• SHOP MY BOOKS
    • AUDIOBOOKS
  • HOME
    • ABOUT
    • MEET THE AUTHOR.
    • NOTES ON ATTRIBUTION
  • DISCUSSION GUIDE
  • A TRAIN NEAR MAGDEBURG-HOLOCAUST FILM PROJECT
  • HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
    • THE LIBERATION PHOTOS.
  • 1945 Manifest List-Names of those liberated at Farsleben, Germany, April 13th 1945
    • Looking for someone? Post here.
  • Privacy Policy

Teaching History Matters

"for the sake of humanity"… A small town American high school history project changes lives worldwide. These are the observations of a veteran teacher- on the Power of Teaching, the importance of the study of History, and especially the lessons we must learn, and teach, on the Holocaust. Click on "Holocaust Survivors, Liberators Reunited" tab above to begin.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« “My parents couldn’t understand why I couldn’t sleep at times.”
Gina- "I trust her dreams were realized." »

the people on this train don’t look like walking skeletons to me

December 28, 2011 by Matthew Rozell

I got a comment on a post yesterday from a professed “skeptic” who does not leave a name, of course (they never do), nor does he share his name at his website, though on his “About” page he does reveal that it  “is about Holocaust history and what I see as malign political influences that have distorted our understanding of history. My interest in the subject came about after I was expelled from a History Honours course run by a University in the city of Melbourne after presenting some material criticising some of the more wild claims in the literature several years ago.  This traumatic experience lead me to investigate further and everything confirmed my initial suspicions.”

Hmm, sounds like a conspiracy to me. Sorry about the trauma, so as he wishes, here is what he left to be published on this site, with my responses.

Hello, I came here after reading Dan Porat’s The Boy, where some of the Hillersleben photos feature.

Hi. Yes, I was consulted by the author, and helped him get some of the photos of the liberation- which was at Farsleben, not Hilersleben.

Maybe I am missing something here, but the people on this train don’t look like walking skeletons to me. German civilian rations were 1600 calories pro Tag 1944/1945, so the fact that the photos you present show individuals that look slim but hardly starved seems to undermine your central thesis – namely History Matters. Clearly, you don’t think so or you would use your material more carefully.

"A woman and two children rest next to a stopped train" 4-14-2011 by Harry E. Boll. USHMM Archives.

Clearly, it was not I, but a soldier who referred to the victims he cared for as “walking skeletons”.  Also, these ” slim”  individuals were so weak that many could hardly stand- again, more eyewitness liberator testimony. Maybe the soldiers are lying, something that has been suggested by skeptics before. Several “slim people” are lying dead on the hillside in the background- and the skeptic has missed the point that the ones physically able to pose for a photograph have done so. Many more could not even get out of the cars without assistance-many were dead inside the cars, literally falling out on top of horrified soldiers as they slide open the doors-something the skeptic would have learned had he/she been more thorough in his research of my work. Perhaps he would suggest that the boys in the photo to the left, taken by US forces the day after liberation, are the picture of health. And thanks for bringing in the plight of the unfortunate German civilians. Perhaps we should compare suffering here as well.

Secondly, don’t you think you are being rather disrepectful of the sacrifice shown by the American GI by continually reducing their experience down to the liberation of some detainees on a train. It verges on insulting to continually insist that people who repeatedly saw their buddies being blown away would privilege the experience of 2500 Jewish people on a train who don’t look starved at all

I think a little ironic that the post above  the one that the skeptic commented on mentions the sacrifice and not the train liberation at all(“Hell came in like a freight train. I heard an explosion and went back to where my friend was.” 67 yrs. ago this week.), a common thread throughout my work, which he must have run across if he used the link in Porat’s book to get to this site. And it is also stated at the bottom of my “About” page, which the skeptic should take the time to read before invoking one’s “skepticism”, that “if you are a Holocaust denier/minimizer/revisionist, and/or run-of-the-mill hate spewer, thank you in advance for sparing  me your epistles… I’ve already heard it all.”  It really can get tiring, but thanks for writing to remind me that I have a better job to do. Sadly, I’ll also be adding the word “skeptic” to my list.

And while I usually refrain from posting photos such as will follow, unfortunately it feels necessary now. The train survivors left this camp 12 days before this photo was taken by British troops.

THE LIBERATION OF BERGEN-BELSEN CONCENTRATION CAMP, APRIL 1945 part of "WAR OFFICE SECOND WORLD WAR OFFICIAL COLLECTION" (photographs) Made by: No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit A British Army bulldozer pushes bodies into a mass grave at Belsen. The driver of the bulldozer wears a protective handkerchief over his mouth and nose.

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on December 28, 2011 at 2:17 pm Ted C.

    Sounds like he’s a grade A D-BAG to me, Mr. Rozell. That I am not skeptical of at all. Too bad he wasn’t among those within the death cars of this train. Perhaps his skepticism would deminish. But I doubt it. People like him are so full of hate, he wouldn’t believe it happened if he witnessed this horror first hand. My hopes are he rots in hell.

    Sincerely,
    Ted Chittenden
    American


  2. on December 29, 2011 at 2:29 am Joseph Cutshall-King

    Matt,

    My most sincere congratulations on your efforts to promote truth through the teaching of history, and to eradicate ignorance and the hatred and evil that spring from it.

    All the best,
    Joe Cutshall-King


  3. on December 30, 2011 at 11:22 am Frank W, Towers

    The “SOB” who wrote this article ‘did not witness’ the horror that we soldiers saw at Farsleben. Very Unfortunately, George Gross did not take any close up photos of the victims who were jammed in the freight cars. The people who were in most of these photos, were from the “passenger cars” and were in fairly good condition, as compared to those who were jammed in the freight cars. The writer did not see these victims, nor did he smell the stench that emanated from these freight cars containing about 75 ‘skeletons” hE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE INSTEAD OF CRITISIZING AND SITTING IN HIS EASY CHAIR. WE WHO WERE THERE, KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE !!
    If You were not there, DO NOT Critisize !!

    Frank W. Towers, One of the initial Liberators of ‘The Train’ !!!



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 781 other subscribers
  • Blog Stats

    • 635,412 hits
  • Top Posts & Pages

    • Why I Loathe 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'.
      Why I Loathe 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'.
    • A TRAIN NEAR MAGDEBURG-HOLOCAUST FILM PROJECT
      A TRAIN NEAR MAGDEBURG-HOLOCAUST FILM PROJECT
    • So, I am suspicious of education.
      So, I am suspicious of education.
    • HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
      HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
    • THE LIBERATION PHOTOS.
      THE LIBERATION PHOTOS.
  • Recent Posts

    • International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023
    • Time to Remember: A Walk in the Snow.
    • New York, New York.
  • Facebook Page

    Facebook Page
  • Twitter Updates

    • International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023 teachinghistorymatters.com/2023/01/27/int… 3 days ago
    • Time to Remember: A Walk in the Snow. teachinghistorymatters.com/2022/12/07/tim… 1 month ago
    Follow @marozell
  • Archives

    • January 2023 (1)
    • December 2022 (1)
    • November 2022 (2)
    • September 2022 (2)
    • July 2022 (1)
    • June 2022 (2)
    • May 2022 (1)
    • April 2022 (7)
    • February 2022 (1)
    • January 2022 (1)
    • September 2021 (2)
    • July 2021 (1)
    • May 2021 (1)
    • April 2021 (1)
    • March 2021 (1)
    • August 2020 (1)
    • June 2020 (1)
    • May 2020 (1)
    • April 2020 (2)
    • March 2020 (1)
    • February 2020 (4)
    • January 2020 (4)
    • December 2019 (3)
    • November 2019 (1)
    • October 2019 (2)
    • September 2019 (1)
    • August 2019 (1)
    • July 2019 (2)
    • June 2019 (2)
    • May 2019 (2)
    • April 2019 (4)
    • March 2019 (2)
    • February 2019 (2)
    • January 2019 (1)
    • December 2018 (3)
    • November 2018 (2)
    • October 2018 (1)
    • September 2018 (2)
    • June 2018 (3)
    • May 2018 (2)
    • April 2018 (2)
    • March 2018 (1)
    • February 2018 (2)
    • January 2018 (1)
    • December 2017 (2)
    • November 2017 (2)
    • September 2017 (3)
    • August 2017 (3)
    • June 2017 (3)
    • May 2017 (1)
    • April 2017 (8)
    • February 2017 (3)
    • January 2017 (2)
    • December 2016 (2)
    • November 2016 (4)
    • September 2016 (3)
    • July 2016 (5)
    • June 2016 (3)
    • May 2016 (3)
    • April 2016 (3)
    • March 2016 (4)
    • February 2016 (3)
    • January 2016 (3)
    • December 2015 (7)
    • November 2015 (4)
    • October 2015 (3)
    • September 2015 (8)
    • August 2015 (6)
    • July 2015 (6)
    • June 2015 (2)
    • May 2015 (5)
    • April 2015 (13)
    • March 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (2)
    • January 2015 (8)
    • December 2014 (2)
    • November 2014 (6)
    • October 2014 (2)
    • August 2014 (1)
    • July 2014 (20)
    • June 2014 (2)
    • May 2014 (3)
    • April 2014 (5)
    • March 2014 (3)
    • January 2014 (1)
    • November 2013 (7)
    • October 2013 (4)
    • September 2013 (4)
    • August 2013 (3)
    • July 2013 (6)
    • June 2013 (6)
    • May 2013 (7)
    • April 2013 (12)
    • March 2013 (2)
    • January 2013 (7)
    • December 2012 (4)
    • November 2012 (7)
    • September 2012 (1)
    • August 2012 (2)
    • June 2012 (1)
    • May 2012 (3)
    • April 2012 (13)
    • March 2012 (3)
    • January 2012 (3)
    • December 2011 (1)
    • November 2011 (1)
    • October 2011 (2)
    • September 2011 (5)
    • August 2011 (4)
    • July 2011 (1)
    • June 2011 (2)
    • May 2011 (4)
    • April 2011 (3)
    • March 2011 (1)
    • February 2011 (3)
    • October 2010 (4)
    • September 2010 (1)
    • August 2010 (1)
    • July 2010 (2)
    • June 2010 (5)
    • May 2010 (3)
    • April 2010 (10)
    • March 2010 (3)
    • February 2010 (4)
    • January 2010 (2)
    • December 2009 (2)
    • September 2009 (2)
    • June 2009 (1)
    • May 2009 (2)
    • April 2009 (3)
    • February 2009 (1)
    • January 2009 (3)
    • December 2008 (5)
    • November 2008 (3)
    • August 2008 (4)
    • July 2008 (1)
    • May 2008 (4)
    • April 2008 (4)
    • January 2008 (3)
    • December 2007 (1)
    • November 2007 (2)
    • October 2007 (1)
    • September 2007 (4)

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Teaching History Matters
    • Join 570 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Teaching History Matters
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: