An American officer
The Captain
Recovering from a wound suffered in the Ardennes, the Captain is sent to assist concentration-camp survivors. He must secure the camp, care for the prisoners, and answer to officers intent on continuing the advance.
Command & conscience
In the novel
The Captain lies in a field hospital at Schesslitz with an abdominal wound from the Ardennes. He turns a fragment of the German bullet in his hand and complains of boredom. He wants to return to his men. During his conversation with the chaplain, he recalls the men killed under his command and the letters he has written to their families.
Raised in Detroit and educated at an Episcopal school, he once had ready answers about God and duty. In the ward he questions both. Sabina answers his impatience with humor and a volume of Dostoyevsky. Pierson stays beside the bed as the Captain speaks of his anger, his losses, and his desire for revenge.
When he learns of a concentration camp, he begins listing what the prisoners will need: food, medicine, clean water, interpreters, and protection. He joins Operation Mercy Torch with Sabina and Pierson. He remains wounded, accustomed to command, and responsible for men who may have to stay when their superiors want them elsewhere.
World War II and the Holocaust
The historical context
The American advance into the camps
American troops encountered concentration camps as they advanced into Germany in spring 1945. At Buchenwald on April 11, a prisoner resistance organization had already taken control before U.S. forces arrived. American troops also liberated Dachau, Flossenbürg, and other camps. Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz, and British forces liberated Bergen-Belsen. The soldiers found prisoners who needed immediate food and medical care.
Eisenhower’s visit to Ohrdruf
At Ohrdruf, a Buchenwald subcamp, U.S. soldiers found murdered prisoners and survivors in urgent need of medical attention. Eisenhower visited on April 12, 1945, so that he could testify from firsthand knowledge if anyone later denied what had happened. He subsequently asked legislators and journalists to visit the camps and tell the American public what they had seen.
Sources
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