Concentration camp uniform coat recovered from a concentration camp by an American administrator

Frederick Coleman Gratwick, Jr. (1910-2004) was born in Buffalo, New York to Frederick (1873-1937) and Dotha (nee Dart) Gratwick. He had four siblings: Davies (1912-2009), twins Martha (later Knapp, 1913-2002) and Lisa (later Nagel, 1913-1997), and Stephen (1923-1992). His grandfather was a wealthy lumber baron, and his father was an attorney. Frederick Jr. attended high school at the Pomfret School in Connecticut, where he graduated in 1931. He went on to attend Yale University, and graduated in 1936. He worked as a salesman prior to the war. Frederick Jr. was likely in Japan when his father died in April 1937. He sailed back to the United States that June. From September 1940, to February 9, 1941, Frederick served in the New York National Guard (NYNG) as a Private in Battery B, 1st Battalion of the 209th Coast Artillery. He was wounded during his service. The unit was converted to the National Guard of the United States (NGUS), and incorporated into the Coast Artillery Corps (CAC), an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense. Frederick was inducted into the Army as an Officer of the National Guard, commissioned at the grade of Second Lieutenant. He was promoted to First Lieutenant in March 1942, and the 209th deployed to Northern Ireland in May. Frederick was promoted to Captain at the end of August 1942. After a brief stay in England, the regiment arrived in North Africa in January 1943; they moved to Italy at the end of October. In March 1944, the 209th Coast Artillery was reorganized, and the 1st Battalion became the 72d Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion. The re-designated Battalion fought in both the Mediterranean and European theaters, and participated in campaigns through France and Germany. On April 29, 1945, the 42nd Infantry Division, the 45th Infantry Division, and the 20th Armored Division liberated 32,000 prisoners at Dachau concentration camp, near Munich. Additionally, they found over 2,300 corpses and 816 survivors on a train outside the camp. The day after liberation, the U.S. Seventh Army took over administration of Dachau, and on May 7, Germany formally surrendered to the Allies. Over the next month, approximately 2,000 more former prisoners died, while the survivors were slowly released or repatriated to their native countries. Frederick arrived at Dachau as an administrator approximately a month after liberation. Following his deployment in Europe, Frederick returned to Buffalo, where he worked as an estimator.

The coat was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017 by the family of Frederick Gratwick, Jr., facilitated by his nephew and niece Davies Nagel and Marta Nagel Burrows.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the family of Frederick Gratwick, Jr.