Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project
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Interviewer
Hirsh, Michael
Publication Date
6-30-2008
Abstract
Oral history interview with Holocaust concentration camp liberator John W. Rheney, Jr. Rheney was a staff sergeant in the 104th Infantry Division, which liberated Nordhausen-Dora on April 11, 1945. When he got to the camp, another regiment had already liberated it, and the guards were gone. Inside the camp, there were stacks of corpses of people who had apparently starved to death. A few survivors approached the soldiers and hugged them, but Rheney could not speak their languages. He was only in the camp for a few hours and did not see the crematorium or the caves where the V-2 rockets were built. Rheney continues to work at a nearby military base and regularly attends his division's reunions.
Keywords
Concentration camps--History--Germany, World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Germany, World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation, World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities, World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American, World War, 1939-1945--Veterans--United States, Veterans--United States--Interviews, Genocide, Crimes against humanity
Holding Location
University of South Florida
Language
English
Media Type
Oral histories
Format
audio/mp3
Identifier
C65-00113
Recommended Citation
Rheney, John W. Jr., "John W. Rheney Jr. oral history interview" (2008). Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project. 100.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/100
Rights Statement
