Three rare large photographs documenting the emotional reactions and celebrations of freed prisoners in Dachau upon its liberation by the U.S. 7th Army. The photographs are extensively described on the back, printed on attached paper slips by the photography agency. Dachau, 1945. Captured by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. One of the photographs bears an ink stamp of the USIS photography agency on the back.
Photographs:
A historic photograph showing dozens of prisoners cheering with their hands raised towards the liberating American forces. This photograph was taken from a watchtower in the camp. The prisoners in the image had been marked for cremation just days before the arrival of the U.S. Army.
A 15-year-old Hungarian Jewish prisoner, who had already been marked for cremation and was scheduled for execution just days before the liberation, was rescued by the 7th U.S. Army.
Dachau prisoners in striped uniforms, waving their hands and hats from a watchtower, standing near the barbed-wire fence of the camp.
On April 29, 1945, after years of unimaginable suffering, soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army reached the gates of Dachau—the first concentration camp established by Nazi Germany, which became a symbol of brutality and inhumanity. In early May, American forces also liberated the survivors of the death marches. The liberation of Dachau was a moment of triumph and grief—for the survivors who had endured unthinkable horrors, and for the soldiers who were confronted with the atrocities of the Nazi regime. As the American troops stormed through the gates of Dachau, they expected to find hell—but nothing could have prepared them for the weak but living eyes of the prisoners who had survived. Amidst the ruins and horrors, surrounded by endless death, they found life—and the moment of liberation was met with tears of shock, rage, and overwhelming relief. Dachau was one of the first concentration camps exposed to the world, documented in first-hand journalistic reports and newsreels.
Identical size: 24×18 cm. Very good condition.
