To search the full text of this finding aid, type Ctrl and F on a PC. Mac users, type Command and F. A box will appear in the browser window. To search the full document, Open All must be selected first in the Detailed Description of the Collection.

Inventory of the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp Photographs, 1945, circa 2000

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: Four atrocity photographs of concentration camp victims in Ohrdruf, a satellite camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Also included are two clippings describing the liberation of Ohrdruf by the U.S. Army.
Title: Ohrdruf concentration camp photographs
Creator: United States. Army
Date(s): 1945,   circa 2000
Extent: 1 folder
Repository: Jewish Heritage Collection, Special Collections, College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Phone: (843) 953-8016
Fax: (843) 953-6319
URL: http://archives.library.cofc.edu
Call Number: Mss 1065-022
Language of Material: Materials in English

Back to Top

Biographical and Historical Note

Ohrdruf concentration camp, the first camp to be liberated by U.S. troops during World War II, was a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. It was established in November 1944 near Gotha, Germany. Prisoners in the camp were forced to work on the construction of a railroad to a proposed communications center, but the rapid advancement of the U.S. Army forced the Nazis to abandon these plans.

Wilbur "Jim" Burrows, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army with the 89th Infantry Division, moved into Germany near Buchenwald in early April 1945. As his unit neared Ohrdruf, the Germans evacuated camp prisoners on a forced march to Buchenwald. Inmates who were unable to walk to Buchenwald were shot or left to die in Ohrdruf. A platoon runner in Burrows's unit took photographs of the bodies they found on the road and in the crematorium and distributed the photographs to others, including Burrows.


Back to Top

Collection Overview

Four atrocity photographs of concentration camp victims in Ohrdruf, a satellite camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Also included are two clippings describing the liberation of Ohrdruf by the 89th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army.

Collection Arrangement

Materials are described at the folder level.


Back to Top

Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person, family, or organization, by topical subject, by place, and by types of material.

    Names

    • Ohrdruf (Concentration camp)
    • United States. Army

    Subjects

    • Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
    • World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities
    • World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Germany--Ohrdruf

    Places

    • Ohrdruf (Germany)

    Types of Material

    • Clippings (information artifacts)
    • Photographs

    Back to Top

    Inventory



    Photographs and clippings, 1945, circa 2000   folder 1

    Four atrocity photographs from the Ohrdruf concentration camp taken after its April 4, 1945, liberation by the 89th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. Two photocopied clippings from a circa 2000 Rolling W, the newsletter for the 89th Infantry Division, describe the liberation of Ohrdruf. Also includes negatives, slides, and digital images on DVD.


    Back to Top

    Administrative Information

    Access Restrictions

    This collection is open for research.

    Copyright Notice

    The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

    The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Ohrdruf concentration camp photographs, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.

    Acquisitions Information

    Materials were donated in 2005 by Wilbur "Jim" Burrows.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Rebecca McClure, October 2011.

    Encoded by Rebecca McClure, October 2011.

    Reviewed, edited, and uploaded by Martha McTear, November 2011.

    Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the processing of this collection and encoding of the finding aid.

    Back to Top
    Table of Contents