Letter, General George S. Patton to General Dwight D. Eisenhower
4/15/1945
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In this cable, General Dwight D. Eisenhower reported his visit to a World War II German concentration camp liberated by Allied forces to General George C. Marshall and requested a delegation of Congressional leaders, editors, and others to witness the conditions firsthand.
Transcript
HEADQUARTERS
THIRD UNITED STATES ARMY
Office of the The Commanding General
APO 403
15 April, 1945
My dear Ike:
I wrote a personal letter in the enclosed wording to each Corps Commander and to Chief of Staff, which I believe was in line with your idea.
It may interest you to know that they very talkative, alleged former member of the murder camp was recognized by a Russian prisoner as a former guard. The prisoner beat his brains out with a rock.
We have found at a place four miles north of WEIMAR a similar camp, only much worse. The normal population was 25,000, and they died at the rate of about a hundred a day. The burning arrangements, according to General Gay and Colonel Codman who visited it yesterday, were far superior to those which they had at OHRDRUF.
I told the press to go up there and see it, and then write as much about it as they could. I also called General Bradley last night and suggested that you send selected individuals from the upper strata of the press to look at it, so that you can build up another page of the necessary evidence as to the brutality of the Germans.
We all enjoyed your visit very much.
My dear Ike:
I wrote a personal letter in the enclosed wording to each Corps Commander and to Chief of Staff, which I believe was in line with your idea.
It may interest you to know that they very talkative, alleged former member of the murder camp was recognized by a Russian prisoner as a former guard. The prisoner beat his brains out with a rock.
We have found at a place four miles north of WEIMAR a similar camp, only much worse. The normal population was 25,000, and they died at the rate of about a hundred a day. The burning arrangements, according to General Gay and Colonel Codman who visited it yesterday, were far superior to those which they had at OHRDRUF.
I told the press to go up there and see it, and then write as much about it as they could. I also called General Bradley last night and suggested that you send selected individuals from the upper strata of the press to look at it, so that you can build up another page of the necessary evidence as to the brutality of the Germans.
We all enjoyed your visit very much.
Most sincerely,
G. S. Patton, Jr.
G. S. Patton, Jr.
General of the Army D.D. Eisenhower
Headquarters SHAEF
APO 757
U.S. Army
Incl.
Copy, personal letter.
This primary source comes from the DDE-EPRE: Eisenhower, Dwight D: Papers, Pre-Presidential.
National Archives Identifier: 12007734
Full Citation: Letter, General George S. Patton to General Dwight D. Eisenhower; 4/15/1945; Patton, George S., Jr. (1); Principal Files, 1916 - 1952; DDE-EPRE: Eisenhower, Dwight D: Papers, Pre-Presidential; Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, KS. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-general-patton-to-eisenhower-concentration-camp, April 17, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
