The 42nd Infantry Division during World War II

In 1985, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the US Army Center of Military History began a program to honor US Army divisions that took part in the Allied liberation of Nazi camps. The US Army Center of Military History defines a liberating division as one whose official records show its presence at a camp within 48 hours of the first soldier’s arrival. The 42nd Infantry Division is among the 36 US divisions that have been recognized to date.

Key Facts

1
US, British, Soviet, and Canadian troops encountered concentration camps and other sites of Nazi crimes as they advanced across Europe in 1944 and 1945.
2
The Allied soldiers liberated sick and starving camp prisoners from Nazi tyranny. They also provided them with food, clothing, and medical aid.
3
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the US Army Center of Military History have recognized 36 US divisions for their role in the liberation of Nazi camps.

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42nd Infantry Division Campaigns during World War II

The 42nd Infantry Division was created in August 1917, just months after the United States entered World War I. In November of that year, the division was sent to France. In 1943, the "Rainbow" division was reactivated for duty. It was then deployed to Europe in December 1944, when it landed in the French port of Marseille. By mid-December, the "Rainbow" division had advanced into Alsace, closing in on the Strasbourg area. In March 1945, the 42nd drove into Germany and crossed the Rhine River. In April, the "Rainbow" division captured the cities of Würzburg, Schweinfurt, and Fürth. By war's end, it had completed its drive into Bavaria and had entered Austria.

US veteran James Rose describes his impressions of Dachau upon liberation

James A. Rose, of Toledo, Ohio, was with the 42nd (Rainbow) Division.

The 42nd Infantry Division and the Liberation of Dachau

On April 29, 1945, the 42nd Infantry Division entered the Dachau concentration camp. Dachau was the longest-functioning SS-controlled camp in Nazi Germany. On that day, three US Army divisions converged on the camp: the 42nd Infantry, the 45th Infantry, and the 20th Armored. When the three units arrived at Dachau, they discovered more than 30,000 prisoners in the overcrowded camp. Just days before, about 2,000 inmates arrived at Dachau on a death march from the Flossenbürg concentration camp. The SS guards had also forced almost 7,000 Dachau inmates to move south.

On April 28, the day before liberation, a train with about 40 railway cars arrived at the camp. It had left Buchenwald four weeks earlier on April 7 filled with more than 5,000 prisoners. With few provisions, almost 2,000 inmates died on the winding route that took them from Thuringia through Saxony to Czechoslovakia and into Bavaria. Their bodies were left behind in various locations throughout Germany. When US troops arrived in Dachau on April 29, they found another 2,310 corpses on the train. The 816 surviving prisoners were taken to barracks within the camp.

Liberation of Dachau

Dachau opened in March 1933 and was the first regular concentration camp to be established by the Nazi regime. The camp was liberated by American forces on April 29, 1945. As they approached the camp, troops encountered horrific evidence of Nazi atrocities.

Liberation of Dachau
The Dachau concentration camp, northwest of Munich, Germany, was the first regular concentration camp the Nazis established in 1933. About twelve years later, on April 29, 1945, US armed forces liberated the camp. There were about 30,000 starving prisoners in the camp at the time. Here, soldiers of the US Seventh Army document conditions in the camp. They also require German civilians to tour the camp and confront Nazi atrocities.
Dachau after liberation
The Dachau concentration camp, northwest of Munich, Germany, was the first regular concentration camp the Nazis established in 1933. About twelve years later, on April 29, 1945, US armed forces liberated the camp. There were about 30,000 starving prisoners in the camp at that time. The film seen here was edited from original footage shot by Allied cameramen as liberating troops entered Dachau. It was discovered in the archives of the Imperial War Museum in 1984 and was never completed.
US soldiers care for Dachau survivors
The Dachau concentration camp, northwest of Munich, Germany, was the first regular concentration camp the Nazis established in 1933. About twelve years later, on April 29, 1945, US armed forces liberated the camp. There were some 30,000 starving prisoners in the camp at that time. In this footage, soldiers of the US Seventh Army feed and disinfect survivors of the camp.
Dallas Peyton describes his recollections of the liberation of Dachau
Dallas Peyton of Tucson, Arizona, was a member of the 70th Armored Infantry. In 1945, with other liberating troops, he entered the Dachau camp and encountered survivors and evidence of atrocities.
Aerial view of Dachau concentration camp
[This video is silent]

The Dachau concentration camp, northwest of Munich, Germany, was the first regular concentration camp the Nazis established in 1933. About twelve years later, on April 29, 1945, US armed forces liberated the camp. There were some 30,000 starving prisoners in the camp at the time. This footage shows an aerial view of the camp and the entrance gate to the prisoner compound.
Jewish religious service at Dachau
US forces liberated the Dachau concentration camp in Germany in April 1945. Here, survivors of the camp stand during the singing of "Hatikva" ("Hope") before Rabbi David Eichhoren, a US army chaplain, leads one of the first Jewish prayer services after liberation.

The proximity of the US Army gave hope to the prisoners in the camp and to anti-Nazis outside it. In the town of Dachau, German opponents of the regime, including a few escaped concentration camp prisoners, took over the town hall. The local SS put down the small rebellion and executed the insurgents they caught. In the Dachau camp itself, representatives of the various nationalities imprisoned there established a committee to organize resistance.

News of Dachau's liberation spread swiftly. The journalists and congressmen who had been viewing the Buchenwald concentration camp were quickly sent to Dachau to see the camp. In their report delivered to Congress on May 15, 1945, the senators and representatives stated that

As we visited Dachau we saw on a railroad sidetrack paralleling the main highway, and close to the gates of the prison camp, a train of cars which had been used to bring additional civilian prisoners to this camp. These cars were an assortment of odd boxcars, some of which were locked, and some were coal-car type. In each of them the floor of the car was covered with dead, emaciated bodies. In some of these cars there were more than enough to cover the floors. In size, these cars were of the small European type, which, when used for the movement of troops, would never accommodate more than 40 men. Nevertheless, the Army officials in charge of this camp advised us that there were 50 of these cars in this 1 train and that at least 100 of these civilians had been jammed into each car . . .

We saw many dead bodies on the ground. These prisoners had apparently crawled out of the cars and had died on the ground. Our officials advised us that many of the others who had survived the trip had died since in the camp, and many more, although still alive, were starved beyond redemption.

Immediately after Dachau's liberation, US Army authorities and other Allied representatives began treating the sick prisoners. They implemented health and sanitary measures to curb the typhus epidemic and brought in tons of food to feed the starving prisoners.

Recognition as a Liberating Division

The 42nd Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the US Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1985.

42nd Infantry Division Battle Casualty Figures

The following are tentative battle casualty figures for the 42nd Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations:

Killed: 333
Wounded: 1,800
Missing: 1,459
Captured: 6
Total battle casualties: 3,598

42nd Infantry Division Nickname and Insignia

The 42nd Infantry Division’s insignia reflects its nickname, the “Rainbow” division. Its insignia or patch is in the shape of an arc. It shows a rainbow of three colors: red, gold, and blue (from top to bottom). The outline of the patch is stitched with military green thread.

The nickname of the 42nd Infantry Division was coined in 1917 by then Colonel Douglas MacArthur, the division’s Chief of Staff at the time. The nickname “Rainbow” division reflects the composition of the division during World War I. The 42nd was drawn from the National Guards of 26 states and the District of Columbia. It represented a cross section of the American people, as the rainbow represents a cross section of colors. The insignia adopted by the 42nd Infantry reinforced the choice of the nickname.

Insignia of the 42nd Infantry Division. The nickname of the 42nd Infantry Division, the "Rainbow" division, reflects the composition ...

Footnotes

Footnote reference1.
Casualty figures as of February 2024 according to the US Army Center of Military History

Author(s): United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

Critical Thinking Questions

What challenges did Allied forces face when they encountered the camps and sites of other atrocities?
What challenges did Allied forces face when they encountered the camps and sites of other atrocities?