Please join us for this Yom HaShoah program commemorating the liberation of the Mittelbau-Dora (Nordhausen) concentration camp complex, one of the most notorious of World War II, and the voices of Holocaust survivors and victims.
From August 1943 to April 1945, approximately 60,000 people were deported to Mittelbau-Dora in Nordhausen, Germany. Many were forced to work and often sleep in underground tunnels dedicated to producing V-2 rockets and other experimental weapons. Several thousand German civilians also participated in manufacturing activities. The enslaved workers at Mittelbau-Dora came from different countries, including Poland, Russia, France, Belgium, and Hungary. The majority of the prisoners were “political prisoners”, resistance fighters, and others deemed “undesirable” by the Nazi regime. In early 1945, 16,000 inmates from the Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen concentration camps were transferred by railcar to this complex. Prior to this transport, there were relatively few Jews in Nordhausen.
The inmates were subjected to brutal working conditions, malnutrition, and diseases, leading to many deaths. Although the exact number of deaths is not known, it is estimated that over 25,000 prisoners lost their lives in Mittelbau-Dora, mostly in the final months of the war.
On April 1st, 1945, Allied forces launched an air raid on Nordhausen, signaling the final days of the camp complex. Over the next two days, 14 tons of V-2 related paperwork was hidden in a nearby abandoned mine and 500 German scientists and engineers made their way to Bavaria where they surrendered to the Americans a month later. Through April 5th, the SS evacuated most of the able-bodied inmates on rail cars or death marches towards the mountains or other camps. Approximately a thousand sick and dying prisoners who were unable to be transported remained on site.
On April 11th, 1945, the US Army arrived at Mittelbau-Dora and began attending to the survivors and deceased. Dr. John Rison Jones, OBM, of Huntsville was a private first class in the 104th Infantry, and witnessed firsthand evidence of the atrocities committed here. His testimony is provided in a video feature of our program.
Dr. Molly Johnson of UAH will connect Dr. Jones’ speech to the contemporary context of Holocaust education, and her students will read from a selection of survivor accounts, mainly those of Jewish young people from various European countries. The students hope to bring broad resonance to the plight of persecuted people, historically, and in our midst.
Following these presentations, community members will light candles in memory of Holocaust victims, and we will say kaddish. Dr. Molly Johnson will be presented with the “Seventh Candle Award” for her exemplary service and dedication to Holocaust education over the last twenty years. Rabbis Scott Colbert and Steven Listfield will give related sermons and benedictions.
When & Where: Sunday, April 16th at 2:30pm at Temple B’nai Sholom, 103 Lincoln St, Huntsville, AL
This program is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Huntsville and North Alabama. Many thanks to Temple B’nai Sholom for hosting. Light refreshments will be provided.
Link to flyer for distribution (PDF)
Additional information on 2023 Yom Hashoah Program topics can be found at:
- Dr. John Rison Jones – Obituary, Biography , Collection at UAH (partial)
- UAH Webpage on Dora/Mittelbau
- US Holocaust Museum – Mittelbau in Depth
- US Holocaust Museum – The 104th Infantry Division
- 104th Infantry Division Homepage – Nordhausen Liberation
- Buchenwald & Mittelbau/Dora Memorials Foundation and Photo Archive (German)
- 1947 War Crimes Trial for Dora/Mittelbau
- Selection of Voices of Survivors: Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust by Alexandra Zapruder (2004)
