A Train Near Magdeburg

by Matthew Rozell

  [40] Atkinson, Rick. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2013. 57.

  [41] Folkestad, William B. The View from the Turret: The 743rd Tank Battalion during World War II. Shippensburg, Pa.: Burd Street Press, 1996. ix, 33,51.

  [42] United States Army; Robinson, Wayne; and Hamilton, Norman E., Move Out, Verify: The Combat Story of the 743rd Tank Battalion. 1945. World War Regimental Histories.

  [43] Kerley, Ralph A., Operations of the 2nd Battalion, 120th Infantry

  (30th Infantry Division) at Mortain, France 6–12 August 1944

  (Northern France Campaign)Personal Experiences of a Company Commander: An Isolated Infantry Battalion Defending a Key Terrain Feature Monograph written for the Advanced Infantry Officer's Class #1 1949- 1950, Major Ralph A. Kerley. Located at link below.

  [44] The 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII. Mortain. www.30thinfantry.org/unit_history_mortain. This website was maintained by Frank W. Towers before his passing.

  [45] Weiss, Robert. Fire Mission!: The Siege at Mortain, Normandy, August 1944. Shippensburg, Pa.: Burd Street Press, 2002.

  [46] Atkinson, Rick. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2013. 157.

  [47] The 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII. Mortain.

  [48] Miller, Donald. The Story of World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. 325.

  [49] The D-Day Museum [UK].D-Day and the Battle of Normandy www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/d-day/d-day-and-the-battle-of-normandy

  [50] Folkestad, View from the Turret. 60

  [51] Robinson & Hamilton. Move Out, Verify.98.

  [52] Folkestad, View from the Turret. 64.

  [53] Ambrose, Stephen E. Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army From the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1997. 400-404.

  [54] Robinson & Hamilton. Move Out, Verify.112. Also, United States Army, After Action Report. S3 Journal history for the 743 rd Tank Battalion.1 Oct –31 Dec 1944. World War II Operational Documents, Combined Arms Research Library. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.167-169.

  [55] Folkestad, View from the Turret. 84.

  [56] Folkestad, View from the Turret. 85.

  [57] Robinson & Hamilton. Move Out, Verify.160-161.

  [58] United States Army, After Action Report, 743rd Tank Battalion, April 12-14, 1945.

  [59] Hirsch, Michael. The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust. New York: Bantam Books. 2010. 99-102.

  [60] ‘the battalion commander drew his sidearm, put it to the mayor’s head, and calmly asked him to recite his instructions - ‘Towers interview with author, 2008; Jacob Singer interview with author, 2008. Singer was a four-year-old child but remembered this event and relayed it to the author. He also noted that he remembered the liberation because this was the first time in his life that he remembered ‘seeing adults smile.’ In an email communication to interviewer Jerri Donohue, Towers wrote, ‘Yes, the German civilians, as well as their Nazi Burgomaster, were very reluctant to offer any assistance to these ‘Jew pigs’!!! I actually did not witness any of this unwillingness, but only heard it from another liaison officer from the 823rd Tank Battalion, Lt. Floyd Mitchell, who was a close friend, and he saw this firsthand. It was his C.O., Lt. Col. Dettmer, who held a pistol to the head of the Burgomaster, and ordered him to get his civilians of the town to cooperate. Reluctantly they acted accordingly.’ A similar incident is recounted in Cornelius Ryan’s classic book, The Last Battle: ‘The psychological effect of the camps on officers and men was beyond assessment. On the Ninth Army front in a village near Magdeburg, Major Julius Rock, a medical officer with the 30th Infantry, came up to inspect a freight train which the 30th had stopped. It was loaded with concentration camp inmates. Rock, horrified, immediately unloaded the train. Over the local burgomaster’s vehement protests, Rock billeted the inmates in German homes–but not until his battalion commander had given a crisp command to the complaining burgomaster. ‘If you refuse,’ he said simply, ‘I’ll take hostages and shoot them.’ As an additional sidenote, in 2009 Major Rock’s daughter contacted the author; you can see more here: bit.ly/MajorRock.

  [61] United States Army, After Action Report, 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, April 14, 1945.

  [62] Much of the oral testimony of Frank Towers in Chapter 12 was from an email communication between Towers and interviewer/author Jerri Donohue on December 31, 2011.

  [63] Quote from liberator Leonard Lubin, St Petersburg, Florida, in Hirsch, Michael. The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust. New York: Bantam Books. 2010. 229.

  [64] Source Notes: Frank Gartner. The letter in the beginning of the book that Gartner composed for Hilde Huppert is in the possession of Mimi Huppert of Israel, wife of the late Tommy Huppert mentioned in the letter. Gartner is frequently mentioned in the battalion’s official regimental history. (United States Army; Robinson, Wayne; and Hamilton, Norman E., Move Out, Verify: The Combat Story of the 743 rd Tank Battalion. 1945. World War Regimental Histories.)

  [65] Source Notes: Carrol S. Walsh. The author formally interviewed Carrol Walsh on two main occasions, July 26, 2001, and September 13, 2007, from which most of his oral history narrative was taken. Carrol was also interviewed numerous times by the news media, most significantly by Dick Gordon for his radio show, The Story With Dick Gordon. In 2009, the author contacted ‘The Story’ with the idea of doing a program on his discoveries. They set up a dual interview between Carrol Walsh and survivor Steve Barry. In instances in the book where Walsh’s testimony has another party besides this author posing questions, it was from this broadcast: For Memorial Day-A Special Reunion. The Story With Dick Gordon, North Carolina Public Radio, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, May 25, 2009. Radio Program. It is archived here online and well worth a listen. www.thestory.org/stories/2009-05/memorial-day-special-reunion

  [66] Source Notes: George C. Gross. The author formally interviewed George Gross by telephone on January 18, 2007, from which most of his oral history narrative was taken for this book. Additionally, his personal essay, ‘A Train Near Magdeburg,’ written in June 2001, which was published first on my website, is reposted here: http://bit.ly/REUNITED. He also kept up a recurring email correspondence with the author, some of which is also noted in this book.

  [67] Source Notes: Frank W. Towers. The author formally interviewed Frank Towers by telephone in November of 2008. His testimony was also recorded at every reunion, and especially useful for this book were those recorded at our school in 2009 and 2011, which can be seen on the author’s YouTube channel at http://bit.ly/MRutube. Frank was also interviewed by many others, and he was in the news media quite frequently (a Google search will return many results). Frank and the author also kept up a nearly nine-year email correspondence, most of which is archived by the author.

  [68] Source Notes: Henry Birnbrey. The author conducted an informal telephone interview with Henry Birnbrey after being contacted by him through email in March 2012. His account of stumbling upon the train is taken partially from his testimony as given to the Breman Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, interspersed with his memories as privately published in his war memoirs, but mostly from a videotaped interview with him on January 7, 2016, conducted in Bradenton, Florida, by Mike Edwards of the 5 Stones Group, Columbus, Ohio.

  [69] Source Notes: Charles M. Kincaid. The author was contacted by email on March 11, 2009, and presented with his letter to his pastor from April 1945 describing the train: ‘Dear Mr. Rozell: My father-in-law was 1st Lt. Charles M. Kincaid… He rarely wrote home. He did write home to his minister about one event that evidently really caused him to stop and think. Attached is a copy of that letter that his sister transcribed—making copies for others to read. The letter describes the Farsleben train and his experience there. I need to thank you for your website and work. You and your students’ work enabled me to connect the letter with the actual historical event. It further enabled me to show my child
ren the pictures and to make their grandfather’s experience real, not just an old letter—that this event so affected him that he needed to tell his minister before he told his mother. Sincerely, Mark Anderson.’

  [70] Source Notes: Walter Gantz. The author formally interviewed Walter Gantz by telephone on November 21, 2011, and subsequently exchanged letters over the years. Most of his interview in Chapter 17 is taken from a videotaped interview with Walter Gantz on March 14, 2016, conducted at Walter’s home in Scranton, PA, by Mike Edwards of the 5 Stones Group, Columbus, Ohio. Walter was also interviewed at least twice about his WWII experiences for a local Scranton, PA, newspaper.

  [71] Source Notes: Robert Schatz. The author formally interviewed Robert Schatz by telephone on December 8, 2011, and subsequently received letters from him.

  [72] Source Notes: Luca Furnari. The author was initially contacted by Luca Furnari’s granddaughter; his recollections in Chapter 18 were from a videotaped interview with him on August 8, 2016, conducted at his home in the Bronx, NYC, by Mike Edwards of the 5 Stones Group, Columbus, Ohio.

  [73] Source Notes: Grier Taylor. The author formally interviewed Grier Taylor by telephone on January 6, 2012. Taylor was subsequently featured in a newspaper article in Columbia, South Carolina.

  [74] Source Notes: Sol Lazinger and Jean Weinstock Lazinger. The author formally interviewed Sol Lazinger and Jean Weinstock Lazinger by telephone on December 4, 2007.

  [75]Source Notes: Ervin Abadi. In another twist of fate, several of his original pieces of artwork were brought to the attention of the author by relatives of the members of the 95th Medical Gas Treatment Battalion. The author encouraged the families to donate the works for posterity to the USHMM. The soldiers that the artist gave his works to, or sketched at Hillersleben, were Donald W. Rust and Monroe Williams. You can read more here: bit.ly/EAbadi.

  [76] Source Notes: Sara Atzmon. Sara Atzmon’s testimony was written by her to be presented at 2009 reunion in Hudson Falls she attended from Israel with her husband. It is used in parts, with minor edits, with permission.

  [77] Source Notes: Stephen B. Barry. The author formally interviewed Stephen B. Barry by telephone on November 29, 2007. Steve was also interviewed by Dick Gordon for his radio show, The Story With Dick Gordon. In 2009, the author contacted ‘The Story’ with the idea of doing a program on his discoveries. They set up a dual interview between Carrol Walsh and survivor Steve Barry. In instances in the book where Walsh’s testimony has another party besides this author posing questions, it was from this broadcast. For Memorial Day-A Special Reunion. The Story With Dick Gordon, North Carolina Public Radio, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, May 25, 2009.

  [78] Source Notes: Irene Bleier Muskal. Muskal, Irene Bleier. Bergen–Belsen and Beyond: Memoirs of a Holocaust Survivor. Unpublished manuscript. 1989. Used with permission of Bleier Muskal family. ‘Oh how I want now to reach through my writing to the soul and mind of mankind, have them change the whole world to a better one, more peaceful and meaningful for all. To create a different kind of human behavior, a brand new world where no one builds his life goals and happiness on the destruction of other human beings. A world that knows no hatred, neither jealousy nor cruel and heart-rending wars. I so wish for the existence of a world that erases the last flame of hatred from the human soul! All this may seem a childish dream, but because I so wish for a better world, I do believe it may come true—if only all mankind wants it. By each of us following the righteous path and just obeying human law! Then it would happen, my dream would become a reality.’ The original can be downloaded at https://bergenbelsendiary.org.

  [79] Source Notes: Kurt Bronner. Kurt’s testimony here was recorded by Larry S. Powell at the 30th Inf. Div. Vets of WWII Reunion in Louisville, KY, on April 13, 2013, 68 years to the day after his liberation.

  [80] Source Notes: Uri Orlev. Orlev was featured in the Israel Broadcast Authority’s 2011 documentary, The Train to Life, on the author’s project, which was broadcast in Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2012, and from which this testimony is drawn.

  [81] Source Notes: Aliza Vitis-Shomron. Vitis–Shomron, Aliza. Youth in Flames. 2015. The author contacted Vitis-Shomron in 2016 and she graciously granted permission to use excerpts throughout this work; her writing powerfully conveys the spirit of the Warsaw Ghetto, and she notes that her book was ‘partly composed of notes from an authentic diary; a larger part contains my memories, written in this country [Israel] at the age of seventeen, in Kibbutz Beit Alfa; and I also added another part later.’ Get the full book at www.warsawghettobook.com.

  [82] Source Notes: ‘Agi’ Fleischer Baker. The author formally interviewed ‘Agi’ Baker by telephone on May 14, 2009. An additional source was a videotaped interview with her on January 7, 2016, conducted in Bradenton, Florida, by Mike Edwards of the 5 Stones Group, Columbus, Ohio.

  [83] Source Notes: Ariela Rojek. The author formally interviewed Ariela Lowenthal Mayer Rojek by telephone on January 22, 2008. Ariela was also interviewed several times for newspapers across the United States, and appeared in the Israel Broadcast Authority’s 2011 documentary, The Train to Life. Her family also provided the author with the videotaped interviews done with her in Toronto, Canada. Interviews: Paula Draper, interviewer, Shoah Foundation, February 19, 1992; Janis Raisen, interviewer, Toronto Holocaust Centre, November 21, 1995.

  [84] Source Notes: Leslie Meisels. Leslie Meisels attended the reunions in 2009 and 2011 at our high school, which can be seen on the author’s YouTube channel at http://bit.ly/MRutube. Especially important for this book was his memoir, which was used with his permission: Meisels, Leslie. Suddenly The Shadow Fell (The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs) The Azrieli Foundation. 2014. Get the full book at your favorite retailer. An additional source was a videotaped interview with him on January 7, 2016, conducted in Bradenton, Florida, by Mike Edwards of the 5 Stones Group, Columbus, Ohio.

  [85] Source Notes: Fred Spiegel. Fred Spiegel gave his testimony several times over the years at our high school. Most important for this book was his memoir, used with permission. Spiegel, Fred. Once the Acacias Bloomed-Memories of a Childhood Lost. Margate, NJ: Comteq. 2011. Get the full book at your favorite retailer.

  [86] Source Notes: Peter Lantos. Testimony from Dr. Peter Lantos’s visit to Hudson Falls’ first reunion in September 2007 is included in this book. Most of the testimony comes from his memoir, used with permission, and slightly altered stylistically to fit in with the rest of the book. Lantos, Peter. Parallel Lines: A Journey from Childhood to Belsen. London: Arcadia Press, 2006. Get the full book at your favorite retailer.

  [87] Source Notes: Yaakov Barzilai. His poem was translated from Hebrew into English by Micha Tomkiewicz, and slightly adjusted for style by the author to fit in with the book. The original poem in Hebrew can be seen here: bit.ly/at1155YB.

  [88] Source Notes: Hilde Huppert. As mentioned several times in the book, her memoir is an important primary source of information. Huppert, Hilde. Hand in Hand with Tommy. Jerusalem, Israel: 2004. bit.ly/HIHWTommy.

  [89] Source Notes: Arie Selinger. Selinger was featured in the Israel Broadcast Authority’s 2011 documentary, The Train to Life, on the author’s project, which was broadcast in Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2012, and from which this testimony is drawn.

  [90] Source Notes: Lajos Reti. Lajos Reti’s son, Zoltan Reti, contacted the author in December 2012 and translated the part of his late father’s unpublished memoir dealing with the liberation of the train. It is used here with permission, slightly edited.

  [91] Source Notes: Martin Spett. Martin Spett was formally interviewed by telephone on January 6, 2012. He sent the author the letter (included in this book) which was read aloud to his liberators at the final night of the 2009 reunion, September 25, 2009. Mr. Spett generously provided copies of his illustrated memoir, Reflections of the Soul, for student use at our high school.

  [92] Source Notes: George Somjen. Dr. Somjen’s comments for this book were recorded
by Larry S. Powell at the 30th Inf. Div. Vets of WWII Reunion in Savannah, GA, in March of 2012.

  [93] Source Notes: Robert Spitz. Robert Spitz’s comments for this book were recorded by the author at the 30th Inf. Div. Vets of WWII reunion in Charleston, SC, in March of 2009.

  [94] Source Notes: John Fransman. John Fransman also attended several of the 30th Inf. Div. Vets of WWII reunions; his testimony for this book was taken from an anthology of survivor narratives that he helped to publish: Child Survivors' Association of Great Britain Zachor—We Remember: Child Survivors of the Holocaust Speak. Leicester, UK: Matador, 2011. 51

  [95] Source Notes: Bruria Bodek-Falik. Dr. Falik attended the 2011 reunion in Hudson Falls, from which her testimony here was taken. She also attended several reunions of the 30th Inf. Div. Vets of WWII.