34 | MAY 2 • 2024 
J
N

M

y wife was recently doing 
some organizing at her 
mother’s home and 
stumbled across a letter written by 
her great-uncle, Erwin Baer, to his 
wife, Doris, on May 2, 1945. His 
army unit had reached the Dachau 
concentration camp just three days 
after it was liberated, and he fought 
through very strong emotions to 
try and convey to Doris what had 
transpired there.
You see, Erwin was not just the 
usual American army soldier: He 
and his six siblings all grew up in 
Germany and emigrated to the 
United States. Erwin came with 
his brother, Simon, in 1927 before 
Hitler came to power. The rest 
of the family rushed to the U.S. 
between 1935 and 1940 as condi-
tions for Jews steadily deteriorated. 
I cannot even imagine how 
Erwin felt seeing in person what 
their fate would have been had 
they not made the decision to leave 
Nazi Germany before it was too 
late.
Since the original letter is lost, 

I took the best copy available to 
the Zekelman Holocaust Center in 
Farmington Hills, and they grate-
fully added it to their collection. 
Ironically, hanging on the wall in 
the research area was a painting of 
Dachau done by Samuel Pruchno, 
a Lithuanian Holocaust survivor 
who survived Dachau, Stutthof and 
Muehldorf concentration camps.
Many of us grew up with the 
mantra, “Never Forget.” While we 
are losing firsthand witnesses to 
the Holocaust as that generation 
continues aging, we are fortunate 
that many photographs, videos and 
letters like the one Uncle Erwin 
wrote still exist, which is why you 
can read the letter in its entirety 
online at thejewishnews.com. 
I hope you will share this with 
others … The story must con-
tinue to be told. And if you have 
anything of historical signifi-
cance regarding the Holocaust, 
please consider donating it to the 
Zekelman Holocaust Center so it 
can be used as a resource for future 
generations. 

We Must 
Never 
Forget

Recently found 
letter describes the 
horror of Dachau. 

PAUL GROSS 
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

YOM HASHOAH

Paul Gross in front 
of “Roll Call” by 
Samuel Pruchno 
at the Zekelman 
Holocaust Center

JARED GROSS

34 | MAY 2 • 2024