George Aigen, U.S. Army corporal during World War II, shares his memories of military service during the Holocaust at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., April 28, 2014. Aigen, who was only 19 years old, didn’t speak openly about his experiences until about 60 years after the war ended. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Dillian Bamman/Released)

World War II veteran recounts horrors of Holocaust

  • Published
  • By Airman Dillian Bamman
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Deep in the summer of 1945, a lonely Soldier wandering the streets of France processes the horrors he witnessed storming Dachau concentration camp with his unit, the 1269th Combat Engineer Battalion.

As he walks in the silence of the night, he begins to hear church bells ringing one after another.

Shouts echo over the town: "The war is over."

Suddenly, a small girl walks up to him. She took his hand, kissed it, then looked up and said in a French accent, "Thank you." She danced her way back to her house and slammed the door.

After this moment of clarity, U.S. Army Cpl. George Aigen realized World War II was really over.

For about 60 years after the events of World War II, Aigen chose not to talk about his experiences until 2005, when he met Louis Schmier, Valdosta State University history professor, and agreed to speak on his time in Dachau.

"Even I didn't know about what he went through in the Army," said Joyce Aigen, George Aigen's wife. "This has almost been his 60th time speaking out since opening up to [Schmier], so this is a big deal for him."

Aigen shared his stories of the Holocaust April 28 at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, with this year being the 69th anniversary of the invasion of Munich, Germany.

Just recently drafted at 19 years old, he sat idly in a movie theater at Nancy-Ochey Air Base, France, with the entire post infantry waiting for the post commander to announce the inevitable.

They were leaving for Germany the next day, and their mission was to make it to Munich. Aigen set off with the 1269th CEB, ready to cross the French border into Germany. He had no idea of the horrors he would face once they made it to Munich.

"The city itself was deserted, nobody to be seen," said Aigen. "Far off in the distance, we saw what looked like a camp ahead, which we later found out was Dachau concentration camp."

Dachau was the first concentration camp to open in Germany, which accounted for nearly 32,000 confirmed deaths at the camp in addition to the thousands that were undocumented.

"[The 1269th CEB and I] were at Dachau as backup for the Third Infantry Unit to act as their rear guard," said Aigen. "When we made it through the gate, it was like walking into another world. The first thing that hit us was the smell. There is nothing like that smell that I've ever encountered. "

The amount of death and destruction witnessed by Aigen and the other Soldiers at Dachau was almost too much. Many were on their knees weeping for helpless casualties caused by the Nazi Regime.

The veteran witnessed the many rooms used to kill and torture the Dachau prisoners or use them as experiments, which included mustard gas chambers, modified gallows and water-filled pools meant to induce hypothermia.

As Aigen and his battalion kept moving through the concentration camp, they walked into one of its buildings and found abandoned prisoners, starved and dying.

"When I walked into this room, none of [the prisoners] moved, they were shocked," he said. "But one of them managed to get on his elbows and look at me. His face looked like a skull only covered in skin, it was horrifying.

"There was nothing I could do for these people; we had no food or medical care to give. So we had to close the door and move on. Soon after we left, a medical unit had come through the gate, so I only hope they helped them out."

After two days at Dachau, Aigen's mission there was done. He and the 1269th CEB left Germany just a few weeks later on a boat headed back to the United States.

Both George Aigen and his wife shared that hosting these speeches has been important in their lives by finally opening up about his past. Even their daughter was surprised to find out his story.

"When our daughter, who lives in Valdosta, heard about him speaking, she said he never talked about it. But most people [who served during the Holocaust] didn't talk about it, and I wished more did."

With few from the World War II generation still alive today, Joyce Aigen shared how she hopes her husband's story will move other veterans to tell theirs.

She also thanked Moody for giving her husband the chance to come on base and recount his military past.

"I just wanted to say how much of an honor it is for him to come here today and share his story," said Joyce Aigen.

George Aigen plans to continue speaking across the United States, with his next speech in the coming week, retelling his experiences of the Holocaust.