Posted on 05/05/2015 11:41:26 AM PDT by Impala64ssa
..liberating US troops took revenge by executing dozens of German guards
American soldiers executed dozens of German guards at the Dachau WWII concentration camp after screaming: 'Let's get those Nazi dogs!'
The US troops opened fire on 50 members of the SS and the Wehrmacht with a machine gun after lining them up and saying: 'Take no prisoners!'
One commander shot dead four other Germans and became so hysterical that his own colonel had to hit him with the butt of his gun to stop him battering a fifth.
According to a new book, the Americans took revenge because they were so outraged at what they saw when they liberated Dachau, which was home to 32,000 prisoners kept in horrific conditions.
But what they did themselves on April 29, 1945 became one of the most controversial episodes in the US involvement in WWII. Historians have since concluded that it was probably a war crime, though at the time the charges were dismissed by General George Patton who told the accused they could go home - with their honor intact.
Over the weekend dignitaries from around the world including German chancellor Angela Merkel assembled in Dachau to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation
But little was made of the episode which features heavily in 'Hitler's Last Day' by Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie, which strings together the events that marked the end of WWII.
The book explains that on April 29 1945, a Sunday afternoon, the the 45th Infantry Division liberated the camp whilst on its way to the city of Munich, which was 12 miles to the south.
But before they even got into the main barracks, 'Hitler's Last Day' reveals that they were left shocked and profoundly disturbed by what they saw.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
“They wasted ammo when they should have found baseball bats and gone full Bear Jew on those Nazi’s a**es.”
I saw a picture once of an especially hated guard that the inmates had killed with garden tools after being liberated. They had enjoyed their work, he looked like a week old road kill.
“little was made of the episode”
And rightly so. It was a little episode.
I’ve been wondering how someone us ugly as Hitler could ever have thought himself genetically superior. Slightly off subject but just wondering.
I've had the same thought many times. Needed a good stylist, as well — that hair! That mustache! Ew!
We're beyond that sort of thing now. You would never catch us comparing the tasteless wardrobe choices of a gangly, awkward, slouching, scowling, big-butt woman who dresses like a middle-schooler with a stolen credit card to a timeless fashion icon like Jacqueline Kennedy... oh, wait.
These days our soldiers would be tried for war crimes for much less. Things are going down hill fast.
Some dandy general from the 42nd Div. and newspaper reporter tried to enter the camp and take over even though the 45th Div. already had the camp occupied and secure. He was also stirring up the inmates and opened the gates to them.
Sparks threw him out. He then tried to get court-martial charges against Sparks. In the meantime, 7th Army HQ had been shut down and the matter passed on to Gen. Patton as military governor. Here is Sparks' account of his interview with Patton:
The following morning I reported to General Patton's Chief of Staff and arranged for an appointment with the general that afternoon. At the appointed time, I reported to the general. He then said to me: "Colonel, I have some serious court-martial charges against you and some of your men here on my desk. " I replied that I had never been advised of any specific charges but that I would like to offer an explanation of the events that took place at Dachau. The general paused for a moment and then said: "There is no point in an explanation. I have already had these charges investigated, and they are a bunch of crap. I'm going to tear up these goddamn papers on you and your men." With a flourish, he tore up the papers lying in front of him and threw them in a wastebasket. He then said: "You have been a damn fine soldier. Now go home. " I saluted and left. The whole interview lasted perhaps three minutes. I then rejoined the regiment in Munich and heard nothing further about the matter.
The truth is those battle hardened men were furious at what they found and a very few lost control and shot some of the SS guards, approximately 30. Sparks quickly put a stop to it and restored order. There was no "war crime," although in today's wimpified Army they probably would have been sent to Leavenworth.
Sparks went on to a distinguished career as a Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court and Commanding General of the Colorado National Guard. I have personally heard his account of Dachau and he has never wavered in defense of his men and himself and shouldn't even have had to do that.
Good ole 45th Division. “ It was General George S. Patton, Jr. who said, “The 45th is one of the best, if not actually the best division in the history of American Arms.”
Bfl
and American Christians twiddle their thumbs while ISIS kidnaps, rapes, beheads, burns Christians in large numbers - shame on us.
wasn’t the 45th a National Guard division from the Midwest?
The 40th is California’s NG division, or was.
Even back then some sympathized more with the perps than the victims.
The post war world would have been fascinating had Patton lived.
FWIW, in general the Waffen SS soldiers who were executed had little or nothing to do with the Dachau Concentration camp or the horrors inflicted upon the Dachau Concentration Camp prisoners. Many of them had only recently arrived and/or were in the SS hospital to be treated for war wounds. The Americans mistakenly did not realize how the Dachau Concentration Camp was a separate facility and organization co-located inside a much larger SS training base. Some of the surrendering SS men executed on sight were as much as a kilometer away from the concentration camp, but still within the SS facility. Many of the SS-Totenkopfverbände camp guards responsible for committing the atrocities in the concentration camp had already fled before the arrival of the American forces.
An argument may or may not be made that no person who served in as an SS and/or Waffen-SS soldier should have escaped justice, but with respect to the incident at Dachau there should be no illusions or mistakes about who was being executed after surrendering or why they were being executed after surrendering without a fight.
See:
http://www.scrapbookpages.com/DachauScrapbook/DachauLiberation/SoldiersKilled.html
The 45th Infantry Division was composed of Army National Guard units from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma; and they were headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
If they wore the SS uniform they got what was coming to them. No sympathy from me.
L
“If they wore the SS uniform they got what was coming to them. No sympathy from me.”
You are overlooking the purpose of our complying with such laws to protect the lives and safety of American prisoners, whether or not enemy prisoners are to be protected.
Did it protect those prisoners at Malmedy?
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