Save lives - Mittelbau-Dora Memorial

Black-and-white photograph: A man in uniform leans over a patient in a hospital bed. Another person sits near the head of the bed. — The US occupation authorities and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) took over the care of the liberated prisoners in the Dora DP camp. This picture shows a UNRRA worker in the camp hospital with a man suffering from tuberculosis, 29 June 1945.
Photo: Edward J. Vetrone / US Army Signal Corps (National Archives, Washington)

Most of the prisoners that the US troops found when they liberated the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp were sick, injured, or severely weakened. The soldiers immediately provided medical care for the survivors. Those suffering from tuberculosis were taken to various sanatoriums in the area. For many of the liberated prisoners, however, all help came too late: they died after liberation as a result of the exhausting forced labor and the abysmal living conditions in the concentration camp.

Black-and-white photograph of a group of men outdoors. Some sit on chairs; a man on the left uses crutches, while a man on the right wears a long coat. — 1/5

Former prisoners suffering from tuberculosis were housed in nearby sanatoriums after the liberation, here with a UNRRA worker in the "Dr. Stein" sanatorium in Sülzhayn, 29 June 1945.
Photo: Edward J. Vetrone / US Army Signal Corps (National Archives, Washington)

Black-and-white photograph: Three men stand outside a wooden barracks building. The men on the left and right wear striped prisoner uniforms. — 2/5

Liberated prisoners at the entry to an infirmary barracks at the Dora DP camp.
Photo: unknown (Ghetto Fighters‘ House Archive)

Colour photograph of liberated prisoners outside barracks: Some lie in the sun beside a path, while others sit in the background. A man in the foreground wears striped prisoner trousers. — 3/5

Liberated prisoners in front of a barracks at the Dora DP camp, April 1945.
Footage: George Stevens / US Army Signal Corps (Library of Congress, Washington)

Colour photograph: A man in striped prisoner clothing speaks with three men outdoors, including two helmeted soldiers. Trees and a barracks building are visible in the background. — 4/5

A liberated prisoner talking to US soldiers, April 1945.
Footage: George Stevens / US Army Signal Corps (Library of Congress, Washington)

Identity document issued by the Military Government in Germany, showing personal details, a portrait photograph, signatures and a red stamp. — 5/5

A registration card issued at the Dora DP camp for the displaced person Lola Rotsztain.
(Mittelbau-Dora Memorial)

The US occupation authorities used the camp facilities to house displaced persons from other sites in the German Reich, such as former forced laborers or concentration camp prisoners. By mid-May 1945, DP camp Dora was the largest camp for displaced persons in the region, with around 14,000 people who were unable to return home immediately after their liberation or who had no home to return to.