Today, 5th May 2013, marks the 68th anniversary of the liberation of Aussenlager-Holleischen. Yesterday, we attended the commemorative events including the wreath ceremony, tour and luncheon. We were invited due to my recent work regarding the former Konzentrationslager, and were both delighted and honoured to meet and spend time with Louis, a Belgian veteran who arrived at Holleischen in the immediate aftermath of the closure of the camp. Louis, now almost 90 years old, was his commanding officer's driver. Their unit was attached to the US anti-tank force that moved through the area at the time of liberation, before heading toward Pilsen. One could not fail but be impressed by the condition of the man, who despite his age, insisted on driving by himself to attend the events, even though the rest of the party traveled by bus. Last year, he was still riding his motorcycle! A sound memory and willingness to share made meeting Louis both an honour and a pleasure. The organisers and town officials are also due thanks for arranging and staging the events.
Some images from the day:
1. The commemorative stone outside the former concentration camp.
2. Town officials joining Louis and members of the travelling party, a local historian and myself following the wreath ceremony.
3. A US jeep that led our tour through the former concentration camp and MWH (MetalWerkeHolleischen) facilities area, being inspected by Louis and other members of the visiting party. Note: the building next to the tour bus in the background, is the original Männerlager (men's camp), later used for holding Hungarian Jewish women that arrived from KL-Auschwitz, via AL-Nürnberg Siemens-Schukertwerke early in 1945.
4. Part of the photographic exhibition at Holýšov Culture House, location for the luncheon.
5. Louis and I talking after lunch.
Regards,
Carl
Thank you for sharing this with us Carl. Very interesting to say the least! It must have been quite interesting to talk to Louis and getting the story first hand.
More images taken at some of the former WERK-II sites.
What a great and moving experience that must have been, Carl, these are the memories that remain for life. It must have been terrific meeting a man like that. Thanks for sharing.
A journalist from the Pilsen (Plzen) area recently contacted me regarding my study work covering Aussenlager Holleischen. Below is a link to the feature that was published earlier today (in Czech), covering the forthcoming magazine article.
Mlad Anglian zmapoval historii koncentranho tbora v Holov | 5plus2
Regards,
Carl
Interesting Carl, also to see you on the job. Thank you for sharing!
Just a brief update...
The study work referred to earlier in the thread, was preparation for an extensive article addressing the Holleischen camp. The article, written for After The Battle magazine, is due to be published in about 4 weeks time. Recently, I checked the final proof and am now looking forward to seeing it in print.
Regards,
Carl
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