Amicale des Anciens de Dachau – Rare publication issued by the “Association of Dachau Camp Survivors” at the end of the war, containing name lists of prisoners who perished in the camps, prisoners whose fate remains unknown, and survivors — with the aim of informing families about the fate of their loved ones, who until that point had no information. France, December 1945. Extremely rare.
A moving introduction by former Dachau camp prisoners, describing their emotions at the time of the camp’s liberation and how they immediately set out to gather information about the victims: “When we were still in Dachau, eight months ago, when the first Allied soldiers arrived — who could forget the strange welcome they received, our joy, our excitement. We had endured the most terrible suffering during the war, suffered in silence, and bore the full weight of Nazi fury on our shoulders. This victory was finally ours as well, and we embraced one another, overwhelmed and joyful, because our sacrifice had not been in vain…”. Upon returning to life, the first and foremost responsibility they faced was the great duty to inform the families of the missing about the fate of their loved ones who had perished. A committee made up entirely of former survivors worked day and night to collect every possible shred of information about those who had died, been murdered, or disappeared — and once the task was complete, they published the present volume: name lists of hundreds of prisoners who perished, were murdered, or whose fate remains unknown, with the aim of notifying their families and bringing closure about the fate of their loved ones.
The list includes: – Members who perished in Dachau – including prisoner number and date of death, A list of French prisoners who perished in the camps of Mühldorf and Waldlager, with dates of birth and death, Political deportees who died in Emmendingen, Germany – this list also includes the residential address of a family member to be notified, A list of prisoners held in Dachau whose fate remains unknown, Names and addresses of individuals deported from Saulcy, whose fate is also unknown, Prisoners deported from Saulcy to concentration camps, A list of prisoners who died after the liberation, including their prisoner number and the hospital in which they passed away
– Status of surviving French prisoners of war, including residential addresses of the various survivors, And more.
Also included is a report documenting the situation in Dachau as recorded by the French Committee during the period from April 29, 1945, to May 26, 1945. The report details the number of prisoners found in the camp and their horrific physical condition: “These prisoners arrived exhausted, in such a state that nearly half of them were unable to give their name — let alone their registration number. Several hundred died between April 25 and May 2.”The report also documents the treatment of the prisoners, their evacuation from the camp, the chaos that reigned during those final days which allowed several Germans to escape, and the liberators’ struggle to contain a raging outbreak of typhus for fear of contagion.
Extremely rare — only two copies recorded in the WorldCat global library catalog: one in a library in Paris, and one at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York.
30, [1] pages. Very good condition.
