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- Advanced Placement European History -
Lecture Notes

Liberating Dachau

The 42nd Division at the Jourhaus
The advance party from the 42nd Division arrived at the jourhaus , where a group of SS guards emerged and surrendered to Linden's men without incident.

In his testimony to the assistant inspector general, Linden said: "I moved in with my guards into [the military part of the camp], and I found the inmates - having seen the American uniform of my guards there, and those of the 45th Division - approaching the main stockade [i.e. the Jourhaus and the western side of the prisoner enclosure] from the east, had stormed to the fence in riotous joy. This seething mass increased in intensity until the surge against the steel barbed wire fence was such that it broke in several places, and inmates poured out into the roadway between the fence and the moat. In this process, several were electrocuted on the charged fence.

The shooting began some minutes after Tech. 3rd Grade Henry J. Wells, the interpreter accompanying the 42nd's party, proceeded to the tower and fired a burst at the door with his .45 caliber M-3 "grease gun."

When the firing stopped, seven SS guards lay dead on the bank of the Wurm River canal. If the count of 16 Germans rousted from the tower is correct, the bodies of nine other guards fell into the canal and were washed downstream, for only seven bodies were accounted for in the inspector general's report. Linden's men then apparently withdrew from the Tower B and the Jourhaus and returned to the main gate.

Prisoner Torture at Dachau Concentration Camp

On his was to the jourhaus, Sparks saw prisoners streaming from their barracks by the thousands and reaching toward the wire that enclosed them. "Walking along the canal almost to the Jourhaus, I saw a large number of naked bodies stretched out along the ends of the barracks," Sparks recalled. "I estimated there were about 200 bodies there. I also spotted quite a few of my men at the Jourhaus. About this time, the camp erupted. The prisoners came out of the barracks shouting and screaming."

Thousands of inmates dashed to the wire enclosure, emitting an unearthly howl - a howl of rage at what had befallen them, and a howl of joy at their redemption.

Sparks said: "I told Karl Mann, my interpreter, to yell at them and tell them that we couldn't let them out, but that food and medicine would be arriving soon. Then I saw bodies flying through the air, with the prisoners tearing at them with their hands. I had Karl ask what was going on. The prisoners told him that they were killing the informers among them. They actually tore them to pieces with their bare hands. This went on for about five minutes until they wore themselves out. I had Karl tell them to send their leaders to the fence, where I told them to keep calm, that medicine and food would be coming soon. This seemed to settle them down."

Sparks replied that his orders prohibited anyone but his men from entering the camp.

"Never Again" As you leave Dachau, the marker on the wall reads: "Never Again."

Liberating Dachau
| World War II - Dachau Concentration Camp Complex |
| Unanswered Questions: Discovery of the Railroad Boxcars |
| I Company Recollections and Quotes |
| Liberating Dachau: The 42nd Division at the Jourhaus |
Dachau, Germany
| Dachau: WWII Concentration Camp Memorial | 2 | 3 |

Famous 20th-Century / World War II Quotes
| Quotes from Europe and Asia - 1900s | Winston Churchill |
| US 20th-Century and World War II Quotes |

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- AP Modern European History in Depth -

Lecture Notes and Further Reading
| Methods and Rules for a Prince: How Should a Prince Rule? |
| Borg vs Hick: Theories on Jesus and Christianity |
| Kant's Epistemological Model and Religious Pluralism |

Related Information
| Poems and Prose From the 8th - 15th Centuries | 1 | 2 |
| Marseillaise, the National Anthem of France:
A Modern-day Controversy | Sacré Phew! |
| French Culture: Historical Champagne and Wine Trivia |

Famous Modern European History Quotes
| Index of Quotes by Speaker / Historical Period |
| Famous Quotes from the Dark and Middle Ages |
| Relevant Quotes from the Reformation and Renaissance |
| Quotes from England: 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries |
| Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution Quotes | Voltaire |
| Quotes from the French Revolution and Napoleon Era |
| Modern European History Quotes from the 1800s |
| American Quotes from the Early 1900s and World War I |

AP Class Activities
| Play the Role of Philip II |
| Visual Interpretations - French Revolution Art |
| "Ism" Maps of Europe and Asia |
| Industrial Revolution: England's Advantage |
| Marx and Tocqueville | America's Entry Into World War I |
Trials - Simulations
| Trial of Martin Luther | Trial of Adolf Hitler |

Helpful Information for Students
| AP Essay Writing Skills |
| Student-Developed Class Presentation Topics |

Debate Information
| Guide: Individual Debate Position | Debate Self Evaluation |
Debates
| Existence of God | Catherine the Great or Frederick the Great |
| Locke - Hobbes | Voltaire or Rousseau |

Additonal Course Info / AP Class Policy
| AP European History Syllabus: Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 |
| Writing Assignments, Exams, Critical Book Reviews, More |
| AP Booklist and Fees |