Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project
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Interviewer
Michael Hirsh
Publication Date
March 2022
Date
May 2008
Abstract
Eliot Hermon joined the Army in 1943 and went to Europe in 1944 with the 6th Corps, where he was wounded during the invasion of southern France. He was sent back to the United States and, after recovering, went back to Europe as a replacement for the 65th Infantry Division. Hermon, a communications sergeant, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Central Europe Campaign, where he was typically with the point in front of the army. On April 6, 1945, he and his party entered Ohrdruf, a sub-camp of Buchenwald that had been liberated two days earlier. Hermon had a camera with him and shot several dozen photographs. A month later, shortly before the war ended, he and a small group found another concentration camp near Linz, Austria. In this interview, Hermon describes his reactions to the two camps and tells several other stories from his military career. He frequently speaks about his experiences, visiting schools and his local Holocaust studies center.
Keywords
World War II (1939-1945), Holocaust (1939-1945), Concentration camps, Battle of the Ardennes (1944-1945), Concentration camps--Liberation, Jewish veterans, Veterans, Genocide, Crimes against humanity, United States. Army. Corps 6th, Ohrdruf (Concentration camp)
Extent
01:59:44; 50 page transcript
Subject: geographic
Ardennes; Ohrdruf (Germany); Linz (Austria)
Language
English
Digital Date
2022
Media Type
Oral histories
Format
Digital Only
Identifier
C65-00057
Recommended Citation
Hermon, Eliot, "Eliot Hermon Oral History Interview" (2022). Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project. 47.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/47
Rights Statement
