Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on a blend of archival sources including unit journals, interviews, oral histories, memoirs, diaries, letters, and published recollections, this book focuses on the experiences of the soldiers who liberated Ohrdruf, Buchenwald, and Dachau and their determination to bear witness to this horrific history.
Trade ReviewIt is not a book for the faint of heart... however, I feel it is a must-read for anyone interested in the Holocaust, and particularly, those who question its occurrence. Examiner.com This is the most powerful book I've read in decades. -- John Greenya The Washington Times The author excels at telling the story without sensationalizing the emotional turmoil the soldiers faced. He illustrates his scholarly integrity by including in his narrative the reprisal killings against Germans perpetrated by emotionally distraught GIs. Choice McManus [captures] the shock, anger, dismay, and other emotions of the soldiers who discovered what had been going on in the so-called 'Thousand Year Reich.' Journal of America's Military Past McManus skillfully uses oral histories as a counterweight to other sources... Michigan War Studies Review McManus has produced a fine brief survey of the American liberation of the Nazi concentration camps that is truly a compelling read. European History Quarterly
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. Encountering Ohrdruf
2. The Smell of Death Was Thick in the Air"
3. Treating Buchenwald
4. Dachau
5. "My Heart Was Going a Mile a Minute"
6. Dachau
Epilogue
Notes
Suggested Further Reading
Index
