Sunday, April 10, 2005
THE LIBERATION OF BUCHENWALD: thought i'd pass this on from my dad.
Tomorrow, April 11, is the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald [a camp near the seat of what had been the Weimar Republic] by Amercian troops. Buchenwald had no gas chambers --- prisoners were simply worked to death. They were required to sing while working and thus were called 'Singing Horses' by the SS guards.
The wife of the camp's commandant had lampshades made from the skin of dead prisoners. A special chair was built to shoot Soviet prisoners in the back of the head. For their own comfort, the SS had a riding hall, a zoo, and a brothel.
Given the age of both the liberated and the liberators, today is probably the last major remembrance they'll ever participate in.
