Photo By Maj. Jonathon Lewis | U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Ellen Germain, U.S. Consulate Munich Consul...... read more read more
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Waakirchen, Germany - U.S. Congress, U.S. State Department, and U.S. Army members joined the German War Graves Commission, the Japanese American Veterans Association, local German mayors, leaders, and community members May 2, 2025, for a ceremony to honor the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion and remember the concentration camp prisoners they liberated near here 80 years ago.
The ceremony opened with prayers and included placement of a new plaque and laying of wreaths honoring the 522nd for their liberation of the death march prisoners. Afterward, ceremony participants heard remarks by U.S. and German leaders, and music by local students at a nearby restaurant.
On May 2, 1945, as U.S. troops approached, the SS abandoned the death march survivors on the road, where the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, along with units of the 4th Infantry Division, rescued 2,700 to 3,300 mostly Jewish prisoners from Dachau, along with 990 German political prisoners, and 100 Russian and Polish prisoners. Together with another group rescued by a different unit nearby, approximately 6,300 were rescued - fewer than half of the over 14,000 that started the death march from Dachau.
The 522nd Field Artillery Battalion was part of the legendary 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and for the last year of the war, the 442nd was assigned to 7th U.S. Army. The 522nd, like the 442nd, was composed entirely of Japanese Americans, who came from both Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. Most of the 442nd had family members who were interned in camps in the U.S., and some joined the Army while they were interned in the camps themselves. They fought against Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht and other Axis forces all over Europe during the war, distinguishing themselves as the most decorated combat unit for its size and length of service, in the history of the U.S. military.
U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye fought with the 442nd. His was one of 21 Medals of Honor awarded to members of the 442nd during World War Two. After the war he went to law school in Washington, D.C., where he met and became friends with Peter Tali Coleman, another law student and the future governor of American Samoa. His daughter, U.S. Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, spoke at the ceremony honoring the 522nd.
"Sen. Inouye was close friends with my father, so it's very personal to me that we honor these Japanese American Soldiers," said Radewagen. "The 522nd was assigned to 7th Army to support the Allied advance into Germany," she said. "Today we memorialize their role in rescuing and restoring these prisoners after the terrible crimes committed against them."
Radewagen spoke of another family connection to Dachau. Her father-in-law Hobart Radewagen was a member of the 20th Armored Division, one of the units that liberated Dachau's main camp, and he earned a Bronze Star for actions during combat with the SS during the liberation of the camp. "We can look at these events and understand why these Soldiers were known as the Greatest Generation."
"Eighty years ago, on this quiet stretch of Bavarian countryside, American Soldiers of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion brought relief and dignity to the victims of one of history's darkest crimes," said Dr. James Miller, Consul General, U.S. Consulate Munich. "What those Soldiers found here, between Waakirchen and Reichersbeuern, shocked even the most seasoned among them. Nonetheless, they found within themselves the compassion to provide aid and comfort to the survivors whom they met, whom they had liberated."
"The liberators - 'Nisei,' or the second generation of Japanese Americans - were among the most disciplined and skilled artillerymen in the U.S. Army," Miller continued. "Today we honor their legacy, not only with words, but with a new memorial and information board that will share this history with all who come here."
The new plaque was placed beside a memorial to the victims of the death marches, one of more than 20 identical memorials in the Munich area by sculptor Hubertus von Pilgrim. These sculptures memorialize the victims of the death marches, during which the Nazi SS forced concentration camp prisoners on marches away from advancing Allied troops. The sculptures were placed along the routes of the death marches, beginning in 1989. The information board placed nearby tells the story and includes a map and photos of the survivors and liberators.
The SS intended to kill as many prisoners as they could to prevent them from being liberated, as ordered by Heinrich Himmler. Using trains to transport many, the SS who hadn't deserted by this time force marched the rest of the prisoners further and further south, away from Allied forces, killing more than half along the way. The 522nd put a stop to one of these death marches.
"When Soldiers like those of the 522nd returned home after the war, they rarely spoke about what they had done or what they had seen, but they remembered. Eventually, years later, some of them finally spoke about their experiences, which are essential to our understanding of the Holocaust," said Ellen Germain, U.S. State Department's Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues. "Some of those Soldiers recorded oral histories, eyewitness accounts of the atrocities," she said. "As the number of living Holocaust survivors dwindles and memory of the Second World War fades, we must find new ways to remember and educate future generations."
Germain said that education about the Holocaust, defending the accurate history of the Holocaust is as important today as it has been since the war. "Indeed it is even more important now, as it is being challenged, despite extensive commitements by many countries including the United States and Germany. Together we must ensure the history and the facts of the Holocaust are not denied or distorted," Germain continued. "Humanity must not forget the catastrophe that took place during the Holocaust, nor the Soldiers who fought to liberate Europe and rescue the survivors of the concentration camps and death marches."
It is essential that we remember what happened, and teach it to young people, so that it can never happen again.
| Date Taken: | 05.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2025 12:12 |
| Story ID: | 496920 |
| Location: | BAYERN, DE |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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