Taking Notes
T
he hooks that pulled bodies from
the gas chamber. The dirty soup
dishes. The abundance of blood
stains.
These images will forever remain
in the mind of Dr. Milton Steinhardt,
a World War II physician who partic-
ipated in the liberation of the Nord-
hausen concentration camp.
"So many thoughts and experiences
bombard your mind," he said. "The
footwear which gave the impression
of a hasty departure, the person who
received 25 lashes for taking an extra
potato. There were so many atrocities."
Dr. Steinhardt, of South-
field, recorded such
wartime memories and ex-
periences in a journal no
larger than the size of his
hand. Years later, the diary,
with its yellowed pages, is
held together by several
pieces of string, each tied in
neat bows. Its pages have
since been transcribed and
included in a book of Dr.
Steinhardt's personal mem-
oirs.
A few entries record his
reaction to the atrocities he
saw inside the gates of
Nordhausen.
On April 16, 1945, he
wrote: 'Today I saw enough,
human depravity to last &
lifetime... It is estimated that
4,000 were killed at that
time. The inmates were
Slays and Jews. Not all the
dead were killed; some were
just starved or beaten to
death...I saw trucks filled
with dead bodies. Some in-
mates died in the last few
days from deliberate star-
vation.
I saw the Ger nan inhab-
itants of the town who were conscript-
ed at random to dig common graves to
be placed in the center of town, to show
the world the type of German 7fultur'
that permitted it.
One American M.P. found both his
parents killed here. He obtained per-
mission to force the three Nazis in
charge of the camp to crawl over the
dead bodies strewn on the slopes of the
field. The mayor and his wife were
shown the diabolical deeds of the Mas-
ter Race.' We were later informed that
both committed suicide. Most of the
townspeople claimed total ignorance
of what happened here despite the
proximity.
The camp itself was a heap of rub-
ble. In the yard there was evidence of
panic: —wooden shoes, dresses, shirts,
blankets, torn coats, blood stains, and
hands sticking out, as attempting to
get out. From the evidence there was
no difficulty reconstructing what hap-
pened.
Dr. Steinhardt, who was born in
Poland in 1905, experienced his share
of anti-Semitism in Europe, including
the pain he felt from an officer's whip.
At 15, he came to Detroit for a better
life and eventually went to medical
school.
After completing a residency in New
York, he was accepted as a reserve
medical officer in the Civilian Con-
servation Corps. He volunteered in the
medical corps and entered the mili-
tary in 1943. He returned from Eu-
rope in October 1945.
"I couldn't let the war go on while
"I read about what was going on,
but I didn't know what to expect," he
said. "I knew what the Germans were
doing to Jews. Your imagination
doesn't have to go far to know what
atrocities were occurring, but I could
never visualize the extent to which
they were happening."
On July 1, 1945, he wrote about
Dachau.
I am certain that my unconscious
reason to visit Dachau is to expatiate
for the horrors done to my people if I
put myself in their place at least tem-
porarily. How can one describe
Dachau? The appearance
belies the cruelties perpe-
trated.
Two Jewish boys vol-
unteered to show us
around. We saw the gas
chamber, the pit where
the bones were thrown in,
the crematorium where a
number of bodies were
burned at the same time,
the hooks that pulled the
bodies from the gas
chamber to the cremato-
rium. We saw the ropes in
a tree used for hanging
the more difficult offend-
ers of the 'Nazi Culture.'
We saw the chamber that
still had spattered blood
from the unwilling vic-
tims being attacked by
hounds.
A Hungarian advocat
(lawyer), from Budapest,
gave me his version of
survival technique. When
.2 morning roll call was on,
he would assume the
most erect military pos-
ture to show that he is
still healthy. He was 62.
...Other things were too
The kitchen, toilet, filthy soup dish- I stayed home and made money," Dr. horrible even to repeat... The details
es were indicative of the cruel indig- Steinhardt said.
are not fully known, but it is for cer-
nities perpetrated here. I spoke to some
His first division participated in tain that 3 million persons were anni-
Jews from Lodz who related that most many major battles in Europe from D- hilated here.
of their townspeople were driven to the Day on, including the Battle of the
"What I saw became a source for my
gas chambers. To those Americans who Bulge, crossing the Rhine and the future activities as a Zionist," said Dr.
questioned the reports of genocide, this Hertgen Forest.
Steinhardt, who publishes articles of
was an eye-opener. The hollow faces
In addition to liberating Nord- Jewish interest and established a
and the shriveled corpses spoke loud- hausen, the doctor went to the camp scholarship for young people to spend
er than words.
at Dachau.
time in Israel.
April 16, 1945: Today I saw enough human
depravity to last a lifetime. I am refer-
ring to the concentration camp Nordhausen,
and the adjacent V-bomb factory in the
Hartz mountains. The camp was heavily
bombed three days before the Americans
;came in. It is estimated that 4,000 were
killed at that time. The inmates were
Slays and Jews. Not all the dead were
killed; some were just starved or beaten
to death, as the few teen-age survivors
) told us. I saw trucks filled with dead
,bodies. Some inmates died- in the last few
iays from deliberate starvation