Arthur Stern: Witness to Dachau and the Cost of Survival
Arthur Stern lived through experiences most of us can barely comprehend. Born in 1922 to immigrant parents and drafted into World War II, he found himself serving across Panama, France, and Germany — surviving near-misses, combat, and unimaginable hardship. But nothing prepared him for what he saw on April 29, 1945, when his unit entered Dachau concentration camp.
Arthur had seen death before. He’d seen fallen soldiers. But Dachau was different. He describes the shock of encountering boxcars filled with bodies, the overpowering stench of the crematorium, and the unbearable sight of starved prisoners who had survived only to collapse at freedom’s door. Many begged to leave the camp, not understanding that doing so would put their fragile bodies at greater risk. Some died trying to climb the electric fence.
He spent the night guarding a women’s barracks, where he witnessed trauma, fear, and the raw struggle for survival. A 17-year-old girl, already a natural leader, comforted others through nightmares born from years of abuse and starvation.
For decades after the war, Arthur — like so many liberators — stayed silent. The memories were too painful. It wasn’t until Holocaust denial gained traction that he and others began sharing what they witnessed, determined to ensure the truth could never be erased.
Arthur’s story is one of survival, luck, and responsibility. He lived when many others didn’t, and he never stopped being grateful for the life he was able to rebuild afterward — education, work, marriage, and children.
His message is simple: remember what happened, because forgetting is how history repeats itself.