Andy Murray Coffey letter and photographs relating to the liberation of Ohrdruf

Identifier
irn504273
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1994.A.0169
  • RG-09.040
Dates
1 Jan 1945 - 31 Dec 1993
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Web Source

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn504273

Extent and Medium

folder

1

Creator(s)

  • Andy M. Coffey

Biographical History

Andy Murray Coffey served as a staff sergeant of an anti-tank company attached to the 354th Infantry Regiment of the 89th U.S. Infantry Division, Third Army, during World War II. He witnessed the events at Ohrdruf concentration camp shortly after liberation in Apr. 1945.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

Andy Coffey donated his letter and photocopies of his photographs to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in Feb. 1993.

Scope and Content

Andy Murray Coffey's collection relates to the liberation of Ohrdruf. The collection includes: photocopies of photographs taken by Andy Murray Coffey and H.L. Jamis of dead inmates who died of abuse suffered while engaged in slave labor and of dead inmates being buried by American soldiers and Germans who lived near Ohrdruf; and a letter describing Coffey's recollections about Ohrdruf, the Germans who lived near the camp, and General Patton's order forcing German citizens to view the camp and bury its dead.

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

  • Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation--Germany--Ohrdruf.
  • Forced labor--1940-1950.
  • Mass burials--Germany--Ohrdruf--1940-1950.
  • Soldiers' writings, American.

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.