SEEKING LIBERATORS OF MAUTHAUSEN DEATH CAMP, MAY, 1945
BY The 11TH ARMORED DIVISION OF THE U.S. ARMY,
"The Thunderbolts"
On behalf of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, IL.
https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/, we
are seeking first generation and subsequent generation family members of
U.S. Army liberators of Mauthausen Death Camp in May, 1945. At our
upcoming annual dinner on March 6, 2025, with 2000 present, we
will bring together and honor 3 babies born outside Mauthausen death, all turning 80 in 2025, with soldiers and their families who saved them and liberated the camp.
If you are liberator or family member of a liberator, please contact Rick Salomon, a co-founder of the Museum and a member of the Museum's Board and Executive Committee. Reachable at
rsalomon@vantagepointconsultants.com , or by cell,
847-910-7858.
Thank you. This will be a most memorable occasion, where you would be our guest and be honored. |
11th Armored Division
Legacy Group
The 11th Armored Division has a proud and distinguished heritage. It served with honor to defend the nation, and to preserve the cherished freedom that the United States of America and its citizens have long enjoyed. The Division was activated on August 15, 1942, at Camp Polk, Louisiana. Soon after the Division was formed and staffed, a period of intense training ensued, first in Louisiana, then in Texas, and finally in California. In September,
1944, the well armed and equipped Division embarked for Europe, landing in England for final staging and preparation for combat. In early December, 1944, the Division deployed to the continent, landing in France, and making preparations to attack German pockets of resistance on the coast of Brittany.
When enemy forces mounted a desperate attack in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium, the Division was rerouted, rushed across France, and committed into action in what was soon to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 11th Armored Division was then assigned to the US Third Army, commanded by General George Smith Patton. Upon reaching the battle zone, the Division attacked, encountering a simultaneous headlong attack by German units that were seeking to close off the recently opened corridor into besieged Bastogne. Although sustaining heavy battle casualties, the Division continued the attack, closing with US First Army units on January 16, 1945 at
Houffalize, Belgium, finally terminating the "Bulge" incursion.
The Division continued to attack through Belgium, Luxembourg, and into the German Rhineland, reaching the Rhine River at Brohl and Andernach on March 9, 1945. The 11th Armored then withdrew, crossed the Moselle River at Bullay, and mounted a second drive through the Moselle-Rhine Palatinate, again reaching the Rhine River in the vicinity of Worms. This drive
resulted in the capture of over 20,000 enemy combatants, who were incarcerated
as prisoners of war.
The Rhine River was crossed on March 28, 1945, utilizing a pontoon bridge constructed by US Third Army forces. The Division then proceeded to attack at a blitzkrieg pace, moving first toward Berlin, and then following a southeast course, paralleling the border between Germany and Czechoslovakia. On April 26, 1945, the 11th Armored Division crossed the border into Austria, reaching Linz on May 4, 1945. The next day, the Division’s cavalry reconnaissance forces
encounter and liberated the concentration camps of Mauthausen and Gusen, freeing thousands of starving and maltreated prisoners. The unspeakable atrocities that the troops witnessed in these camps bore witness to the horror of the Holocaust.
On August 15, 1945, at Gmunden, Austria, the 11th Armored Division was disbanded. At that time, the 11th Armored Division Association was formed. Veterans of the Division, spouses, and descendents of veterans were eligible for membership. Membership eligibility was also extended to persons assigned to military units that were associated with the 11th Armored Division, as well as to those persons and their
descendants who had been rescued, helped, or who otherwise contributed to the Division and its Association.
The 11th Armored Division Association held annual reunions each year since its inception. The final reunion was held in Louisville, Kentucky. At the General Meeting held there on August 7, 2010, a decision was made to disband the Association. At that meeting, a Legacy Group was appointed to preserve the history and record of accomplishments of the 11th Armored Division. The Legacy Group is also charged with perpetuation of the web site. It also functions as a communications center for those who wish to remain in contact. For that purpose, an email roster is being established. Those wishing to are encouraged to submit their email addresses them to the Legacy Group at the email address abardery@gmail.com. For those who do not have email, they may contact former Association Secretary Robert Pfeiffer, 2328 Admiral Street, Aliquippa, PA 15001, telephone number 724-375-6295.
NBC Nightly News video:
Mauthausen
Holocaust survivor, Marsha Kreuzman, reuniting with a liberator
soldier from the 11th Armored Division, Joseph Barbella
Final
11th Armored Reunion Recap
Legacy
Group Formation
Louisville Reunion
2010
"My
Conversion"
a presentation at the Louisville Reunion
by Rev. Mally Baum, Associate Pastor,
Trinity Presbyterian Church, McKinney, TX.
I would like to speak to you
for a few moments this afternoon about my conversion….don’t
get nervous folks….it’s not what you think, my being a pastor
and all. I have my “daughter hat” on today. I’m an only
child raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, largely by my father, Chet
Rohn, a member of the 56th Armored Engineers, Company C. He was
drafted into the army while a student at the University of
Wisconsin. He took basic training in Oregon and was then assigned
to the ASTP. Once in Europe, Dad became the machine gunner on a
half track. By day his squad cleared the road of obstacles, built
small bridges and on occasion acted as infantry. By night they
went ahead to remove mines. I grew up with the stories, though I
must admit I took them for granted…funny stories like the time
Dad was searching for eggs, and he crawled into a dark henhouse
only to be ambushed by a goose that knocked off his helmet and
chased him out, nearly scaring him to death. Or the one about the
time a town’s Burgermeister handed them the keys to a German
army liquor warehouse…so of course they liberated as many cases
as the half track would carry. They had so much that each man in
the platoon of 30 got twenty bottles each.
There were stories of close
calls – like the night they got bad directions from an MP. They
found themselves in a truck with rifles but no machine guns in the
German occupied town of Bourcy – so close to German soldiers
that they could have reached down from the truck and touched them
as they walked by…Quickly and quietly they turned the truck
around and made their way out of the town without incident. Or the
time when they were traveling, again at night and without
headlights, and their lieutenant’s peep literally bumped head on
into a German staff car at the front of a column of trucks and
armored vehicles. Quickly the three half tracks went into echelon
formation and began shooting….Eventually the platoon sergeant
came up to Dad and said, “Hey Rohn, you can stop firing now…I
think you got ‘em all.”
And of course there were
heartbreaking stories, like the time my Dad’s sergeant relieved
him of guard duty, and told him that his ammunition carrier and
dear friend Bud Rauch, whom they had thought had sustained only
superficial wounds the day before, had not made it. Dad also told
us of their confusion and sorrow as they began to see the bodies
of civilians along the side of the road, most of whom had been
shot in the head…and they were all wearing the same unusual
striped outfits. Then it all became horrifyingly clear when they
entered the gates of Mauthausen in May of 1945.
Dad moved to Texas to live with
us about six years ago, so now my husband Chuck, and our two
teen-age sons, as well as our friends are hearing the stories,
too…We have a picture of a Bavarian landscape hanging in our
home, painted by one of the German prisoners Dad worked after the
war…sold to Dad for two packs of cigarettes. Everyone’s story
is unique, and compared to many of you here, my father’s
experiences were relatively easy. For him I think the war was
simultaneously the worst of times and the best of times. He has
been a student of the war ever since – his library of books and
magazines is extensive.
Dad went to the first 11th
Armored Division Convention in Chicago, had a great time, but he
didn’t see any of his buddies, so he didn’t go back….though
he has literally devoured every issue of the newsletter and he
felt he knew many of you through your writings. He and a dear
friend had been on the 50th Anniversary European tour and loved
it, so when he learned about the last 11th Armored Division trip
last spring, we moved mountains to be able to go….my father, my
seventeen year old son Christian, and me. My grandmother saved
every one of my Dad’s V-mails, and Christian had been
transcribing them for an independent study for school…that made
this opportunity all the more meaningful for him. We feel so
richly blessed to have had the privilege of making this trip, and
to have been able to do it with my Dad. I was finally able to put
a real location to each of his stories… they no longer felt like
legends or fairy tales, they literally sprang to life. On the bus
and at meals everyone else’s stories flowed freely as well…
Ted Hartman read excerpts from his wonderful book, The Tank
Driver, and Dave Bryant shared detailed and insightful entries
from his father’s journal. Even the shyer veterans occasionally
made their way up to the microphone at the front of the bus when
we passed a site that brought back memories.
I was also deeply touched by
the people who hosted receptions, meals and other gatherings to
express their profound and on-going gratitude to these veterans
for their sacrificial service. And I will never forget the
ceremonies at Güsen and Mauthausen on the 65th anniversary of the
liberation of these two concentration camps….my immense pride at
seeing my father and new friends leading the procession into
Mauthausen, followed by banner carrying delegation after
delegation of friends and families of survivors from literally all
over the world. And I remember the husband of one of the three
babies born en route to Mauthausen shaking my father’s hand with
tears in his eyes, saying, “Thank you, thank you to each of you.
Without you, my lovely wife would not be here today.”
What can I say? I may be a
Johnny come lately, but I am a convert...I no longer take your
stories for granted – I value them highly... stories of your
perseverance, selfless courage and compassion – even of your
mischief. My generation, along with subsequent ones, has been
changed by these stories…and we still have much to learn from
you. These stories will not be forgotten – they will be
preserved and passed on. I am honored to be a participant in the
newly, albeit loosely, formed 11th Armored Division Legacy group,
and much to my surprise I find myself sharing the sentiments of
General George S. Patton, as he described the men of his Third
Army. He is perhaps speaking for all of us third and fourth
generation folks…. “The highest honor I have ever attained is
of having my name coupled with yours in these great events.”
Thank you.
11th
Armored Division Association
63rd Annual Reunion Report
11th
Armored Division Association
Reunion and Dissolution Decisions
These and other 11th Armored Division photos are available in our Photo Gallery
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