Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2002

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

History

Major Professor

Vejas Liulevicius

Abstract

This study examines the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau just after its liberation by American forces on April 29, 1945. Of key importance are the decisions made and actions undertaken by the Americans, the reasoning behind them, and the physical, emotional, and psychological effects that they had on the former prisoners. The source material for this research falls into three categories: documents and figures published by the Dachau Memorial Site and Archive, including the minutes of the International Prisoners' Committee; memoirs and testimonial accounts from liberating soldiers, the American administrators, and the former prisoners themselves; and relevant secondary literature concerning the liberation and subsequent administration of the camp. The primary goals of the post-liberation administration of Dachau were the rehabilitation and repatriation of the inmates and the containment of a typhus epidemic. Inmate perceptions of the American presence grew less optimistic during the crucial first few days, as the careful and methodical procedures of the Americans stood in marked contrast to the emotional day of liberation. Also, the Americans could not avoid certain continuities with the camp's past, such as its physical appearance, a high death rate, and seeming similarities with the SS administration. Secondary debates are addressed, such as the questions of which Army unit actually liberated the camp and of the functionality of Dachau's gas chamber, and possibilities for further study are suggested.

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