Storming the gates of memories

Photo By Sgt. Zeta Kennel | Milton Schulman reminisces over his experiences in World War II while looking through old photographs from the war. Schulman, of Jewish decent, was a member of the 89th Infantry Division, now the 89th Sustainment Brigade, when his company assisted in liberating a German concentration camp.  

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES

02.28.2013

Story by Cpl. Zeta Kennel 

89th Sustainment Brigade

CHICAGO - “There were piles everywhere. Piles of clothes, piles of shoes, piles of bodies.”

These are the images that 89 year-old Milton Shulman recalls when he thinks back to his time serving in the U.S. Army during World War II with the 89th Infantry Division, currently the 89th Sustainment Brigade, 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

“We ‘liberated,’ if that’s the word, the concentration camp. It was one of the unforgettable experiences of my life,” Shulman said.

Shulman, a lifelong native of Chicago,was 18 years old when he joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps, now the U.S. Army Reserve. He chose this route because he would have the opportunity to serve his country and also go to school before his overseas tour.

In 1943, after completing his initial entry training, Schulman transitioned to active duty and was sent to the European theater during World War II. His unit, the 89th Infantry Division, eventually became part of Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army. During this period of time Shulman experienced the first of a series of incidents that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

The 89th Infantry Division was originally a light armor division that was transitioned to a full-scale infantry division. During this transition new companies were formed and staffed with experienced soldiers as well as those fresh from training. Schulman was assigned to a new company and felt that this transfer was a literal lifesaver for him.

“In moving through the Rhine, my old company F was one of two companies in boats. My old company had over 70 percent casualties. That was the boat I would have been in,” said Schulman.

Throughout the European theater there were rumors about encampments that the German army was operating that housed what Adolf Hitler referred to as the “undesireables,” Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, among others. Schulman, of Jewish decent, heard these rumors, but they didn’t ring true for him until he crossed the threshold of one such camp.

“The stench, the human stench of the concentration camps, is what I remember,” Schulman said.

He remembered hearing the local population saying that they had no idea, but he didn’t understand how they weren’t impacted by the smell of the camps.

At the concentration camp, Schulman had very little interaction with the prisoners. He and his fellow soldiers handled waste disposal, sanitation and guarding POWs while they were there. Though there wasn’t direct interaction, the gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on him.

“After a while I began to realize just what we’d been witness to, what we’d been able to help,” Schulman said.

His experiences at that concentration camp led him to make a pledge to himself.

“When I left Germany for France on the way home, I made a vow I would never set foot in that blood soaked soil of Germany [again]. I haven’t," said Schulman.

After Schulman completed his tour in Europe, he returned to Chicago to attend the University of Chicago and received a two-year bachelor’s degree in agronomy, the study of plants and soil. Schulman’s concentration was on soil productivity. He got the opportunity to study abroad for a year after completing his degree.

“When I finished [school] in Chicago, I took a year of school overseas at the Hebrew University in Palestine. While I was there all hell broke loose. [It was] the war of independence of the state of Israel,” Schulman said.

As a Jewish man in what used to be Palestine, he felt the need to take up arms with those fighting for what would be Israel.

“I became a sniper because I knew how to handle a weapon. I became a patrol leader…they didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak a whole lot of Hebrew, so it was great fun to try and teach them how to field strip a weapon and put it back together,” said Schulman.

While joining the fight for Israel, Schulman had another close call with death. He and his fellow sniper counterpart had to share a weapon due to the lack of available weapons. One day shortly after his shift change, an enemy sniper killed Schulman’s relief. His friend didn’t move out of the way in time, it could have just as easily been him, said Schulman.

Throughout his life Schulman encountered many intense situations. His body’s defense mechanism to deal with them all was to block out the violent images from his mind. On a trip to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. his experiences all came flooding back.

“Until then it was like I had forgotten. It just opened up the gates of memory, maybe I blocked it out, I don’t know, but I sure didn’t remember it,” said Schulman.

For Schulman, storming the gates of his own mind helped him to realize the past must always be remembered to ensure humanity never has to pay the cost again.

• Date Taken: 02.28.2013
• Date Posted: 03.05.2013 01:38
• Story ID: 102913
• Location: CHICAGO, IL, US