743rd S-3 After Action journal report- the moment of liberation. April, 1945.
This online journal was begun to chronicle the unfolding of something very special in my career – the re-connection of a train transport full of 2500 Holocaust survivors with the American soldiers who liberated them on April 13th, 1945 near Magdeburg, Germany.
I am the history teacher from a small rural town in upstate New York, USA who, along with his students, is caught up in the middle of it all. Read the post “A Train Near Magdeburg” to get started. It’s changed my life and the lives of hundreds of others thus far. I’m also working on a book about this amazing experience. ABC World News designated us as their Persons of the Week, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum made a film on our project. My college alma mater honored us with a magazine cover story.
Please contact me with any comments or questions and help us get the word out about this project, to reunite even more liberators and survivors before time passes us by. To date, 94 year old liberator Frank Towers and I have, with the help of Varda W. of Israel, located over 200 survivors!
As we approach the 67th anniversary of the liberation, the power of love has conquered the evil and is now transcending time and space.
Thanks for stopping by.
Matthew Rozell
(And if you are a Holocaust denier/minimizer/revisionist, and/or run-of-the-mill hate spewer, thank you in advance for sparing me your epistles… I’ve already heard it all.)
Copyright © 2009,2012 by Matthew A Rozell
A former student of yours posted links to your websites in response to a Holocaust Remembrance Day posting I made on a woodworking forum I frequent. I’ll be returning there to thank him shortly, but stopped off to thank you for the work you and your students are doing. It is important that the individual stories of those who were there be told. Thank you for your efforts in this.
As the husband of a High School English Teacher, gotta differ with you about what subject matters the most. Gotta be able to read in order to learn history, but I’ll give History (not social studies) second chair.
Over at the woodworking forum we have a saying, “Better to learn from the mistakes of others since we don’t have time to make them all ourselves.” Would that more of those who have the microphones and soapboxes in our world would bother to learn from the mistakes of history, but it seems they are often more intent on rewriting it than in learning from it.
Again, thank you for your efforts on this most important subject.
Jerry Palmer
Cedar Park, TX
Jerry,
Some of my most informed students are non-readers. History Channel, I suppose…that said…
One can’t minimize the importance of being able to read and write well. But, what is “English” anyway? The study of language and literature, inexorably linked to the experience of man, which is history. There is no first or second chair.
Thanks for your comment and your support. Matt
Hello Matt,
Pete at USHMM asked me to contact you and send you a link to my Quad City liberators’ website which was my project as an MTF. The Quad Cities includes four main cities, two on the Illinois side and two on the Iowa side (Rock Island, IL; Moline, IL; Davenport, IA; Bettendorf, IA). and the surrounding area.
http://www.qcliberators.com/
Sincerely,
Terri T.
MTF 2005
I never realized how important history is, and that there is so much around us, that is until this year.
My grandmother took care of a ww2 veteran for many years. For as long as could remember, he would tell me stories about fighting during ww2 and the wounds he had gotten. Because I was just a kid, I never realized he had faught in ww2, and now it seems much more important.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is that you are an amazing teacher. You make people want to care about History, the good and the bad. In one year you can change lives. Especially with the Holocaust reunion.
Keep up the website! I’m no psychic, but I think your grandmother was trying to tell you something. Maybe the “Lucky Penny” will bring you some inspiration and you will figure it out.
Hey Mr R,
I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now and I have to say I am very touched with your devout love for humanity.
You are one of those special teachers students can never seem to forget, myself included
I hope you will still be teaching at HF when my kids get into 10th grade… 5 more years! That would make me very happy indeed.
There are so many beautiful stories posted on this site! Thanks again for sharing them.
Mick
WOW! i’m impressed. what a great effort on your part, the school district and your student’s to put this reunion together. i commend you, especially, mr. mozell for having the vision, inspiration and leadership to make something of this great magnitude happen in a small corner of the U.S. it takes the courageous voice of people like you in every corner of the world to echo the refrain of so many survivors, “Never again!”
Thank you and shalom.
Chris
Never Again! blog administrator
December 28, 2009
Hello
During the World War in 1945 in Belgium, my father saw the soldier Julius M. HELDER (36,459,331) during the month of December 1945. He left the 8-January-1945, the village of Stavelot-Francorchamps and killed 27-March-1945 in Germany at the age of 20 years, buried in Margraten, Limburg, Netherlands. By internet, I was able to verify that Julius Helder property belonged to the 743th Tank Battalion and therefore participate in the great feat of arms (landing on the front line, pierced to Belgium, Battle of the Bulge in Stavelot – Malmedy). I would like to know more exactly the platoon of this company where it belonged and what was its functions during the transition near Stavelot and also its exact route during the war. You can answer me directly to this email “jbfontaine@vincotte.be”.
Thank you for your cooperation
(Google translation)
I am 53 years old and my mother, who was a holocaust survivor died about 32 years ago. Just in the past 48 hours I found out some information about her parents and sisters.
They were all sent to Riga but her sisters were eventually transported to Stutthof Concentration camp. Now I also have their date of birth. Please please tell me how do I begin to look for information about them?? Their names were Herta and Hannelore Stein. They both died in 1944. Could someone please help me get started on this quest. Thank you kindly
I hope someone has responded with assistance before me. Start with finding as many documents on your mother as you can. Some will give you family and transport information: death, marriage certificates; petition and application for citizenship/naturalization; transport records from Europe; yizkor books, etc.
I am only now learning the ropes of genealogy research, so would suggest finding others who can provide more guidance from a Jewish genealogy society in your area or a national group to help you research European and holocaust records. There are discussion blogs where others are often willing to give time, search local records, as volunteers. Debbie
hello
I came across your website while trying to find people who were liberated from a train by American soldiers on Apr 30, 1945 in Staltach (today’s name: Iffeldorf. next to Starnberg see in Bavaria).
Can anyone help me with the mission of finding any survivors or soldiers who were there?
If anyone from the American soldiers, has taken any pictures from the liberation, it will help me a lot.
thanks
hana (israel)
hello hana,
first at all I apologize for my incorrect english. I live in Iffeldorf since 2005 and I am doing researches about the train with prisoners from Dachau, which has ended in Staltach. So far I could make interviews with old people from Iffeldorf and also make some researches at the archives of KZ Dachau but it would be extremly helpful to find people who were in the train.
Was your request from January successfull in any way?
thanks
Hans
Shalom Hanna,
I have found the Army-unit and Names of Soldiers having been involved in the liberation of that train in Staltach. But no pictures so far.
I also found several survivors still alive.
Mail me, if you are interested.
Hans
My uncle-by-marriage was in the Warsaw Ghetto in early 1943, and ended up in Bergen-Belsen, possibly via the Hotel Polski fiasco. He survived and emigrated to Israel. He would have been about 45 years old at the end of the war.
I don’t know his name – possibly Yosef Berg/Barg. His wife — my father’s sister — Franka/Francezska and daughter died in the ghetto. I am trying some long-shots in case someone might remember him.
Thank you.
Roma Baran
This is historical education at its best. In the words of philosopher and writer George Santayana, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Humanity has learned nothing from the Holocaust – witness Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. Neo-Nazis and skinheads promote the concept that the Holocaust never occurred, or that Jews somehow deserved their fate. They now teach another new generation to deny the Holocaust.
As we continue to live in an age of prejudice, genocide and ethnic cleansing, we must repel the broken ethics of our ancestors, or risk a dreadful repeat of past transgressions. A world that continues to allow genocide requires ethical remediation. We must show the world that religious, racial, ethnic and gender persecution is wrong; and that tolerance is our progeny’s only hope. Only through such efforts can we reveal the true horror of genocide and promote the triumphant spirit of humankind.
Charles Weinblatt
Author, Jacob’s Courage
http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com/
Thanks for your support of my work. I appreciate also your efforts in educating and combating the scourge of Holocaust minimization/denial. MR
My grandfather’s name (Miklos rosenfeld) was in “1945 Manifest List-Names of those liberated at Farsleben, Germany, April 13th 1945″. i’m from brazil. Where can i get more info?
Contact Bernd Horstmann at the Bergen Belsen Memorial in Germany. You may also wish to try the Survivors Registry at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
My name is Haim Guttman my father name is :Guttmann Dezsoe (david) was born at 09.10.1921 in Tornalya and arrived to Bergen Belsen at 14.12.44 was on that train.Unfortunatly he died three years ago.
I am trying to locate sombody who knew or meat him.
My e mail addres is : haim.guttman@doralon.co.il
Thanks.
Thank you for creating this miracle, Mr. Rozell!
I posted this on my FB account along with the blog link: “Do you remember about a month ago when I was so excited about a photograph of a woman and her child being liberated from one of the Nazi trains (see thumbnail below)? (I found it on Pinterest.) Well, I have been following a rabbit hole to discover the people behind the photo. I found him! Mr. Rozell is a history teacher – this is his blog. He lives and works one town over from where I was born! There are NO ACCIDENTS! Read, comment, share! THIS is something special and YOU have an opportunity to be a part of it! Carpe Diem, people! Be part of a miracle!!!”
If you hung around long enough in GF, you would have had the old man as your history teacher. see http://teachinghistorymatters.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/so-i-am-suspicious-of-education-and-history-should-always-be-taken-in-the-morning/
My loss for sure, Mr. Rozell! My parents divorced, so Mom, little sister, and I moved to be with Mom’s parents who retired to Florida in 1975.
…but I did find you!