World War II veteran tells story of Dachau prison

It is common knowledge that as World War II came to an end, Allied forces made a discovery that shocked the world -- Nazi camps with filled with corpses and living skeletons, many of whom were so overcome by starvation that they couldn't survive after being rescued. While historians have written books for decades in an attempt to convey the horror of the Holocaust, only those who survived or witnessed the concentration camps can accurately describe the atrocities suffered by millions. \nMost people never get the opportunity to hear a first-hand account of what happened at the concentration camps, but those who do will never forget the stories they heard.\nLast Thursday, members of the Rotary Club North were fortunate to have 92-year-old Ralph Young, a Bloomington resident and World War II veteran, at their meeting to share his story of liberating Dachau prison camp. \nFor the entirety of Young's speech, the Coronation Room at the Indiana Memorial Union, which was filled with more than 50 eager listeners, was completely silent.\nYoung was a forward observer in the 3rd Observation Batallion and was among the first group of Allied forces to reach Dachau. His group had heard of Dachau, but they "had no idea that (they) would ever see it," according to Young.\n"It was one of the most gruesome, unrealistic places I've ever seen," he said. "No one would believe it unless they saw it."\nWhen Young and his fellow soldiers reached the entrance, they were greeted with the inscription, "All who enter here, abandon hope." \nThe camp, which he described as a "huge monstrosity," covered several acres and contained gas chambers, an immense crematory, and a machine shop and printing press where prisoners would work. \nThere were also rows of what Young described as "storage bin shacks" where those who were too frail to work laid until guards came to take them to the gas chambers for a "shower." The shacks were five feet wide and some contained up to five men, all barely clothed or naked, and dying of starvation, according to Young. He said that as he walked past the shacks he could see the men inside eating the straw they were laying in. Young estimated that after having daily rations of a cup of soup made of barley grain and water, some of the men weighed only 45 pounds. \nNot all of the prisoners, however, were weak, according to Young. One of Young's most vivid memories is of five healthier prisoners tearing a hole in the 10-foot chain link fence to attack a guard who was coming back to the camp. Young stood by and watched as the five prisoners stomped the guard to death.\n"(My superior's) orders were 'let them do it'," he said.\nYoung was also shocked by the railroad cars full of corpses just sitting on the train tracks that ran along the camp. There were approximately 50 railroad cars total, and 20 contained relatively fresh corpses, according to a photocopied article that Young passed out to his audience. The fresh corpses had been shot, slashed in half by bayonets or had their skulls bashed in by the butts of rifles, according to Young. He said that some of the corpses' blood "was still liquid" and guessed that they had been killed earlier that day. \nAt the end of his speech, Young received a standing ovation and admitted that he had never told his story to a large group. \nRev. David Bremer, Young's pastor at United Presbyterian Church and programming chairman of the Rotary Club North, convinced him to share his experiences.\n"I have known Ralph for 14 years," Bremer said. "Over the years, (most often) when a group of church men have lunch together, the discussion turns to aspects of World War II. In this comfortable setting, he would tell of his experiences, but never of Dachau."\nIt wasn't until a few weeks ago that Young finally told Bremer of his experience at Dachau.\n"I implored him to share it with the world, beginning with a Rotary presentation," Bremer said.\nBremer "didn't have to twist (his) arm very hard," according to Young, who said he was glad that he told his story.\n"I think people should realize what the Americans did with the Allies and what we stopped," Young said.\nLarry Keller, a member of the club, was entranced by Young's story and grateful that Young could come.\n"I'm 67 years old and this is the first time I've heard the story from someone who has been there," he said. "I think that there are probably too many people, particularly young folks, who really don't have any idea of the gruesomeness and just how bad things were, so to get this from a first-hand perspective was very interesting to me."\nKeller thought that Young's speech also had a tremendous impact on the rest of the listeners.\n"I think there were like 55 people here and not a single sound was made," he said. "I think that pretty much told the story of what everyone thought"