Created by Daniyal Mian, Sean Park, & Nicholas Francone
Introduction
World War II was nearing its end, and the Allies, now having an iron grip over a large part of Germany’s land, began exploring the depths of what was concealed in the previously impenetrable borders of Germany. At first, not much was revealed on the German grounds, depicting a scene not unlike what the Allies were expecting from a country devastated by war. However, it only took one more month before the hidden prison camps within were revealed to the Soviet Union, in July of 1944.
At the time, no knowledge of the Holocaust, prison camps, or the final solution had been leaked outside of German territory, meaning nobody was prepared for what was found. Quickly, within a year, many more camps were discovered by the US and Great Britain. Though the Allies weren’t aware of the occurrence of the Holocaust at first, meaning that liberating the Jews hadn’t been their priority while going into the German’s land, liberating Jews quickly became a priority once they saw the large number of Jews in need of help.. It soon became clear to the Nazi’s that their ‘Final Solution’ was in jeopardy. After the liberation of Auschwitz (one of the largest Nazi prison camps), Heinrich Himmler famously began evacuating all prisoners to Central Germany via a system of death marches.
Communication between the Allies was not easy, and at times even troops fighting for the same country lacked a way of reaching out to each other. Due to this, everyone made the horrifying discoveries of the camps at different times. We can see the confusion and fear the soldiers felt through first hand recounts disseminated by interviews conducted on them.
Howard Cwick was a 22 year old American soldier, who was present during the liberation of Buchenwald. Cwick was likely a member of one of the hundreds of U.S. troops that marched across Germany and Poland in search of Buchenwald. When the camp was eventually located, Cwick experienced firsthand the true horrors of life for a prisoner of the Holocaust. In one recount, he proclaimed: “And what struck me was the number of dead bodies we saw just lying around. Like wherever they fell, that’s what they lay. And when we started to approach — I started to approach some of these people, they backed away.” Prisoners within Buchenwald, and all of the other prison camps, had been degraded and demeaned far beyond what is bearable or acceptable for a human or any living being.
This level of cruelty also had a profound effect on the liberating soldiers, including Cwick. He mentioned that he was befuddled by the sights he saw, was inured and numb to his surroundings as he was exposed and enveloped in the presence of constant death and suffering. In addition, Cwick shared about the deaths of many prisoners days after liberation had occurred. “We know that many continued to die even after we went into the camp. Some of them were so far gone, they lay on the ground, with their eyes following us, too weak to even move or to stand up.” Perhaps the most startling information Cwick shared was the reaction to freedom that many prisoners experienced.
After being under Nazi control for so long, trust had been removed from the lives of many who were held at Buchenwald. On multiple occasions, prisoners would not drink water given to them, because they had not yet accepted freedom, and were wary of poison. Cwick later stated: “ I don’t think they were able to comprehend that their horror was over, no more than I could comprehend what I was seeing.” Although Cwick’s testimony vividly depicts the evils of Prison camps, it is equally impactful to understand and learn from the prisoner’s perspective.
We are also able to see what liberation was like from the eyes of the prisoners held at the camps. This time, a prisoner from Dukow gives their testimony of their post-liberation experience. In their first encounter with an American soldier, they were not greeted and the soldiers instead covered their ears as if they were fed up with the horrors we had experienced. She also recounted that many prisoners were treated like animals. Many continued to die even after liberation, and often many prisoners were completely ignored. In one case, an American soldier voiced his interest in opening his own concentration camp because the Jews were “pissing and crapping all over the place” and that he blamed the refugees for all the squalor.
Many prisoners believed that this animosity between these liberators and prisoners was due to the fact that they visibly couldn’t comprehend the sights they were seeing, and instead chose to ignore rather than face it directly, and bring aid. In the midst of all the hate, there were also many understanding soldiers that treated the Jews with relative kindness. Thanks to these soldiers, they were once again exposed to the humanity of the world, and regained hope in its future. Liberation was by no means the end of suffering for many of the prisoners; however, it was still the first step to freedom, and signified the end of the Holocaust for millions.
Artifact Statement
The Opening
of The Golden Gates
Our artifact depicts the scene of US soldiers closing in on a campsite, emerging from a forest, representing the moment when US troops found and liberated a Nazi camp. Within the camp are SS soldiers standing their ground, showing that the Nazis were unwilling to back down. Another important detail within the camp is the firepit and the various animal cages. The firepit symbolizes the crematoriums that were found in the camps, and it remains burning because even when the camps had been found and the process of liberation started, the SS officers burned many Jews as a last attempt to complete the Final Solution. Meanwhile, the cages are meant to reflect the imprisonment of the people in the camp.
The gate leading out of the camp is golden, symbolizing the bright hope of freedom and also showing that freedom was an incredibly valuable and elusive thing for these tortured prisoners. The spotlight located behind the gate depicts the new hope of liberation as American soldiers arrived at the camps; similarly, the dove perched in a tree near the gate embodies the idea of freedom awaiting the prisoners. Finally, the main focus of the artifact are the animals hobbling out of the gate. These injured animals – ones that are missing legs and arms – depict the mental and physical injuries of the Jews that were found by the US soldiers.
One powerful story we encountered in our research came from a liberator named Howard Cwick who described the Jews as hesitant to receive aid from American soldiers, because they feared that they were yet another trap laid by the Nazis. Wounded animals are known to be hesitant when around possible threats, yet also desperately in need of help, which we thought perfectly encapsulated the situation the Jews were in.
Initially the idea proposed to our teachers was vastly different than what we ultimately constructed. We moved from a literal model of the camps to integrating symbolism in each part of the artifact design. We wanted the viewer of our artifact to understand what happened at the time of liberation through the use of symbolism.
At first sight, the viewer may not experience the emotions we are attempting to convey; however, with some reflection and deeper analysis of the symbolism in our artifact we hope the viewer will have an emotional response of sadness and hope.
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Personal Reflections
Title
Name John Doe, Class of 2025 H4
Cool quote here
Authors Name
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent fringilla porta augue nec pellentesque. Sed nec est a justo elementum tristique. Curabitur non rutrum ex. Integer quis tincidunt dolor, sed tristique odio. Pellentesque mattis imperdiet hendrerit. Cras quis eros at erat cursus porttitor vitae sed turpis. Quisque elementum enim euismod, maximus turpis a, gravida turpis. In eros nunc, scelerisque nec malesuada non, pharetra eu sapien. Sed mauris nibh, lobortis eget mi ac, vehicula bibendum felis.
Title
Name John Doe, Class of 2025 H4
Cool quote here
Authors Name
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent fringilla porta augue nec pellentesque. Sed nec est a justo elementum tristique. Curabitur non rutrum ex. Integer quis tincidunt dolor, sed tristique odio. Pellentesque mattis imperdiet hendrerit. Cras quis eros at erat cursus porttitor vitae sed turpis. Quisque elementum enim euismod, maximus turpis a, gravida turpis. In eros nunc, scelerisque nec malesuada non, pharetra eu sapien. Sed mauris nibh, lobortis eget mi ac, vehicula bibendum felis.
Title
Name John Doe, Class of 2025 H4
Cool quote here
Authors Name
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent fringilla porta augue nec pellentesque. Sed nec est a justo elementum tristique. Curabitur non rutrum ex. Integer quis tincidunt dolor, sed tristique odio. Pellentesque mattis imperdiet hendrerit. Cras quis eros at erat cursus porttitor vitae sed turpis. Quisque elementum enim euismod, maximus turpis a, gravida turpis. In eros nunc, scelerisque nec malesuada non, pharetra eu sapien. Sed mauris nibh, lobortis eget mi ac, vehicula bibendum felis.
Title
Name John Doe, Class of 2025 H4
Cool quote here
Authors Name
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent fringilla porta augue nec pellentesque. Sed nec est a justo elementum tristique. Curabitur non rutrum ex. Integer quis tincidunt dolor, sed tristique odio. Pellentesque mattis imperdiet hendrerit. Cras quis eros at erat cursus porttitor vitae sed turpis. Quisque elementum enim euismod, maximus turpis a, gravida turpis. In eros nunc, scelerisque nec malesuada non, pharetra eu sapien. Sed mauris nibh, lobortis eget mi ac, vehicula bibendum felis.
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