Liberation of Nazi Camps: Dallas Peyton

As Allied and Soviet troops moved across Europe during World War II in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they encountered concentration camps, mass graves, and numerous other sites of Nazi crimes. American soldiers witnessed evidence of the Holocaust and Nazi atrocities as they marched into the interior of Germany, liberating the major concentration camps such as Buchenwald, Dachau, and Mauthausen as well as hundreds of subcamps, including Ohrdruf (a subcamp of Buchenwald). Though the liberation of Nazi camps was not a primary objective of the Allied military campaign, U.S, British, Canadian, and Soviet troops freed prisoners from their SS guards, provided them with food and badly needed medical support, and collected evidence for war crimes trials.

Dallas Peyton of Tucson, Arizona, was a member of the 70th Armored Infantry. In 1945, with other liberating troops, he entered the Dachau camp and encountered survivors and evidence of atrocities. In this interview, Peyton speaks to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum about his experiences.

To learn more about liberation of the Nazi camps visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/liberation/.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Liberation
• Holocaust
• Museum
• 70th
• Armored
• Infantry
• Dachau
• Concentration
• Camp
• USHMM
• WWII
• Genocide
• Peyton

[bellbonne]

Thank you for bearing witness to the great crimes of the Nazi regime. How dreadful it must be for you to speak about the unspeakable. You are a man in the true sense of the word and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

[vanpitt]

God bless you, sir.

[andrewwatson39]

It must have been a horrible sight to see human beings treated like animals.

[bellbonne]

Thank you for your testimony. It must be very hard to summon up these horrendous memories.

[bazmataz59]

YES SIR.

[rubiconsedge]

Thank you Dallas Peyton

[pablotwa]

God Bless you Dallas Peyton.

[xZamurick]

I spoke to this guy

[PaleHearse]

Australia has it's head high in that war.. very high.

This was a world war and no one, certainly no true American, would ever forget the contributions of all the allies. Never.

Yes, it was the industrial might of the US at the time that was the tipping point as far as machinery and support but that means NOTHING without support from countries like Australia, Canada and the host of other nations that sent what they could to help deal with a world on fire.

My hat's off to the you and those others.

[caymansings]

he is so brave!

[FateAtTheGoethe]

I hope somebody has the resources to get every possible interview from liberators and prisoners alike--thank GOD they've got these recorded! It's real. It's good to study. It can prevent things.

[ici26]

poor man is crying of what he has seen.