16MOIS DE BAGNE BUCHENWALD - DORA N 43.652 - Sixteen months at Buchenwald Dora, published by R. DAUTELLE Epernay, France 1947 - Early testimony of camp prisoner Alfred Untereiner - Dedicated copy by author signed with his prisoner number at Buchenwald, and with the rare publisher's leaflet about the book upon publication. Accompanied by harsh photos of corpses in the death camps. French.
Diary of Buchenwald prisoner Alfred Untereiner (Alfred Untereiner whose number was 43.652) written during his time in the camp, and a few months after his release. One of the first publications to come out at the end of the war, detailing the bestial conduct of the Nazis in the Buchenwald death camp according to what Alfred himself saw and experienced while in the camp. Accompanied by harsh photos of victim corpses in the camp as found by the Allies upon liberation.
"We were completely exhausted. We had already been standing for 48 hours. Around three o'clock in the morning, the SS man pushed the herd standing like cattle, holding the chain of dogs, quickly into the tunnel. I had the impression that I was in hell. All along the way there were skinny bodies, naked or almost. Skeletal beings, with a repulsive gaze, feverish sunken eyes, struggling... while the beaters did not spare the beatings... On April 4, 1945, on the train I left Dora, escorted by a convoy of 100 or 150 cars. This time there was no roof over our heads. The rain and cold were our daily bread. For six days and six nights, the train traveled on a dangerous road and finally stopped about 10 km from the Bergen-Belsen extermination camp. A death march began on the court. It was the ultimate suffering for many of them, since they left they received neither bread nor water. I owe my life to Paul Chandon-Moët, who carried me on his shoulders until we saw the US Army advancing towards us...".
The rare publicity leaflet for the book attached to this edition states that the author's special duties in the Buchenwald camp allowed him to witness appalling facts unknown to ordinary prisoners, and even led him to save the lives of hundreds of prisoners. After becoming the organizer of the resistance conspiracy in the camp he miraculously escaped from the regime of death he was subjected to. "Read these moving pages written in letters of blood, still filled with the atmosphere of terror and madness of the camps, but also with the most human brotherhood and the most noble dedication", it said.
The diary published at the time was part of extensive media coverage accompanying the publication of the horrors of Buchenwald in the press with photos and newsreels. The reports on what was happening in the camp were the first exposures of the Western public to the horrors of the Nazi regime in Germany. (General George Patton forced about 2,000 residents of the city of Weimar to march five kilometers to the camp, so they could see the horrors with their own eyes). In addition to the filmed and cinematic documentation, a psychological warfare intelligence unit of the US Army collected numerous prisoner testimonies. In the early days of liberation, about 150 prisoner testimonies were collected, mainly those who held various roles in the camp and were able to provide a broad picture of what was happening there.
Cover illustration depicting a hunched Muselmann prisoner beneath the German Swastika by R. Chevittin (signed in the plate).
Rare. Only three copies listed in world cat held in libraries in France.
140 [2] p. Photo plates and drawings. Good condition.
