Rg-militaria - Top
Display your banner here
Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 36

KZ-DACHAU - Colour Liberation Images

Article about: by Collector121096 When i visited dachau i couldn't get over the trees running down the middle of the camp, in such a dark gruesome place i couldn't figure out why they would have such green

  1. #11
    ?

    Default

    Quote by Collector121096 View Post
    When i visited dachau i couldn't get over the trees running down the middle of the camp, in such a dark gruesome place i couldn't figure out why they would have such green luscious trees, i know it sounds trivial if anything but when i learnt it was prisoners who planted them i saw it as ironic that a symbol of life ran down the centre of a camp that had so many connections to death. A bit random on this thread but i just saw the trees in the background.
    Random? Perhaps, but it is actually a good observation. Prisoners found solace in acts such as planting of a plant or a tree, a symbol of hope in an otherwise dark world. Some of the major camps had a vegetable garden where inmates worked.
    Last edited by CARL; 11-04-2013 at 01:40 PM.

  2. #12

    Default

    I think the photos were taken after the time when Dachau was transformed into a Displaced Persons camp in May 1945 and UNRRA teams moved in. This might help explain the national flags posted on some of the camp blocks and the various national emblems visible on some of the men's caps all of which would help various nationalities find their own DP assembly points, registration and aid centres. The photos were most probably taken by one of the UNRRA team members I have seen quite a few colour transparency photosets taken by UNRRA teams and Church missions stationed at various DP camps.

    KZ-DACHAU - Colour Liberation Images
    ©Vintage Everyday

    Above: Is the man in a military uniform and cap standing with his back to the photographer with his arms clasped behind his back in the centre of the photo wearing a Yugoslav uniform?

    KZ-DACHAU - Colour Liberation Images
    ©Vintage Everyday

    KZ-DACHAU - Colour Liberation Images
    ©Vintage Everyday
    I collect, therefore I am.

    Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter.

  3. #13
    ?

    Default

    Could be , I was wondering the same thing... at first i thought he could be a block chief or KaPo, but I doubt he'd still be alive at this point! The inmates would surely have had revenge.

  4. #14
    ?

    Default

    Quote by Dean View Post
    Could be , I was wondering the same thing... at first i thought he could be a block chief or KaPo, but I doubt he'd still be alive at this point! The inmates would surely have had revenge.
    You were right to discount that thought Dean. There is absolutely no way that a KAPO would be stood among them at this stage.

  5. #15

    Default

    The photos are definitely taken some months after the liberation... just look there is no queue for the bread on this stall, so the former inmates (and possibly freed forced labourers) must be have been well fed and supplied with other food sources by this stage.

    KZ-DACHAU - Colour Liberation Images
    © Vintage Everyday
    I collect, therefore I am.

    Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter.

  6. #16
    ?

    Default

    My great grandfather liberated Dachau. He said some of the inmates were so happy to see him and the other soldiers, they were crying on the ground holding his legs. He also said they gave the inmates some cheese and coffee and other food they had. The inmates would gorge and then throw everything back up because the food was too rich for their systems..

    He said they made either the kommandant or one of the guards ( I can't remember) stand on a pile of dead inmates bodies for three days. On the third day, he went out and shot him. This is all in a book I read many years ago, I can't remember what the title was...Ill see if I can find it .

  7. #17
    ?

    Default

    From July 1945, the camp was used as a US administrated site for holding members of the SS and National Socialist functionaries due for criminal processing. This lasted until the summer of 1948 when the area of the former camp was returned to the Bavarian state. Then, a housing development was established at the site for refugees and those left homeless. The camp itself was liberated earlier by the US Army on the 29th April 1945. As with other concentration camps, the repatriation process took a long time due to the numbers involved and chaos throughout much of Europe.

  8. #18
    ?

    Default

    Quote by Dean View Post
    My great grandfather liberated Dachau. He said some of the inmates were so happy to see him and the other soldiers, they were crying on the ground holding his legs. He also said they gave the inmates some cheese and coffee and other food they had. The inmates would gorge and then throw everything back up because the food was too rich for thier systems..
    A common problem in the immediate aftermath of liberation. Many former inmates unfortunately died due to such an intake of high caloric food, which can be dangerous when it follows lengthy periods of malnutrition.

    Earlier this year, I met and spoke with a Belgian veteran who arrived at KZ-Aussenlager Holleischen, former sub-camp of KZ-Flossenbürg as part of my recent work concerning the former camp. He spoke of how the US forces that his unit were attached to informed them not to give any food to the women at the camp, despite the patent natural urge to do so. The medical staff undoubtedly saved more lives that day in doing so.

  9. #19

    Default

    Quote by Collector121096 View Post
    When i visited dachau i couldn't get over the trees running down the middle of the camp, in such a dark gruesome place i couldn't figure out why they would have such green luscious trees, i know it sounds trivial if anything but when i learnt it was prisoners who planted them i saw it as ironic that a symbol of life ran down the centre of a camp that had so many connections to death. A bit random on this thread but i just saw the trees in the background.
    I believe those trees, which are Poplar, were planted deliberately on the orders of the Germans who ran the camp for purely practical reasons associated to controlling the moisture in the ground and avoiding flooding and the soil turning to thick, clinging mud, that in turn encourages pests like mosquitoes and other disease carrying insects.

    The Poplar is a fast growing tree that draws a tremendous amount of water from the ground daily. A 100ft tree can easily suck up 100 gallons+ in a single day. They are deliberately planted in long stands as shown in the photo to keep soil drained, and to control underground springs, stopping them from breaking the surface, especially after heavy rainfall. They are also planted in this fashion to act as wind breaks on large open spaces, and to combat soil erosion. The unseasoned timber is also very poor for using as fuel due to the water content, and burns with little heat and much spitting and acrid smoke. Therefore it would be of little use to prisoners who may think of using it for firewood to keep warm or cook on.

    It would be nice to think that these were planted by prisoners as a symbol of life and hope, but in reality their purpose was purely utilitarian.

    Regards, Ned.
    'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
    We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
    It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
    Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'

    In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.

  10. #20
    ?

    Default

    Quote by Dean View Post
    My great grandfather liberated Dachau. He said they made either the kommandant or one of the guards ( I can't remember) stand on a pile of dead inmates bodies for three days. On the third day, he went out and shot him. This is all in a book I read many years ago, I can't remember what the title was...Ill see if I can find it .
    The last Kommandant of KZ-Dachau was Eduard Weiter, who had been appointed to the position in the autumn of 1943. Weiter died in Austria having fled the main camp prior to the liberation.

Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. 02-13-2012, 04:52 PM
  2. The Liberation of Leningrad

    In Living History
    02-20-2009, 10:29 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Griffin Militaria - Down
Display your banner here