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6th US Armored Division- Buchenwald Liberation Monument

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Details:

This monument can be found where rue de la liberation dead ends, at a small grassy plot in the middle of the roundabout.


Monument

This memorial consists of a cement block 2 ft. (.6m) high with plaque, atop which is a triangular cement monument with plaque. The plaques are dedicated to the citizens of Beaufort and the survivors of Buchenwald concentration camp by the 6th US Armored Division. Top plaque bears the insignia of the 6th Armored Division.

From the Holocaust Museum Liberation Unit Website:

After fording the Werra River and advancing deeper into the German state of Thuringia, the 6th Armored Division "Super Sixth" overran the Buchenwald concentration camp on April 11, 1945. When the US troops arrived, the SS guards had fled and the prisoners had taken control of the camp. Several inmates had left the camp in the interim in order to contact the US troops in the vicinity. They approached members of the 6th Armored Division with information about the camp. The first US troops arrived in Buchenwald shortly thereafter, to be greeted by the cheers of the liberated prisoners. The "Super Sixth" reported that some 21,000 inmates were still in the camp. In the days preceding the camp's liberation, the SS had evacuated thousands of inmates on death marches.

Monument Text:

Text on the top plaque reads:
"IN APPRECIATION TO THE CITIZENS OF BEAUFORT AND THE LUXEMBOURG SURVIVORS OF BUCHENWALD FROM GRATEFUL FRIENDS IN THE U.S. 6th ARMORED DIVISION 2 AUGUST 1994"

Text on the bottom plaque reads:
"LE 11 AVRIL 1945 LE CAMP DE CONCENTRATION DE BUCHENWALD FUT LIBERE PAR L'ARMEE AMERICAINE. CE MONUMENT FUT ERIGE EN MEMOIRE DES MILLIONS DE GENS QUI ONT TROUVE LA MORT DANS LES CAMPS DE CONCENTRATION ALLEMANDS ET DANS L'ESPOIR QUE LA JEUNESSE D'AUJOURD'HUI PRESERVERA LE MONDE DE DEMAIN DE PAREILLES ATROCITES"

Translation of the bottom plaque reads:
"On April 11, 1945, the Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated by the US Army. This monument was built in memory of the millions found dead in German concentration camps and in the hope that today's youth will spare future generations of similar atrocities"

Commemorates:

Units:

6th Armored Division

United States Army

Wars:

WWII

Battles:

Holocaust Camp Liberation

Other images :