Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project
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Interviewer
Michael Hirsh
Publication Date
March 2022
Date
August 2008
Abstract
Don Latimer was a radio operator in the 36th Infantry Division's reconnaissance troop, which encountered a death train in the vicinity of Bad Tölz in late April 1945. The train had several boxcars, nailed shut, with many Jewish prisoners inside, some alive, some dead. Latimer remained in his armored car, staying in radio contact with the platoons and with headquarters, while his comrades opened the train doors. They gave the prisoners food, water, and medical treatment and continued on to Bad Tölz. Latimer describes the train encounter as one of the most traumatic events of the war for him. He did not see any other camps during the war but later visited Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Keywords
World War II (1939-1945), Holocaust (1939-1945), Veterans, Genocide, Crimes against humanity, United States. Army. Infantry Division 36th
Extent
00:30:15; 17 page transcript
Subject: geographic
Bad Tölz (Germany)
Language
English
Digital Date
2022
Media Type
Oral histories
Format
Digital Only
Identifier
C65-00074
Recommended Citation
Latimer, Don, "Don Latimer Oral History Interview" (2022). Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project. 62.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/62
Rights Statement
