Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project
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Interviewer
Hirsh, Michael
Publication Date
March 2008
Abstract
This is an oral history interview with Holocaust concentration camp liberator Melvin H. Rappaport. Rappaport was a captain and the liaison to corps headquarters in the 6th Armored Division, which liberated Buchenwald on April 11, 1945. A day or so later, he and a friend heard rumors about the camp and went to see it. Rappaport went through the camp, going inside the crematorium building and seeing the barracks and the Kleine Lager, the "little camp" where most of the Jewish prisoners were kept. He met an English-speaking Polish man, who told him about the camp. Rappaport was in Buchenwald for less than two hours, but it had a profound effect on him, and he is unable to forget what he saw there. In this interview, he also recounts his experiences in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. Interviews conducted on April 19, 2008 and May 12, 2008.
Keywords
Concentration camps--History--Germany, Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945--Personal narratives, World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France--Normandy--Personal narratives, 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, Jewish veterans--United States--Interviews, Veterans--United States--Interviews, Genocide, Crimes against humanity
Holding Location
University of South Florida
Language
English
Media Type
Oral histories
Format
audio/mp3
Identifier
C65-00110
Recommended Citation
Rappaport, Melvin H., "Melvin H. Rappaport oral history interview" (2008). Concentration Camp Liberators Oral History Project. 98.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/concentration_OH/98
Rights Statement
