Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project
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Interviewer
Michael Hirsh
Publication Date
March 2022
Date
June 2008
Abstract
Ray W. Peterson was a member of the 63rd Infantry Division, which liberated Kaufering IV, a sub-camp of Dachau, on April 28, 1945. He was part of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon assigned to scout ahead of the division. While on their way to Landsberg, his unit found a compound surrounded by a moat and barbed wire. They entered the compound and found the camp with several thousand prisoners still inside. Peterson radioed back to their platoon leader, who, fearing disease, ordered them to leave and continue their mission. After the war, while on occupation duty, Peterson was one of the soldiers who brought Wernher von Braun and his staff out of the Soviet-controlled region on their way to the United States. He also helped the 63rd become officially recognized as a liberating division.
Keywords
World War II (1939-1945), Holocaust (1939-1945), Concentration camps, Concentration camps--Liberation, Veterans, Genocide, Crimes against humanity, United States. Army. Infantry Division 63rd, Kaufering (Concentration camp), Wernher von Braun (1912-1977)
Extent
01:17:53; 32 page transcript
Subject: geographic
Kaufering (Germany)
Language
English
Digital Date
2022
Media Type
Oral histories
Format
Digital Only
Identifier
C65-00106
Recommended Citation
Peterson, Ray W., "Ray W. Peterson Oral History Interview" (2022). Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project. 94.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/94
Rights Statement
