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"This is the body of one of the 133 Allied prisoners of war and slave laborers killed by German
SS troopers, before the arrival of the US Third Army Troops in Schwarzenfeld, Germany. The bodies were
dug up and given a decent burial by the German civilians of the town. The German pastor [Fr. Viktor Koch]
who spoke at the funeral service said the civilians were [not responsible for] the occurence."
Source: NARA Signal Corps Photos, 111-SC-205213.
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"The bodies of 140 Hungarian, Russian, and Polish Jews exhumed from a mass grave near the town
of Schwarzenfeld are laid out on the ground.
Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C., Photograph #78851
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German civilians from Schwarzenfeld dig graves for the 140 Hungarian, Russian, and Polish
Jews exhumed from a mass grave near the town. Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Washington D.C., Photograph #78852.
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The citizens of Schwarzenfeld exhume bodies of 140 Hungarian, Russian, and Polish
Jews buried in shallow graves. (Photograph #79001 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C.)
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The citizens of Schwarzenfeld exhume bodies buried in shallow graves.
(Photograph #79003 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C.)
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These three Polish Jews escaped the fate of many of their comrades. They hid in a cellar of a
nearby home during an American air attack on the train transporting the prisoners. They remained
in hiding until the arrival of Third Army Troops. (U.S. Signal Corps Photo ETO-HQ-45-34027)
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Per the American commander's instructions, citizens of Schwarzenfeld exhumed and washed bodies of
the Flossenburg camp victims who were shot just days before. (U.S. Signal Corps Photo ETO-HQ-45-34024)
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"When units of the 26th Infantry Division, US Third Army, took the town of Schwarzenfeld,
Germany, they found that the bodies of hundreds of Polish Jews, murdered by SS troops, had been
dumped into one common grave. The Army made the civilian populace exhume the bodies, make
coffins, and give the bodies a decent burial. Here, caskets containing the bodies are
being unloaded to await burial." Source: Signal Corps photograph SC-111-265454
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Schwarzenfeld's citizens transport a coffin into the graveyard.
(Photograph #78844 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C.)
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German civilians from Schwarzenfeld transport coffins by wagon to a mass grave near the
town from which 140 bodies were exhumed.
Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C., Photograph #37292
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The funeral for 80 atrocity victims took place on April 25, 1945. Approximately 500 townspeople
attended the ceremony. Among them was Zita Mueller, who was 13 years old at the time. She is the young
girl visible in the lower right-hand side group, wearing a plaid skirt and pigtails. Zita recalls
helping construct the caskets, and decorating them with greenery. Source: NARA Signal Corps Photos,
111-SC-265456.
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In this photograph (Nat'l Archives ID 205212), Father Viktor is visible on the far right,
translating the services from German to English.
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Close-up of 205212. Father Viktor is visible on the far right, translating the services from German
to English.
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After the funeral, the victims are buried.
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