Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project
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Interviewer
Hirsh, Michael
Publication Date
December 2007
Abstract
This is an oral history interview with Holocaust concentration camp liberator Russel R. Weiskircher. Weiskircher was a sergeant in the 45th Infantry Division, which liberated Dachau on April 29, 1945. His battalion was en route to Munich when they received an order diverting them to Dachau, where they were to enter the camp and take it over. The first thing they encountered was a train with thousands of corpses of prisoners from Buchenwald. Weiskircher went through the camp, seeing the gas chamber and crematorium, and witnessed Colonel Felix Sparks' confrontation with the 42nd Infantry Division's General Henning Linden, as well as the incident where soldiers from the 45th killed several German guards. He was in the camp for two days, and came back several times while on occupation duty. Weiskircher began speaking publically about Dachau in 1946, as soon as he returned home, and is a member of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust.
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
C65-00145
Recommended Citation
Weiskircher, Russel R., "Dr. Russel R. Weiskircher oral history interview" (2007). Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project. 127.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/127
Rights Statement
