During an official tour of the newly liberated Ohrdruf concentration camp, an Austrian Jewish survivor describes to General Dwight Eisenhower and his entourage the use of the gallows in the camp. National Archives
American soldiers were unprepared for what they discovered in the Ohrdruf concentration camp in Germany in April 1945: piles of bodies, walking skeletons on the verge of death, and other unspeakable horrors. This shocking discovery prompted Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower to visit and bear witness to the atrocities himself. He was deeply affected by what he saw—and, even then, he anticipated a future when these crimes might be denied.
Eighty years later, learn why Eisenhower’s visit to Ohrdruf was a critical moment in documenting and protecting the truth of the Holocaust.
SPEAKERS
Susan Eisenhower, Expert in Residence at the Eisenhower Institute, Chairman and CEO of The Eisenhower Group, Inc., and Trustee and Chair Emerita of the Eisenhower Foundation
Dr. Allison S. Finkelstein, Senior Historian, Arlington National Cemetery
MODERATOR
Dr. Rebecca Erbelding, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
This virtual program is free and open to the public, but registration is required. You will receive an email with a link to the program on April 10th.