― Steve Barry, Holocaust survivor
Description
THE HOLOCAUST was a watershed event in history. In this book, Matthew Rozell reconstructs a lost chapter—the liberation of a ‘death train’ deep in the heart of Nazi Germany in the closing days of the World War II. Drawing on never-before published eye-witness accounts, survivor testimony, and wartime reports and letters, Rozell brings to life the incredible true stories behind the iconic 1945 liberation photographs taken by the soldiers who were there. He weaves together a chronology of the Holocaust as it unfolds across Europe, and goes back to literally retrace the steps of the survivors and the American soldiers who freed them. Rozell’s work results in joyful reunions on three continents, seven decades later. He offers his unique perspective on the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations, and the impact that one person, a teacher, can make.
From the Preface:
The [cover] photograph defies expectations. When the terms ‘Holocaust’ and ‘trains’ are paired in an online image search, the most common result is that of people being transported to killing centers—but this incredible photograph shows exactly the opposite. And there are many things about this story that will defy expectations. Fifteen years after I brought this haunting image to the light of day, it has been named one of the most powerful photographs of the 20th century. It has been used by museums and memorials across the world, in exhibitions, films, mission appeals, and photo essays. School children download it for reports; filmmakers ask to use it in Holocaust documentaries. Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, even employed it as the backdrop for Israel’s state ceremonies in the presence of survivors, their president, prime minister, the entire government, top army brass, and chief rabbi in a national broadcast on the 70th anniversary of the liberation and aftermath of the Holocaust. I know, because they reached out to me for it—me, an ordinary public school teacher, six thousand miles way.
For over half a century, copies of this photograph and others were hidden away in a shoebox in the back of an old soldier’s closet. By spending time with this soldier, I was able to set in motion an extraordinary confluence of events that unfolded organically in the second half of my career as a history teacher. Many of the children who suffered on that train found me, and I was able to link them forever with men who I had come to know and love, the American GIs who saved them that beautiful April morning. A moment in history is captured on film, and we have reunited the actors, the persecuted and their liberators, two generations on.
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In picking up this book, you will learn of the tragedies and the triumphs behind the photograph. You will enter the abyss of the Holocaust with me, which the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum defines as ‘the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.’ You will meet the survivors of that train as they immerse you into their worlds as civilization collapsed around them. We will visit the camps and authentic sites together, and we will trace the route of the brave Americans who found themselves confronted with industrial scale genocide. And I will lead you safely out of the chasm as we witness the aftermath, the miracles of liberation and reunification, seven decades later.
In many respects, this story should still be buried, because there is no logical way to explain my role in the climactic aftermath. Somehow I got caught up in something much bigger than myself, driven by some invisible force which conquered the barriers of time and space. I was born sixteen years after the killing stopped, a continent away from the horrors and comfortably unaware of the events of the Holocaust and World War II for much of my life. I was raised in the sanctuary of a nurturing community and an intact family. I am not Jewish and had never even been inside a synagogue until my forties. But in the end, I am convinced that I was chosen to become a witness, one who has been guided in the unfolding of a powerful lesson for humanity. This is my attempt at rewinding the tape to reconstruct how indeed it all came to be—the horrors of the experiences of the Holocaust survivors, the ordeals and sacrifices of the American soldiers, and the miracles of liberation and reunification, over six decades later.
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Included:
BOOK ONE—THE HOLOCAUST
BOOK TWO—THE AMERICANS
BOOK THREE—LIBERATION
BOOK FOUR—REUNION
ORDER YOUR COPY: bit.ly/1945TRAIN
UPCOMING TITLES FOR 2018
FROM MATTHEW ROZELL
The Things Our Fathers Saw
The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation from Hometown, USA–
Voices of the European Theater: D-DAY
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The Things Our Fathers Saw
The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation from Hometown, USA–
Voices of the Mediterranean Theater
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Thank you for reading! In the “Notes” section you can learn more about the storytellers in this volume. There is additional BONUS CONTENT, including over 50 more photographs that could not be included in the book, at the author website, MatthewRozell.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo Credit: Kris Dressen, SUNY Geneseo.
Matthew Rozell is an award-winning history teacher, author, speaker and blogger on the topic of the most cataclysmic events in the history of mankind-World War II and the Holocaust. Rozell has been featured as the “ABC World News Person of the Week” and has had his work as a teacher filmed for the CBS Evening News, NBC Learn, the Israeli Broadcast Authority, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the New York State United Teachers. He writes on the power of teaching and the importance of the study of history at TeachingHistoryMatters.com, and you can ‘Like’ his Facebook author page at AuthorMatthewRozell for updates.
Mr. Rozell is a sought-after speaker on World War II, the Holocaust, and history education, motivating and inspiring his audiences with the lessons of the past. Visit his website for availability/details.
About this Book/
Acknowledgements
This book has been a nascent dream for over twenty years.
As I write this, it is very early morning before heading off to school to teach young people for the day—and this is what I have been doing nearly all of my adult life.
When someone asked former teacher Frank McCourt why it took him so long to finally write his runaway memoir Angela’s Ashes at age sixty-six, he replied, “Well, I was busy teaching school.”
So it is.
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A note on historiographical style and convention: to enhance accuracy, consistency, and readability, I corrected punctuation and spelling and sometimes even placenames, but only after extensive research. I did take the liberty of occasionally condensing the speaker’s voice, eliminating side tangents or incidental information not relevant to the matter at hand. Sometimes two or more of our original interviews with the same person were combined for readability and narrative flow. All of the words of the subjects, however, are essentially their own.
Additionally, I chose to utilize endnotes where I deemed them appropriate, directing readers who wish to learn more to my sources, notes, and side commentary. I hope that they do not detract from the flow of the narrative.
First, I wish to acknowledge the hundreds of students who passed through my classes and who forged the bonds with the World War II generation. I promised you this book someday, and now that many of you are yourselves parents, you can tell your children this book is for them. Who says young people are indifferent to the past? Here is evidence to the contrary.
The Hudson Falls Central School District and my colleagues have my deep appreciation for supporting this endeavor and recognizing its significance throughout the years.
Jeanne Winston Alder, author, and the editor of the most important collection of Revolutionary War veteran oral histories perhaps in all of New York State (http://bit.ly/ownvoices), first recognized the potential and
showed special interest in this project and edited three of my articles which first appeared in the Journal of the Washington County Historical Society. Those articles became the genesis of this book.
Several people read and commented on the original manuscript. For helpful feedback and suggestions I am indebted to Sunny Buchman, Alan Bush, Joseph Cutshall-King, Donna Payne Hughes, Mary Murray, and Pauline Kolman Rosenberg. My wife Laura also provided some early feedback. Additionally, Sunny Buchman was one of my early champions and worked to arrange interviews with the folks at her retirement community, The Glen at Hiland Meadows. My good friend Susan Winchell-Sweeney took time out of her busy schedule to put her remarkable talents to work to get the maps just the way I needed them. My friend Rob Miller traveled to my hometown to take some very special portraits of our veterans and participate in some of our events recognizing them (you can learn more about Rob’s work at www.portraitsofus.org). Todd DeGarmo of the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls found information from the 1940 census on Randy Holmes’ family, and also helped with background information on the LOOK Magazine series that profiled the Glens Falls–North Country region as “Hometown, USA” during the war. Stephen Blakeslee sent me his father’s 1945 narrative when I called for stories back in the late 1990s, and it was the inspiration for the chapter on the hellships. Daniel Leary provided unrestricted access to his father’s flight log, photographs and documents, and Judge Leary’s family provided early financial support for this history project. John Murray entrusted me with his late father’s writings, and Ron Parsons gave me ongoing support and the background of his father’s POW ordeal, clarifying the picture of how, for many former prisoners, the battles did not end with the war. The Minder family was also supportive, and I think happy that Joseph Minder’s war diary will now be appreciated by a wider audience. I hope that I did Joe some small measure of justice.
Naturally this work would not have been possible had it not been for the willingness of the veterans to share their stories for posterity. Andy Doty graciously allowed me to use excerpts from his well-written war autobiography. All of the veterans who were interviewed for this book had the foresight to complete release forms granting me access to their stories, and for us to share the information with the New York State Military Museum’s Veterans Oral History Project, where copies of most of the interviews reside. As of this writing, fully ten percent of the 600 videos recently uploaded to the NYSMM’s YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/NYSMM) were interviews conducted by me or my students, and Wayne Clarke and Mike Russert of the NYSMMVOP were instrumental in cultivating this relationship with my classes over the years. Additionally, James Gandy, the assistant librarian and archivist at the NYSMM, helped secure materials related to the 27th Infantry Division on Saipan. Chris Carola of the Associated Press, as always, was supportive and uncovered important leads that were helpful in formulating the narrative about Saipan.
I would be remiss if I did not recall the profound influence of my late mother and father, Mary and Tony Rozell, both cutting edge educators and proud early supporters of my career. To my younger siblings Mary, Ned, Nora and Drew, all accomplished writers and authors, thank you for your encouragement as well. Final and deepest appreciations go to my wife Laura and our children, Emma, Ned, and Mary. Thank you for indulging the old man as he attempted to bring to life the stories he collected as a young one.
NOTES
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Over 5000 photographs were taken by magazine photographers presenting Glens Falls as a model of the home front during World War II. You can see more at http://bit.ly/hometownusa.
[*]Joe Kennedy Jr., older brother of the future president, was Leary’s floor mate for a time while in training, and shared with his fellow Irishman a lust for life and his ‘little black book’ of female admirers. Kennedy was killed when his plane exploded on a voluntary mission over England in 1944.
Gregory ‘Pappy’ Boyington and Joe Foss were ‘larger than life’ Marine Corps aces many times over in the Pacific and recipients of the Medal of Honor.
During the salvage operations for the West Virginia, it was discovered that three men had survived for weeks in a watertight compartment, marking time on a calendar until two days before Christmas. Gregory, Eric. “Sixteen Days to Die…Families Weren't Told Of Sailors' Lingering Deaths”. Honolulu Advertiser, Dec. 7, 1995. http://bit.ly/WVthree
Mr. Robert Addison, one of our local Marines, explained for our young people: “When I am referring to our enemies as ‘Japs’, for us, then, well, we called them ‘Japs’. Nowadays, I refer to them as ‘Japanese people’.”
In his remembrances, Mr. Ross’ voice began to break up recalling his friends who had passed before him. Barney brought smiles through the tears as he reminded the students that, “I may get emotional, but I’m still a tough guy.” Barney passed away at the age of 94 in August, 2015.
[*]Clark Field was the main U.S. airfield in the Philippines.
This assurance, of course, was immediately broken. One survivor recalled, “Mile after mile the looting and the beatings continued. They cared not who they struck. High ranking officers were no exception. I watched one private attack Major General King. The soldier was so short he had to jump to strike the general in the face with his fist. He did it time and time again, and the general just stood there…Guards with pointed rifles waited for us to do something. Finally, the private gave up in disgust and walked away.” Machi, Mario, Under the Rising Sun: Memories of a Japanese Prisoner of War. Miranda, CA: Wolfenden Publishing, 1994. 70.
Many of Corregidor’s big guns were made at the Watervliet Arsenal on the Hudson River, just a few miles to the south of the “Hometown, USA” region Mr. Minder hailed from. It has been in continuous operation since 1813.
Diseases brought on by vitamin deficiency. Various symptoms included fatigue, ulcerations, rapid weight loss, vomiting, vision irregularities, swelling, mental confusion and lethargy.
[*]Merritt ‘Red Mike’ Edson was born just over the border from Washington County in Rutland, Vermont in 1897. Retiring as a USMC Brigadier General, he returned to Vermont and became the first Commissioner of the Vermont State Police.
Higgins boats-also known as Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP), were flat-bottomed self-propelled watercraft, capable of ferrying 36 men to shore. Men generally entered the boat by climbing down a cargo net hung from the side of their troop transport; they exited by charging down the boat's bow ramp. [http://www.higginsmemorial.com/design.asp}
William Manchester clarifies: ‘Wellington’s [New Zealand] longshoremen chose this moment to go on strike. . . Drenched, sick Marines… had to load their own ships in eight-hour shifts, wrestling with soaked cardboard cartons which frequently burst open…because of the strike, they would have to attack with only ten days of ammunition, and in the words of a divisional order, other ‘items actually required to live and fight’. Manchester, William. Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War. Boston: Little, Brown, 1987.167.
Model 1903 Springfield Rifle, clip-loaded, 5-shot, bolt-action. It ‘kicks like a mule’ because the 30.06 cartridge is very powerful. Used in WWI and WWII, one WWI veteran recalled that U.S. troops in France could operate the ‘03 so rapidly and accurately, that the Germans thought Americans had machine guns. Army Times, www.armytimes.com/legacy/rar/1-292308-269297.php.
Alexander, Colonel Joseph H. Edson's Raiders: The First Marine Raider Battalion in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000.The definitive book on Edson’s Raiders. Both Addison and West are profiled in it.
Edson to his officers: ‘They [the Japanese] were testing. They’ll be back. I want all positions improved, all wire lines paralleled, a hot meal for the men. Today dig, wire up tight, get some sleep. We’ll all need it.’ Edson and Raider Major Ken Bailey would receive the Medal of Honor for their actions on the Ridge. Manchester, William. Goodbye, Dark
ness: A Memoir of the Pacific War (Boston: Little, Brown) 1987. p.189.
The “scuttlebutt” was that the new drug caused impotence, and it did cast the skin a pale yellow/orange. Some men refused to take it; finally, a corpsman would be assigned to the chow line to witness the men swallowing the tablet before meals.
You can see Leary’s flightlog, flight maps and other bonus material at our companion website, http://matthewrozell.com/john-a-leary-gallery.
In supporting the New Zealand troops, Mr. Peachman was participating with them in their first amphibious landing since the World War I Allied disaster at the battle of Gallipoli against the Turks in 1915. So many men from ‘Down Under’ were lost that the anniversary of the battle is commemorated each year in Australia and New Zealand as a memorial day. After the invasion, an airstrip was built on the smaller Stirling Island.
Legendary Hudson Falls track and field coach, also a World War II Marine veteran and Mr. Fiore’s brother-in-law.
sake-Japanese ‘rice wine’ alcoholic beverage
One of the main outfits portrayed in the 2010 HBO series, ‘The Pacific.’
As on Peleliu and in other battles, the Japanese would target corpsmen and stretcher bearers.
U.S. Congressional Research Service. To date, out of the 60 Japanese corporations who profited from American slave labor during the war, just one has formally apologized. Said one daughter: ‘This isn’t going to end even when all of the former POWs pass away. Their children and grandchildren have heard and lived with the stories, and they haven’t forgotten. This isn’t about money. It’s about acknowledging what was done to these men.’ [http://time.com/3334677/pow-world-war-two-usa-japan]
The Things Our Fathers Saw—The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation From Hometown, USA-Volume I: Voices of the Pacific Theater Page 20