Dachau: The Harrowing of Hell

by Marcus J. Smith

Marcus Smith was the sole medical officer attached to a small displaced person (DP) team that was sent to the Dachau concentration camp the day after it was liberated by Allied troops and several days before the shocking conditions of the camp were publicized throughout the world. Several years after his experience at Dachau, believing that we must never forget what happened, Smith unearthed his notes and the daily letters he wrote to his wife and used them as source materials for The Harrowing of Hell. From the perspective of a young physician, Smith describes his experiences, shedding light on the immense difficulties and complexities of the large-scale tasks the small DP team completed, against great odds, to combat epidemic diseases and starvation and repatriate the former prisoners. Smith also describes some of the people the team tried to help--men, women, and children from all walks of life, of many nationalities and religions. Smith tells his moving story objectively, with simplicity and grace. While this book is the story of man's inhumanity to man, it is more than an account of Nazi persecution. It is about how Smith, whose previous experience had not prepared him for the immense horror of what he encountered at Dachau, quickly became a public health expert; how a small team improvised relief and combated a typhus epidemic; and how the soldiers of different countries had to get along with each other while dealing with the prejudices of some of the displaced people they were trying to help. Dachau contains six drawings by noted European artist Zoran Music, who was arrested by the Gestapo in Venice in 1944 and incarcerated at Dachau. The drawings were given to Smith when he left Dachau.

Genres: Holocaust

313 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the fact that this book explained in detail what happened as the war ended. Prisoners did not just walk out the open gates!!!

I loved the fact that my father's first cousin once removed was the American Red Cross Representative who helped liberate the camp. I read into the story the relationship between Harry Pires and the author, Marcus J. Smith. His part in this made me proud to have the family name Pires.

[Lynn Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent account is written from the perspective of the Allied task force and American doctor who were charged with managing the DPs (displaced persons) from Dachau at the end of World War Two. They had a rough outline of what they were supposed to accomplish, but clearly had no idea of the scope and severity of what they would find.

[Valerie]

This is a detailed and accurate account of day-to-day operations in Dachau, and is used as a source by many who write about the concentration camp system in general.

It also covers the fate of several well-known people, and I think this was the book that described Gertrude Stein mildly rebuking American soldiers for praising the Germans' obedience. She pointed out that the French in the village she was hiding out in all knew where she was and who she was, yet they DIDN'T obey orders to turn her in.

[Francine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be a good book for someone who hasn't read a lot about World War II. It's his account of how he dealt with all the prisoners there...32,000. They had to get a lot of food etc. from the defeated Germans. Also arrange the prisoners by having leaders within the prisons themselves. Death everywhere and sickness. Revealing the truth is often nauseating.

[Jody Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for the few tidbits of post-war local life but overall not helpful for those wanting to know more about KL Dachau.