Unit Request

I have gotten my grandfather's Holocaust documents translated and they say he was at a Buchenwald sub-camp called Witten-Annen. I have not been able to find much about it except that it was liberated April 10 or 11, 1945. I know that there were various armored divisions that liberated Buchenwald and its sub-camps but I cannot find out which unit liberated Witten-Annen. Where should I try to look next? Thanks!

Dave

 

So far, I've found mention of Witten-Annen as noted below. Perhaps you already have some of the information but I'm hoping that each piece will lead to other leads to finding out what unit specifically liberated the Witten-Annen subcamp.

Concentration Camp Listing

where it is listed as Witten-Annen (Ig. Farbenindustrie) which leads me to consider it was also a labour camp for Ig. Farben Industries. http://www.dpcamps.org/slavecamplist.pdf

By bits and pieces of different websites I got to this one regarding Buchenwald and its liberation on April 11, 1945 Buchenwald which says its liberators were:

"
In early April 1945, as U.S. forces approached the camp, the Germans began to evacuate some 28,000 prisoners from the main camp and an additional several thousand prisoners from the subcamps of Buchenwald. About a third of these prisoners died from exhaustion en route or shortly after arrival, or were shot by the SS. The underground resistance organization in Buchenwald, whose members held key administrative posts in the camp, saved many lives. They obstructed Nazi orders and delayed the evacuation.

On April 11, 1945, in expectation of liberation, starved and emaciated prisoners stormed the watchtowers, seizing control of the camp. Later that afternoon, U.S. forces entered Buchenwald. Soldiers from the 6th Armored Division, part of the Third Army, found more than 21,000 people in the camp."

Also, this may help a little http://www.ibb-d.de/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/remember_future.pdf

"Group B: Looking for evidence

The second group concerned itself with the process of learning through discovery
at historical sites. The destination of the excursion was the former subsidiary
branch of Buchenwald concentration camp in Witten-Annen. In the mid-1980s, a
school class from Witten came across drawings of the camp by chance. A historian​

was then given the task of making further investigations. A short time later, a

“Memorial to the Victims of Forced Labour in Witten, 1941-1945” was published,
and a competition was launched for the design of a monument.

The group visited the site with a monument preservation officer from the town of
Witten, Martin Jakel, who gave them an introduction to its history. Participants in
this workshop then had time to explore the site for themselves, to take photographs
(see section 4.11) and to conduct interviews (see section 4.2) in the neighbourhood.
There proved to be few remains left at the site, with the exception of a
memorial tablet and the fence posts which had once surrounded the camp and
had been laid bare, but were partly overgrown once more. The conversations with
people living nearby were not very informative, although some people knew of the
existence of the former camp. In the subsequent discussion it became clear that
this was a historical site that had been forgotten and that little of its previous history
was still to be seen, but that it had nonetheless been possible to create a memorial
through the joint efforts and commitment of various individuals and institutions.
A wall newspaper (see section 4.19) with photographs and information about the​

camp was prepared at the end and then shown to the whole group.

Bibliography​

Stadt Witten (ed.): Künstlerischer Ideenwettbewerb zu einer Gedenkstätte auf dem
Gelände des ehemaligen KZ-Außenlagers Buchenwald in Witten-Annen. Dokumentation,
Witten, Wetter 1993.
Völkel, Klaus: “Hier ruhen 22 Genossen, zu Tode gequält ...”. Gedenkschrift für die Opfer der​

Zwangsarbeit in Witten, 1941-1945, published by the town of Witten, Bochum 1992."

 

75th Infantry Division - 290th Regiment Combat Diary re fighting at Witten - possible other units

75th Infantry Division, 290th Infantry Combat Diary

"Heavy fighting against bitter, last ditch opposition marked a sustained drive by the 290th Combat Team on the 11th, 12th and 13th of April with the three battalions attacking abreast to adequately cover the large area assigned the regiment. The 1st Battalion advanced toward Witten, encountered stiff resistance as they drew near the objective, broke up a large scale counter attack with mortar and artillery fire, then fought a house-to-house battle through Witten to reach the Ruhr River. The 2nd Battalion followed the 1st Battalion for a short time then changed the angle of attack to south and southeast, meeting heavy enemy resistance but reaching the town of Annen. Road blocks and large numbers of riflemen made conquest of the town difficult and, after taking part of the town before dark, the battalion held its ground for the night and completed capture of the town early the following morning. The 3rd Battalion sector provided equally stern resistance with Company K meeting exceptionally fierce opposition. Air support helped to alleviate the situation and the battalion was able to renew the attack to the objective."y

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?ModuleId=10006161 U.S. ARMY DIVISIONS RECOGNIZED AS LIBERATING UNITS BY THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND THE CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORYhting against bitter, last ditch opposition marked a sustained drive by the 290th Combat Team on the 11th, 12th and 13th of April with the three battalions attacking abreast to adequately cover the large area assigned the regiment. The 1st Battalion advanced toward Witten, encountered stiff resistance as they drew near the objective, broke up a large scale counter attack with mortar and artillery fire, then fought a house-to-house battle through Witten to reach the Ruhr River. The 2nd Battalion followed the 1st Battalion for a short time then changed the angle of attack to south and southeast, meeting heavy enemy resistance but reaching the town of Annen. Road blocks and large numbers of riflemen made conquest of the town difficult and, after taking part of the town before dark, the battalion held its ground for the night and completed capture of the town early the following morning. The 3rd Battalion sector provided equally stern resistance with Company K meeting exceptionally fierce opposition. Air support helped to alleviate the situation and the battalion was able to renew the attack to the objective.

 

Thanks. I found one site that was entirely about the camp with a report from a survivor who said that 'The American tank destroyer arrived on March 4th 1945' I have also found out that Witten-Annen worked on tank armor.

 

David, could you post the link here? After all this searching I would like to learn more.

Thanks!

 

Sure here it is

Google Translate

 

David, I apologize for being a bit late to the party, but I have only joined the forum recently.

The unit you are looking for is the 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion which participated in the liberation of Buchenwald while attached to the 6th Armored Division.

Hopefully, this isn't too late to help you.

 

I must correct my previous post. After I put it up I started thinking I had missed something, and I did. I missed most of the other responses to this thread.