By Weston Irons Posted May 4, 2015
On April 29, 2015, a statement from the White House by President Obama remembered the lives of the people whose lives were lost during WWII and the Liberation of Dachau.
Americans sacrificed their lives in order to assist the people and rid the world of some of the heinous crimes that the Nazi regime had committed.
The release continues, from its sinister inception in 1933, Dachau held political prisoners – opponents of the Third Reich. It became the prototype for Nazi concentration camps and the training ground for Schutzstaffel (SS) camp guards. As the seed of Nazi evil grew, the camp swelled with thousands of others across Europe targeted by the Nazis, including Jews, other religious sects, Sinti, Roma, LGBT persons, the disabled, and those deemed asocial.
Dachau was one of the first of the dreadful concentration camps that would be the final resting grounds for millions of innocent people during the World War II era. The horrors that had happened in these camps would not truly be known until after the war.
Our hearts are heavy in remembrance of the more than 40,000 individuals from every walk of life who died, and the more than 200,000 who suffered at Dachau. As we reflect on the anniversary of Dachau’s liberation, we draw inspiration from and recall with gratitude, the sacrifices of so many Americans – in particular our brave soldiers – to win victory over oppression. Drawing from the words of Captain Timothy Brennan, who wrote to his wife and child after liberating the camp – “You cannot imagine that such things exist in a civilized world” – we fervently vow that such atrocities will never happen again.
History will not repeat itself, the release concludes.
