Dedication of a Memorial Plaque in Honor of the 45th Division of the 7th U.S. Army on April 29, 2025 – Impressions

As part of the events to mark the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, a memorial plaque in honor of the 45th Division of the 7th U.S. Army was unveiled on April 29, 2025 in the passageway of the Jourhaus.

Present at the unveiling were descendants of liberators from from the 45^th, the 42^nd and 20^th divisions, along with Dr. James Miller, Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in Munich, and the Dachau survivor Abba Naor.

Welcoming addresses were given by Karl Freller (Director, The Bavarian Memorials Foundation), Dominique Boueilh (President of the Comité International de Dachau), and Consul General Dr. James Miller. These were then followed by speeches from Brigadier General Stephen P. Carpenter (7th Army Training Command) and Major General Thomas H. Mancino (Adjutant General of Oklahoma). The ceremony was accompanied musically by the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Band & Chorus.

The dedication ceremony was followed by a staged reading entitled “But it was true – we were free.” Performed in the Dachau Memorial Site’s cinema, pupils from the Bavarian International School recited the moving testimonies of liberators and survivors of the Dachau concentration camp in the original languages.

Recordings of both events are available for viewing on the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site’s YouTube channel.

Dedication of the memorial plaque honoring the 45th Division of the 7th U.S. Army

Karl Freller, Director of the Bavarian Memorial Foundation, giving his welcome address

Dominique Boueilh, President of the Comité International de Dachau, gives his welcome address

Dr. James Miller, Consul General of the U.S. Consulate in Munich, welcomes the guests

1st row, second from left: Abba Naor, Holocaust survivor, third from left: Karl Freller, Director of the Bavarian Memorial Foundation, and, to his right, Dr. Dirk Riedel, Senior Research Advisor at the Dachau Memorial Site

From left to right: Karl Freller, Director of the Bavarian Memorial Foundation, Dr. Dirk Riedel, Senior Research Advisor at the Dachau Memorial Site (l.) and the Director of the Memorial Site, Dr. Gabriele Hammermann (r.)

Musicians of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Band & Chorus provided musical accompaniment to the dedication ceremony of the memorial plaque

From left to right: Dominique Boueilh, Dr. Gabriele Hammermann, Karl Freller, Ted Hibbard (Deputy Director of the Oklahoma National Guard Museums), Abba Naor, Dr. Richard Baum (veteran of the 20th Division), Dr. James Miller, Brigadier General Stephen P. Carpenter, Major General Thomas H. Mancino

The new memorial plaque (r.), next to the plaque honoring the 42nd Division

Staged reading: “But it was true - we were free”

The new memorial plaque (r.), next to the plaque honoring the 42nd Division

Two members of the Dachau Youth Symphony Orchestra provided musical accompaniment to the reading

Two pupils from the Bavarian International School reading quotes from survivors and liberators of the Dachau concentration camp

All photos: © KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau