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World War II Liberation Photography: Learning about Photographs You May Have in your Home
View this term in the glossary
"It is the desire of the Theater Commander that both still and moving pictures be utilized to the fullest extent practicable as exhibits in reports of investigations of war crimes committed by the Nazis with particular reference to Allied prisoners of war both in and out of camps and to concentration camps for the purpose of recording for civilization the history of horror written by over five years of German atrocities." —Omar Bradley, April 24, 1945.
Almost every day, World War II veterans and their families uncover extremely graphic photographs taken of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps. These photographs provide powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era. Though most GIs did not have access to a camera, some did and took their own photos. However, many are copies of US Signal Corps photographs of the Buchenwald, Dachau, and Mauthausen concentration camps and their various subcamps. Among the most common images is a series taken by an unknown photographer of the crematorium in Dachau and later published as postcards.
Though we do not know how these photographs came to be reproduced and distributed in such great numbers, some hypothesize that these photographs were distributed as part of a policy reflected in General Dwight D. Eisenhower's desire to widely publicize the evidence of Nazi atrocities. Some of the most common images were printed in a small illustrated pamphlet by the US Army shortly after the end of the war and distributed throughout Germany so that "ordinary citizens become aware of the crimes which were committed in their midst, in their names, and with their permission."
If you would like to compare photographs in your possession to some of the most commonly reproduced photos to see if they are part of this massive documentation effort, please view the photographs in the gallery below.
Please note that many of these photographs are extremely graphic.
World War II veterans and their families continue to uncover extremely graphic photographs taken of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps. These photographs provide powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era. This media essay shows some of the most commonly reproduced liberation photos.
A survivor stokes smoldering human remains in a crematorium oven that was still lit in the Dachau camp. Photograph taken upon the liberation of the camp. Dachau, Germany, April 29-May 1, 1945.
Corpses lie in one of the open railcars of the Dachau death train. The Dachau death train consisted of nearly forty cars containing the bodies of between two and three thousand prisoners transported to Dachau in the last days of the war. Dachau, Germany, April 29, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
While on a tour of the newly liberated concentration camp, General Dwight Eisenhower and other high-ranking US Army officers view the bodies of prisoners who were killed during the evacuation of Ohrdruf. Ohrdruf, Germany April 12, 1945.
The bodies of former prisoners are piled in the crematorium mortuary in the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, April 29, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Corpses lie in one of the open railcars of the Dachau death train. The Dachau death train consisted of nearly forty cars containing the bodies of between two and three thousand prisoners transported to Dachau in the last days of the war. Dachau, Germany, April 29, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
During an inspection by US Army chaplains of the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp, G. Bromley Oxnam (right) views a demonstration of how prisoners were tortured in Buchenwald. Oxnam was the Methodist bishop of New York and President of the Federated Council of Churches of Christ in America. Buchenwald, Germany, April 27, 1945.
Survivors move around between rows of barracks in the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, May 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Survivors of the Dachau concentration camp demonstrate the operation of the crematorium by pushing a corpse into one of the ovens. Dachau, Germany, April 29–May 10, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Survivors of the Dachau concentration camp demonstrate the operation of the crematorium by pushing a corpse into one of the ovens. Dachau, Germany, April 29–May 10, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Survivors of the Dachau concentration camp demonstrate the operation of the crematorium by preparing a corpse to be placed into one of the ovens. Dachau, Germany, April 29–May 10, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Survivors of the Dachau concentration camp demonstrate the operation of the crematorium by dragging a corpse toward one of the ovens. Dachau, Germany, April 29–May 10, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Survivors of the Dachau concentration camp prepare to move a corpse during a demonstration of the cremation process at the camp. Dachau, Germany, April 29–May 10, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
German civilians remove the bodies of prisoners killed in the Nordhausen concentration camp and lay them out in long rows outside the central barracks (Boelke Kaserne). Nordhausen, Germany, April 12, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Corpses are piled in the crematorium mortuary in the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, May 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Close-up of corpses piled in the crematorium mortuary in the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, May 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
View of the main street of the Nordhausen concentration camp, outside of the central barracks (Boelke Kaserne), where the bodies of prisoners have been laid out in long rows. Nordhausen, Germany, April 13–14, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
While on an inspection tour of the newly liberated Ohrdruf concentration camp, American soldiers view the charred remains of prisoners burned upon a section of railroad track during the evacuation of the camp. Ohrdruf, Germany, April 4-15, 1945.
German civilians under US military escort are forced to view a wagon piled with corpses in the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp. Buchenwald, Germany, April 16, 1945.
A wagon is piled with the bodies of victims of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Photograph taken following the liberation of the camp. The 6th Armored Division overran the camp on April 11, 1945. Buchenwald, Germany, April 11–May 1945.
Former prisoners of the "little camp" in Buchenwald stare out from the wooden bunks in which they slept three to a "bed." Elie Wiesel is pictured in the second row of bunks, seventh from the left, next to the vertical beam. Abraham Hipler is pictured in the second row, fourth from the left. The man on the third bunk from the bottom, third from the left, is Ignacz (Isaac) Berkovicz. [He has also been identified as Abraham Baruch.] Michael Nikolas Gruner, originally from Hungary, is pictured on the bottom left corner. Perry Shulman from Klimitov, Poland is on the top bunk, second from the left (looking up). Buchenwald, Germany, April 16, 1945.
This image is also among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
The bodies of former prisoners are stacked outside the crematorium in the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp. Buchenwald, Germany, April 23, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
A wagon is piled high with the bodies of victims of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Photograph taken following the liberation of the camp. Buchenwald, Germany, April 16, 1945.
The charred corpse of a prisoner killed by the SS in a barn just outside of Gardelegen. The SS guards locked the prisoners, who were on a death march from the Dora-Mittelbau camp, in a barn, which was then set ablaze. Gardelegen, Germany, April 16, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
During an official tour of the newly liberated Ohrdruf concentration camp, an Austrian Jewish survivor describes to General Dwight Eisenhower and the members of his entourage the use of the gallows in the camp. Among those pictured is Jules Grad, correspondent for the US Army newspaper Stars and Stripes (on the right). Ohrdruf, Germany, April 12, 1945.
The charred remains of former prisoners in two crematoria ovens in the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp. Buchenwald, Germany, April 14, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Two ovens inside the crematorium at the Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, July 1, 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
A pile of corpses in the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, April 29-May 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
The bodies of former prisoners are piled outside the crematorium at the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, April–May 1945.
This image is among the commonly reproduced and distributed, and often extremely graphic, images of liberation. These photographs provided powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era.
Author(s):
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC
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