former Luftwaffe barracks complex in Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany, adjacent to several pre-existing forced labor camps. [18] After regrouping, it advanced to the east and crossed the Weser River on 8 April, blocking enemy exits from the Harz Mountains. Requesting help from the 104th Infantry Division, the 3rd immediately begins transporting some 250 ill and starving prisoners to nearby hospital facilities. TO ORDER CONTACT THE WEBMASTER The Nizkor Project, http://nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/camps/buchenwald/press/reuters.040395 (Oct. 24, 2009). Nordhausen was a sub-camp of the concentration camp Dora-Mittelbau. He told me that many of the 3,000 dead The first camp to be liberated was the concentration camp of Buchenwald, located near Weimar, Germany. Mr. Downs certainly gives us a glowing account of the Timberwolves' bravery and military prowess, but nowhere in the article does he describe the 104th Division's role in liberating camp Mittelbau Dora, or the horrific This is the story of the 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW [1] The division was the first U.S. Army division to be trained to fight in nighttime conditions. Each Timberwolf can read between the lines - 104infdiv.org PDF 104TH INFANTRY DAY - Minnesota The liberation of Camp Mittelbau Dora provided the 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 Our Timberwolf predecessors in the 104th Infantry Division liberated the Dora-Mittelbau Concentration Camp from Nazi Germany in World War II. 5,000 corpses among the 6,000 inmates in various stages of decay. under the casing were neatly piled about seventy-five bodies, a sight I could SS guards hid in air-raid shelters but did not allow the prisoners to seek cover. Our S-2, Captain Johnson, brought the 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. View the list of all donors. They were still alive. serve as a silent witness to the evil committed at Camp Mittelbau Dora. [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". of the Timberwolves will endure. 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. Used as an overflow camp for sick and dying inmates from January 1945, numbers rose from a few hundred to over 6000, and the conditions saw up to 100 inmates die every day. Some female forced laborers deliberately had children in hopes of being sent home; other children were incidentally conceived from careless or violent sexual relationships in the forced labor camps. The 104th Infantry Division during World War II As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they found tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners in deplorable conditions. noticed; I would say she was about seventeen years old. considerably more so on this writer. What were some similarities between racism in Nazi Germany and in the United States, 1920s-1940s? But few realized the evil acts that Hitler and his Nazi regime were committing against humanity. Rene Steenbeke. I always thought this was not the end for me.(7). In the 19 years since this program was inaugurated, the Museum and the Center of Military History have recognized 35 U.S. Army divisions for their heroism, gallantry, and help in liberating prisoners I was accosted by a less emaciated prisoner who asked On the afternoon of 3 April and again the next day, the Royal Air Force bombed Nordhausen; the sick barracks was nearly destroyed. The 104th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. With care, he was lifted upon a litter and taken to our waiting Galione-Nahas, Mary. Every so often, the floor would be hosed down in order to clean out the excrement. [17] On 30 October, after five days of continuous operations the division had pushed about 15 miles to within sight of the Mark River and had liberated Zundert, gained control of the Breda-Roosendaal Road, and overrun the Vaart Canal defenses. The Timberwolves were then assigned to Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group under the British I Corps, within the First Canadian Army, along with the U.S. 7th Armored Division, in order to clear out the Scheldt Estuary and open the port of Antwerp. [20], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}512930.1N 104831.0E / 51.491694N 10.808611E / 51.491694; 10.808611, "Nordhausen concentration camp" redirects here. [24] The 1st Brigade, 104th Division, activated at Vancouver Barracks,[25] and the 2nd Brigade, 104th Division activated at Pasco, Washington. [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. For other concentration camps near, Location of Boelcke-Kaserne within Germany, Boelcke-Kaserne concentration camp (Thuringia), SS files list 1,662 deaths between 8 January and 2 April 1945, but this is believed to be incomplete, and does not include those who died in the bombing or around the time of liberation. [19], Josten and Kestel were tried at the Auschwitz Trial in Krakw and the Buchenwald Trial at Dachau respectively; both were convicted and executed for crimes committed at other camps. sanguine genocide in Turkey three decades earlier. Today, it is known as the 104th Training Division (Leader Training) and based at Fort Lewis, Washington, as a training unit of the United States Army Reserve. 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. National Timberwolf Association. This website was I learned that he The "Timberwolf" division advanced into Belgium by the end of the following month. Americans of similar background, on the eye witnessed horror stories of an even more sanguine genocide in Turkey three decades earlier. [15] They found hundreds of dying prisoners lying amongst more than a thousand corpses, including many children and babies.