POW camp; destroyed railyards; the Alps; US military discover Dachau death trains; destroyed Munich

Identifier
irn1003291
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2002.535.1
  • RG-60.3830
Dates
1 Jan 1944 - 31 Dec 1945
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Silent
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Colonel Wilbur G. Dockum (1891-1976) served in World War I and was one of Gen. George Patton's under commanders during World War II. He was with the 692nd Field Artillery Battalion of the US Army and served in the European theater of war. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Scope and Content

(black and white) LS of a POW (?) camp surrounded by wire fencing, inmates moving about, a watch tower is visible in FG. Camp is located in a large open field with mountains in BG. Planes fly overhead. On nearby road, two women in civilian dress walk along carrying luggage. Notice the camp's proximity to the main road. Two US soldiers along road get out of a "HQ1" vehicle and look at destroyed railway carriages, there are many of them. 01:01:42 Road with destroyed buildings and cars, tanks and turned over military vehicles. MS of soldier, possibly Col. Dockum. 01:03:10 Sign, "Liege 56K, Houffalize 15K". Destroyed car, trees. A local woman rides by on a bicycle. City on river bank, likely Liege, Belgium. Cranes at shipyard along river. More shots of destroyed railway carriages. 01:04:49 HAS, US soldiers resting, seated, and milling about on harbor. Manicured streets, houses. US soldiers walk towards a 2-3 story building. 01:05:34 (color) LS, of a large complex of buildings, shots are underexposed. 01:05:49 (black and white) Aerial shots from a military aircraft of the Alps and villages. CU of US soldier in cockpit, flying plane. 01:09:57 (color) Sign, "Hattenholen". 108th Army Battalion discovers Dachau. Grassy field. Sign for Munich. Panning inside railcars with corpses in striped uniforms and debris. "OFF LIMITS" is painted on the side of one of the cars. This is the death train discovered by American troops on April 29, 1945. The train consisted of 30 rail cars with nearly 5,000 prisoners who had been evacuated from Buchenwald in the last days of the war. Two US soldiers stand guard at a long line of rail cars, another CU inside car, a camp inmate is lying, curled in ball, with his back to the camera, wearing a striped uniform. MS, a pile of wooden coffins, pan to stacks of corpses. 01:11:48 Soldier photographs inside a shed or barracks full of corpses, while a prisoner in a striped uniform at right looks at a pile of corpses. Scenes in the town outside of the camp, destroyed buildings, civilians riding along street on bicycles, a man with a white armband on a bicycle as a line of US army vehicles drives by, more scenes of bombed out buildings. German civilians (women and children) pushing their belongings on a wooden cart through the streets, US military tanks, jeeps, supply vehicles and the "HQ1" car move out of the town.

Note(s)

  • Original film title card: "Dachau Germany, Liege 1944 (?), Mattenheim (?), Munich (?)"

Subjects

Places

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.