Selection of concentration camps with their date of liberation, name of liberator and prisoner statistics taken from "U.S. News and World Report" April 3, 1995.
Newspaper clipping from the Columbia Record (Columbia, S.C.) on September 2, 1967, reporting the suicide of Ilse Koch, wife of the Buchenwald concentration camp commander, in a West German jail. Newspaper clipping from the State (Columbia, S.C.) on July 29, 1993, reporting on the ongoing legal plight of John Demjanjuk.
Typewritten page written by Lawrence Layden in January 1946 as an introduction to the photographs of Buchenwald concentration camp that follow. Layden visited the camp with his C.O. and the Group Photographic Officer on April 17, 1945, six days after the camp's liberation.
Clipping from Time magazine highlighting members of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group mentioned in an article about the early days of the Battle of the Bulge.
Five photographs of Lawrence Layden and fellow officers. Top left: Capt. Colin S. White, Greenwich, Conn. Top right: Capt. Franklin B. Tostevin, Westfield, New Jersey, K.I.A. Middle: Maj. Paul F. Ebeltoft, Dickinson, N. Dak. Bottom left: Chaplain Julian Lindsey, Washington, N.C. (at Wurzburg Castle). Bottom right: Lawrence Layden (at Wurzburg Castle)
Photograph of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group headquarters at site Y-83 in Limburg, Germany. Layden notes that the brevity of the group's stay at their last bases reflects how quickly the ground forces were overrunning the Germans.
Map showing the various locations of the bases of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group inside Germany. Also highlighted is the location of Buchenwald concentration camp.
Clippings from the Stars and Stripes picturing the Ordensburg Vogelsang before and after American capture. The 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group headquartered here (site Y-51) from March 25-31, 1945.
Three photographs of Buchenwald. Top: Furnace in crematorium with bones still visible. Middle: Pile of bones in rear of furnace building. Bottom: Russian inmates near bone pile sketching the gallows.
Three photographs of Buchenwald. Top: Specimen case. Middle: Gallows with bones visible in background. Bottom: Lawrence Layden's guide in camp showing how some inmates were killed.
Photograph of Lawrence Layden and his "personnel specialists." After V-E day, Layden transferred out of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and was assigned to the IX Tactical Air Command and tasked with auditing and inspecting service records for the unit to facilitate troop transfers home and to the Pacific theater.
Four photographs of Benito Mussolini after death. The photographs were brought back from Italy and given to Lawrence Layden. Top left: Mussolini and mistress after execution. Top right: Mussolini hung upside down after execution. Bottom left: Battered body of Mussolini in coffin after abuse of corpse. Bottom right: Battered body of Mussolini after abuse of corpse.
Three photographs of Buchenwald. Top: Bodies stacked outside furnace. Right: Another view of bodies stacked outside furnace. Middle Right: Bodies of two camp guards who disguised themselves as inmates. Also includes a May 1945 newspaper clipping about Lawrence Layden's visit to Buchenwald.
Typewritten copy from the Army and Navy Register detailing the reconnaissance operations leading up to the German breakthrough and the Battle of the Bulge. Inclement weather had hampered aerial reconnaissance for several days before and after the German breakthrough.
Layden embarked for home on the SS Bardstown Victory on September 26, 1945, and arrived in New York on October 6th. This onboard newsletter, the "Sea Bag," thanks Capt. Layden for "giving his afternoons in the interest of Personal Affairs" during the voyage home.
