A Retired Black Liberator-Commander Finally Speaks Out

Encounter With Black Survivors at Dachau

Retired Colonel Emmett, the African American commander who liberated Dachau and freed thousands of Holocaust victims.

Once we got to Dachau we were in for the surprise of our lives. Aside from the horrors that were beyond description, we were completely surprised to see 8,000 half-breed Germans and Blacks from World War I! They looked at us and we stared back at them.

There we all were, just gazing at one another.

My heart went out to them. So, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and made sure that they got their allotted portions of food first.

However, I came to realize that all we had in common was the color of our skin. These Blacks had German instincts. They even had attitude. They didn’t speak a word of English, but they made it clear that we didn’t belong in their country. I finally had to get tough with them.

Apparently, they hadn’t seen any Black soldiers other than themselves, and most certainly not any that were in charge. I had my interpreter tell them that I was in charge and that they had to listen to me. They finally got the picture and calmed down.

The half-breeders were pretty well off, and the Blacks were treated okay too, but not as well as the half-breeds. As far as comparing their treatment with two other groups of prisoners is concerned, the Blacks and the half-breeds were both treated better than the Jews and Serbs who were treated awfully.

– Firpo W. Carr, Ph.D. Posted by Dannie Gore, Sr.