WWII Veteran Visits Concentration Camp He Liberated 77 Years Ago

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  • Опубликовано: 27 янв 2022
  • 77 years ago the holocaust ended thanks to the efforts of the allied forces in WWII. Bill Casassa was one of those heroes. In 2021 we took Bill back to the concentration camp in Ahlem, Germany that his unit helped liberate.
    On 30 November 1944, an advance commando consisting of around 100 concentration camp prisoners from the Stöcken satellite camp reached Ahlem, where they were forced to set up huts on property belonging to Continental Gummi-Werke AG and build washrooms and housing for the SS. On 30 November 1944, most of the prisoners from the Stöcken satellite camp were transferred to Ahlem, bringing the total number of prisoners to over 750 men.
    SS-Hauptscharführer Otto “Tull” Harder, a well-known former Hamburg football player, was commander of the A 12 satellite camp in Ahlem. Many survivors also remember the feared SS-Rottenführer Wilhelm Damann.
    The prisoners, most of whom were Jewish, were used to construct an underground tunnel to house the operations of the Continental Gummi-Werke rubber factory and the Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover. This difficult work and the terrible conditions underground led to a high death rate. In January 1945, a transport consisting mostly of Soviet prisoners from Neuengamme main camp reached the Ahlem satellite camp. These prisoners were meant to replace prisoners who had died or become “unable to work”.
    On 5 April 1945, preparations began in camp A 12 for the planned “evacuation march”. A day later, the prisoners who were still able to walk left the concentration camp and set off in the direction of Bergen-Belsen. It is not known how many prisoners were murdered by SS men along the way.
    Around 200 sick prisoners were liberated by American soldiers in Ahlem on 10 April 1945.
    #takingcareoftheoneswhotookcareofus
    MB01I7TGOTLHHLQ

Комментарии • 141

  • @nathanreilly2726
    @nathanreilly2726 2 года назад +197

    To all the men that liberated these horrible places thank you

  • @shockwave6213
    @shockwave6213 10 месяцев назад +116

    I don't see how anyone could deny these atrocities happened when tens of thousands of Veterans (All in their 70s, 80s and 90s with no reason to lie) from all the allied nations all tell the same tale of what they saw when liberating these camps without ever having met each other.

    • @ChrisSmith-kw4gn
      @ChrisSmith-kw4gn Месяц назад

      Roughly 95-99% of Holocaust deniers are antisemites, the remainder are simply uninformed.

    • @oldmansportsog2514
      @oldmansportsog2514 Месяц назад +13

      It amazes me too that people can think it a lie when I've heard stories in multiple languages from multiple soldiers

    • @SAHAMH123
      @SAHAMH123 29 дней назад +12

      My grandfather fought in Europe during WWII and it blew me away how many people denied this ever happened. I ask them if it didn't happen why did my Norwegian grandfather from a little logging town in North Idaho USA lie? What exactly would he have accomplished by making something like this up?

    • @annebenn353
      @annebenn353 25 дней назад

      Its rather like Israel denying their genocide of Gaza?

    • @yvonneplant9434
      @yvonneplant9434 17 дней назад

      Antisemitism plus centuries of hating Jews.

  • @jasminewilliams3351
    @jasminewilliams3351 Месяц назад +54

    "Turns out it wasn't cattle and sheep, but it was a slaughter house." Man.

  • @maryhughes7929
    @maryhughes7929 15 дней назад +10

    God rest everyone who was murdered and bless these men for rescuing the survivors. 🙏🏼🕯⭐️

  • @devilhunter7410
    @devilhunter7410 Год назад +41

    as a gen z kid it's up to me and my entire generation to continue these stories of these amazing hero's...we can't allow them to be forgotten.

    • @Onecooltop75
      @Onecooltop75 8 месяцев назад +8

      You do your generation justice young man. You just gave me a sliver of hope for the future

  • @kimbradley9595
    @kimbradley9595 28 дней назад +33

    My Father was one of the best generation thank you ALL for your service

  • @123Booduh
    @123Booduh 2 года назад +40

    "I was, my unit..."
    An incredible hero, who no one would question his choice of words. Yet he still, hoping no one would notice, talked about we, instead of me...

    • @1stChaCha
      @1stChaCha 2 года назад +5

      Thank you for noticing that! ❤

  • @KlLLERROBOT99
    @KlLLERROBOT99 2 года назад +75

    The Greatest Generation
    These men are of the greatest generation still alive today. They deserve our greatest respect and we should honor these men who went through so much.
    I honor all veterans who served during this war with a salute and handshake because it is always such an amazing honor to have met them and heard any stories they wish to tell.
    I joined the Army because of my Great Grandfather who served in WW2 but I never got to meet him. So me meeting anyone who has served is just an experience that I can't put into words.
    From my deepest part of my heart I say thank you to all veterans of WW2 who are still around today and I say RIP to all the ones who have left this world to rejoin their brothers in arms up in the great halls of heaven.
    God Bless these men and thank you for allowing us to learn of these men and listen to the stories they tell.

    • @borntoclimb7116
      @borntoclimb7116 16 дней назад

      The "greatest Generation" are the peoples who fight against the Nazis but the number of soliters is incredible low in comparsion to the number of the complete US citizen

  • @user-wj9hx8ww3z
    @user-wj9hx8ww3z 26 дней назад +19

    The universities should require stories like this to be watched for an education.

  • @andersandersson5815
    @andersandersson5815 2 года назад +35

    So touching, so humbling, and so much respect to these guys who liberated Europe from the Nazis. As a soldier my self, I salute you, sirs, and I would like to thank you for what you have done.

    • @francisdotso8594
      @francisdotso8594 9 дней назад

      To think, if Churchill had accepted Germanys peace offers, Europe would still be free, and the cold War might have been avoided altogether

  • @ernestoptimist
    @ernestoptimist Год назад +26

    I had a privilege and I was honored to meet this brave man at the Utah Beach 78th D-Day ceremony. His age confused me but he explained that he cheated about his age when he was enlisted, he was 16 at the time!! I am so glad that he survived the horror of the war, I wish him all the best and I hope to meet him again in Normandy next year!!

    • @audreycasassa1683
      @audreycasassa1683 9 дней назад

      He is my Dad and I am so proud of him and all who fought to save the world. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

    • @audreycasassa1683
      @audreycasassa1683 9 дней назад

      PS: he will be there!😊

  • @MoosefromCanada
    @MoosefromCanada 24 дня назад +11

    Lest We Forget….especially now

  • @kristinamyslowski5193
    @kristinamyslowski5193 2 года назад +32

    To me, this is the greatest generation to have ever lived. I appreciate all that they have done for us and humanity around the globe. There will never be enough "Thank You's" to adequately say what I feel. They all deserve more than just our words of gratitude. xoxo

  • @tinamurray7247
    @tinamurray7247 Год назад +20

    I will never understand the Holocaust deniers. I mean this happened. It's so heart breaking! Never forget!

    • @jarrodbarkley9061
      @jarrodbarkley9061 24 дня назад

      The Nazis themselves documented everything. How could anyone deny what the perpetrators admitted to????

  • @user-wd2iy9bc7y
    @user-wd2iy9bc7y 24 дня назад +32

    Why these and all Veterans do not get more respect is a crime.

    • @SuperRtrtrtr
      @SuperRtrtrtr 14 дней назад

      It's obvious why. The Americans after WW2 came home and treated blacks almost as bad. I'm pretty sure this comment will be deleted by RUclips.

    • @audreycasassa1683
      @audreycasassa1683 9 дней назад +1

      @@SuperRtrtrtr ridiculous comment

    • @francisdotso8594
      @francisdotso8594 9 дней назад

      They helped the bad guys win

    • @audreycasassa1683
      @audreycasassa1683 9 дней назад +1

      @@francisdotso8594 another absurd comment!

    • @francisdotso8594
      @francisdotso8594 9 дней назад

      We're the soviets, who were responsible for at least 3-4 times as much murder as the national Socialist in the 20th century, the good guys? That's what we fought for for half of Europe.

  • @kristenkaz3080
    @kristenkaz3080 13 дней назад +3

    Thank you to all Vets, everywhere, for your selfless service to our country. To other countries, on this Memorial Day, 20024. God bless & keep you & heal your nightmares. ❤

  • @TheDwarfmaiden
    @TheDwarfmaiden 2 года назад +38

    These men are amazing. What they had to go through to keep America safe and the things that they saw was incredible. They are my hero's. Without them we would not be free. I love watching your videos. I learn something new each time I seem them. Really wish I could give them a hug and show them how much I appreciate all they have done for us.

  • @drizzetsrevenge
    @drizzetsrevenge 2 года назад +24

    I'm so grateful for these men and their massive sacrifice. They truly are the bravest and greatest generation to walk this earth.

    • @odettetenney409
      @odettetenney409 Месяц назад

      SPOT ON..TY..👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

  • @ticofoto2063
    @ticofoto2063 2 года назад +17

    Sir: you are a hero! Thank you for your service!

  • @jendagesse4524
    @jendagesse4524 16 дней назад +5

    I wanna cry just hearing about this

  • @zander41nicola82
    @zander41nicola82 2 года назад +19

    I am so appreciative for these men.🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

  • @joydunn2109
    @joydunn2109 4 месяца назад +8

    Thank you to EVERY SINGLE one of you! God Bless you all ❤❤ To all the men and women Thank you for your service God Bless you all!!

  • @marlenemacdonald
    @marlenemacdonald 15 дней назад +5

    My heart & soul goes out to you my friend. Im so glad your here. Sending prayers & love from Canada

  • @magictrip4938
    @magictrip4938 2 года назад +17

    These stories cannot be forgotten, and it is fair to recognize that the Allied soldiers showed the horror of war; history thanks these men for their bravery for going to fight far from their families and their country, and with the sole purpose of not allowing evil to take over an entire continent.
    It is the greatest generation that has walked the earth.
    Greetings from Colombia.

  • @gew9487
    @gew9487 День назад +1

    Many years ago I worked with a WWII Army Cook who helped liberate Concentration Camps. He talked about the medical orders they were under to reintroduce prisoners to food. Liquids, then soft soups, then soft foods. Took many weeks. He described them as walking skeletons barely alive. The inhumanity he witness affected him all his life. Sickening that any human could treat anyone in such an inhumane way. It must never happen again. ❤❤🙏🙏

  • @genekeller3186
    @genekeller3186 19 дней назад +3

    I can't imagine what these men witnessed

  • @darreljonathan2972
    @darreljonathan2972 2 года назад +10

    i cannot even imagine what they had to go through.may the good lord bless these incredible man

  • @TrueWalker88
    @TrueWalker88 6 месяцев назад +10

    When he prayed for forgiveness of the perpetrators, my heart exploded in love and grief. The ultimate justice is redemption and peace for all. What amazing people to have lived through such a thing.

    • @cameronswierk96
      @cameronswierk96 3 месяца назад +2

      That part got me. What an ultimate display of forgiveness. That short few seconds showed me the power of forgiveness and ill never forget it.

  • @jenniferseals3642
    @jenniferseals3642 2 года назад +9

    Thank you.

  • @sidegrabsheriff
    @sidegrabsheriff Год назад +7

    Good man, thank you for what you did for us.

  • @successfulperson3304
    @successfulperson3304 9 дней назад +2

    What a hero. Thank you sir.

  • @EpicOrange_Juice
    @EpicOrange_Juice 2 года назад +14

    Well Deserved, thank you for your service!

  • @greenghost5009
    @greenghost5009 5 месяцев назад +7

    Warriors of America and Martyrs of America we love and appreciate every second you gave us, may god watch over all your families and loved ones

  • @douglasscharbrough2563
    @douglasscharbrough2563 Месяц назад +4

    dad had nightmares about that place till he died. he was in b company 638th td battalion.

  • @warshortsfacts
    @warshortsfacts 2 года назад +8

    Why does this channel not have millions of subscribers??

  • @tranurse
    @tranurse 3 месяца назад +9

    In my senior year of high school one of my classmates grandfather told us what it was like to be a German boy soldier at Verdun in the trenches. Then a week or two later, his son.. my classmate’s uncle, told us what it was like to liberate a concentration camp as an American soldier

  • @TheMindIlluminated
    @TheMindIlluminated Год назад +7

    Damn this guy aged well

  • @user-ul2fd9wh9t
    @user-ul2fd9wh9t 23 дня назад +5

    Literally saved the world. Bar none.

  • @runninggirl2765
    @runninggirl2765 3 месяца назад +5

    GOD bless these brave men and women-most are gone now....may their families be proud.

  • @Kazuxiro
    @Kazuxiro 2 года назад +9

    Hero! Thank you!! For you’re sacrifice. 🥺

  • @xvsj5833
    @xvsj5833 2 года назад +9

    Thank you for sharing your story all of you brave soldiers Thank you 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

  • @christiancountrygirl2022
    @christiancountrygirl2022 2 года назад +6

    Interesting how timing is…I had just watched the ninth episode “Why We Fight” of Band of Brothers, and this video came up the next day!
    It’s incredible how these men went through so much, simply for us and to retain the freedoms we have today.

    • @oldmansportsog2514
      @oldmansportsog2514 Месяц назад

      Me too that was a touching half of that episode when they liberated the camp

  • @annegreenwood3624
    @annegreenwood3624 4 дня назад

    these are a definition of a real man our hero’s thank you for your service i can’t even imagine what horrific things they saw or heard my grandfather could never talk about it was too traumatic

  • @skylerdornbusch9038
    @skylerdornbusch9038 3 месяца назад +3

    To think the public didn't know about this is absolutely nuts

  • @jaredevildog6343
    @jaredevildog6343 2 года назад +8

    We shouldn't forget about the Korean war veterans either.

  • @kimk2293
    @kimk2293 9 дней назад +1

    God Bless 🙌 All of you in that Hot Shitty Mess!! Words can't describe! I am 64 but never forget about you and what you have done.... My Prayers are with you 🙏 this is such a bad thing that are War Heroes had to go through, I can't even fathom the stench !! God Bless you 🙌 🙏 all Love from Michigan U.S.A ...5- 30 - 24

  • @user-cc5od3zk4p
    @user-cc5od3zk4p 7 дней назад

    Thank you for your service gentlemen. Bless you all.

  • @sErgEantaEgis12
    @sErgEantaEgis12 9 месяцев назад +9

    The prisoners of these abominable camps are of course the biggest victims of the Holocaust but I wish we'd also talk a bit more about the Allied soldiers who discovered the atrocities.

  • @tylerboland3926
    @tylerboland3926 2 года назад +3

    Thank you !!!

  • @EduardoHernandez-de6ol
    @EduardoHernandez-de6ol 2 года назад +6

    Gracias a estos héroes estas historias dejarán huella para las futuras generaciones.que dios los cuide

  • @somethingfromnothing8428
    @somethingfromnothing8428 15 дней назад +2

    My grandad was liberated from one of these prisoner of war camps by the americans. I never learned much about his ordeal other than he was captured in a church graveyard while fighting in the war and he spent quite a long time as a POW. My dad said he would never talk about what happened to him there but that he had nightmares for the rest of his life about it

  • @damnski
    @damnski 2 года назад +3

    Thats my hometown, i born and raised there. Thank you guys for your service! God bless you all

    • @BestDefenseFoundation
      @BestDefenseFoundation  2 года назад +1

      Wow! A lot of history there!

    • @damnski
      @damnski 2 года назад +1

      @@BestDefenseFoundation Of course it is. We have the Bergen Belsen Memorial here, the German Tank Museum Munster is also nearby. We have a lot of historical places here. Everthing was created to make sure that we did not forget about the terrible crimes committed against the jewish people and the rest of the world!

  • @doughboybellmore2347
    @doughboybellmore2347 2 года назад +5

    Right on My Brother Bill LH&R

  • @MH-tr4kn
    @MH-tr4kn 2 года назад +4

    I’ll say it. Wow.

  • @BeachyKeen92
    @BeachyKeen92 19 дней назад +1

    I have smelt death and cannot even fathom what that would have smelled like, it would be stuck to the ground, the buildings, the fencing, everything. The people who worked there can in no way deny they knew what was going on at the time. Nor can any person deny this is our history. These warriors have no reason to not talk about mere facts.

  • @snowcrest7863
    @snowcrest7863 5 дней назад

    Every kid growing up should see this video and many more like it. Put in the High School curriculum.

  • @TheSunTheSea
    @TheSunTheSea 9 дней назад +1

    The Greatest Generation of the modern era. I am incredibly sad that subsequent generations failed to live up to your standards

  • @marciacoco9549
    @marciacoco9549 17 дней назад

    I will remember always ‼️‼️

  • @genekeller3186
    @genekeller3186 18 дней назад +1

    I knew a army soldier who helped liberate dachau concentration camp said the odor & what he witnessed would be with him till the day he died

  • @BearbearbearbearbearbearRarrrr
    @BearbearbearbearbearbearRarrrr 18 дней назад

    Powerful stories.

  • @windsurfredbull1111
    @windsurfredbull1111 7 дней назад

    I cried watching this …😢

  • @No_fritz01
    @No_fritz01 2 года назад +4

    I wanna meet a ww2 veteran before there all gone..
    Just like my grandpa...

  • @KB-hx3px
    @KB-hx3px День назад

    Thank you for liberating the prisoners and the rest of those who were forced to live under Hitler s terror. My father was 5 when the war finally ended, his father was lucky enough to elude the Russians, and make his way home.

  • @ernstthalmann4306
    @ernstthalmann4306 14 дней назад

    Ww2 vets are the real super heroes of history. Saving the world from totalitarian fascism and pure evil.
    RIP grandpa and happy Memorial Day

  • @thecuttingedge5700
    @thecuttingedge5700 2 года назад +4

    wow, thats just amazing! i want to do the biggest thing i can do for these veterans

  • @dannystaton5386
    @dannystaton5386 17 дней назад

    My grandfather was there 2 ive heard the stories 😢

  • @MoosefromCanada
    @MoosefromCanada 24 дня назад

    😥only thing my Grandpa told me was that smell of war is not forgotten. He was correct 🫡

  • @delorestaylor8114
    @delorestaylor8114 29 дней назад +1

    Lest we forget…

  • @MrMrmmu72
    @MrMrmmu72 18 дней назад

    My late father-in-law, Sgt.Henry Lewandowski, was in the 333rd, Co. A

  • @plumstead3078
    @plumstead3078 16 дней назад

    Forgive them, I don’t think so…

  • @Motociclista760
    @Motociclista760 2 года назад +3

    Hooyah!

  • @curttuckfield5565
    @curttuckfield5565 16 дней назад

    That guy is a hundred years old? He looks more like a Vietnam vet.

  • @sErgEantaEgis12
    @sErgEantaEgis12 9 месяцев назад +3

    I've always wanted to know how the sights of the Holocaust and the horrors of Nazism influenced how white GIs saw racism and Jim Crow in the USA after the war and during the civil rights movement.

    • @oldmansportsog2514
      @oldmansportsog2514 Месяц назад

      Got to remember there was two America's basically the north and the south, I'm guessing it probably did stick to some southerners

  • @christianjones4694
    @christianjones4694 18 дней назад

    Yeah
    .sure 😅

  • @MartinGonzalez-rt5dd
    @MartinGonzalez-rt5dd 3 месяца назад +2

    Matthew 6:15
    But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

  • @user-ez8es8gm8q
    @user-ez8es8gm8q 28 дней назад

    Остался пепел от людей.

  • @gailcarey3597
    @gailcarey3597 7 дней назад

    They thought they beat the persecution of the Jews with the death of Hitler.
    Their sacrifices shouldn’t be in vain.

  • @LJK69187
    @LJK69187 6 месяцев назад +3

    The Americans came to liberate!!!!

  • @user-mc5ze3dg2q
    @user-mc5ze3dg2q 23 дня назад +1

    As far as the Germans are there is an old saying times change people don’t

  • @Cyd98
    @Cyd98 9 дней назад

    Why doesn’t he talk about the pow camps on the rhine

  • @ericb2501
    @ericb2501 2 месяца назад

    Never Forget!
    Never Forgive!
    Yam Yisrael Chai!
    🇮🇱 ✡️

  • @richardmartinez6057
    @richardmartinez6057 12 дней назад

    GOD directed you there GOD IS GOOD! 🙏 ☝️

  • @tubbers20
    @tubbers20 Месяц назад

    College students want to do the same thing these days.

  • @roberthawke349
    @roberthawke349 10 дней назад

    Thank you to all of you for your service. and for liberating the concentration camps and saving the poor souls that were savable. God bless you all 🙏🙏🙏🙏

  • @hohohehe1417
    @hohohehe1417 Год назад

    From 90% in 1965 to hardly 60% now. Tik tak, amerimutts.