The liberation of Auschwitz by World War II Allied forces on January 27, 1945, is commemorated internationally as Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this anniversary, NCA shares the story of Jewish Veteran Colonel Julien David Saks (June 10, 1906-March 16, 1993), 12th Armored Division, so that the atrocities perpetuated by the Nazi regime in World War II will never be forgotten. Saks, an attorney and realtor from Anniston, Alabama, was commissioned as an Army reserve officer in December 1933 and entered active duty in September 1940. Shortly after he attended Chemical Warfare School and the Command and General Staff College. The 12th arrived in France in November 1944 and quickly joined the final offensive push against German forces. The division crossed the Rhine on March 28, 1945 and on April 27 captured the city of Landsberg in Bavaria—liberating the Kaufering camp, the largest of eleven subcamps in the region that made up the Dachau concentration camp system. Here, thousands of prisoners, predominately Jewish, were used as slave labor to construct underground facilities to produce German fighter planes. Conditions at the camps were deplorable and mortality rates very high. As American forces neared the camps the S.S. guards evacuated able inmates, sending them on forced death marches toward Dachau. Many of those unable to travel were brutally murdered and burned. The 12th Armor discovered some 500 dead inmates upon their arrival. Saks, assigned to division HQ, visited two of the camps within hours of their discovery. He described the scene after. Fixated with shock upon seeing a building filled of burned corpses he recalled “ I didn’t see a pile of naked women about three feet high behind me. I was told about it later. We were combat troops used to death and destruction, but this was so shocking that we were speechless.” Saks was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in Europe and returned to Alabama after the war.

Slave laborers inside a typical barracks at a Landsberg camp. Army Photo.

A survivor of a Landsberg camp talks with soldiers the day of liberation. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Portrait of Saks done by his daughter Judith-Ann Saks.

Houston National Cemetery

The liberation of Auschwitz by World War II Allied forces on January 27, 1945, is commemorated internationally as Holocaust Remembrance Day. On the 76th anniversary, NCA shares the story of Jewish Veteran Colonel Julien David Saks (1906 - 1993), 12th Armored Division, so that the atrocities perpetuated by the Nazi regime in World War II will never be forgotten. Saks, an attorney and realtor from Anniston, Alabama, was commissioned as an Army reserve officer in December 1933 and entered active duty in September 1940. Shortly thereafter he attended Chemical Warfare School and the Command and General Staff College. The 12th arrived in France in November 1944 and quickly joined the final offensive push against German forces. The division crossed the Rhine River on March 28, 1945, and on April 27 captured the city of Landsberg in Bavaria. They liberated the Kaufering camp, the largest of eleven subcamps in the region comprising the Dachau concentration camp system. Here, thousands of prisoners, predominately Jewish, were used as slave labor to construct underground facilities to produce German fighter planes. Conditions at the camps were deplorable and mortality rates very high. As American forces approached, Schutzstaffel (SS)  guards evacuated those inmates who could walk, sending them on forced death marches toward Dachau. Many of those unable to travel were brutally murdered and the bodies burned. Upon their arrival, the 12th Armored discovered some 500 dead prisoners. Saks, assigned to division HQ, visited two camps within hours of their discovery. He described the scene after.  Fixated with shock upon seeing a building filled with burned corpses, he recalled, “I didn’t see a pile of naked women about three feet high behind me. I was told about it later. We were combat troops used to death and destruction, but this was so shocking that we were speechless.” Saks was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in Europe and returned to Alabama after the war.

JULIEN DAVID SAKS

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