[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 542 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 473
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 542
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau
concentration camp during World War II.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 12, 2020
Mr. Gardner (for himself, Ms. Sinema, Ms. McSally, Mr. Bennet, Mr.
Inhofe, Mr. Cardin, and Ms. Rosen) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
June 3, 2020
Reported by Mr. Risch, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau
concentration camp during World War II.
Whereas the Dachau concentration camp, established in March 1933--
(1) was the first concentration camp established by the German National
Socialist, or ``Nazi'', government; and
(2) operated continuously until the end of World War II in 1945;
Whereas the Dachau concentration camp housed Germans who were deemed political,
racial, or social threats by the Nazi regime, including Communists,
Social Democrats, Jews, Roma, members of the clergy, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and other religious and cultural minorities;
Whereas, in addition to Germans, prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp
included Poles, Hungarians, Austrians, Italians, Lithuanians, Czechs,
Slovenes, Belgians, and other foreign nationals from countries occupied
or invaded by Germany;
Whereas the Nazis imprisoned more than 200,000 civilians in the Dachau
concentration camp and the more than 100 subcamps of the Dachau
concentration camp;
Whereas the Nazis murdered tens of thousands of innocent civilians at the Dachau
concentration camp, one of many camps where the Nazis brutally killed
millions of people, including 6,000,000 Jews, during the Holocaust;
Whereas the Nazis tortured and conducted medical experiments on civilian
prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp, including by--
(1) subjecting the prisoners to pressure extremes;
(2) submersing the prisoners in freezing water;
(3) forcing the prisoners to drink salt water; and
(4) infecting the prisoners with malaria;
Whereas the Nazis subjected civilian prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp
to forced labor--
(1) first for the initial construction and expansion of the camp; and
(2) later primarily for armaments production to supply the German
military;
Whereas, following the advance of Allied Forces, the Nazi regime began the
systematic transfer of prisoners from evacuated concentration camps to
the Dachau concentration camp for continued imprisonment;
Whereas, in December 1943, Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed as Supreme
Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and led the formal
coordination of the Allied Forces, with the mission to liberate Europe;
Whereas, on April 29, 1945, the 45th Infantry ``Thunderbird'' Division of the
Seventh Army of the United States (referred to in this preamble as the
``45th Infantry Division''), under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel
Felix Sparks, member of the Colorado Army National Guard and Commander
of the Third Battalion of the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th
Infantry Division, along with units of the 42nd Infantry Division and
the 20th Armored Division, led the liberation of the main Dachau
concentration camp;
Whereas the 45th Infantry Division--
(1) was composed of National Guard units from Colorado, Oklahoma,
Arizona, and New Mexico; and
(2) deployed in June 1943 in support of the Allied Forces during World
War II;
Whereas, in the European theater of operation, the 45th Infantry Division
suffered--
(1) 1,831 deaths in battle; and
(2) 7,791 casualties;
Whereas, in 1985, the United States Army Center of Military History and the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum honored the 45th Infantry
Division with recognition as a ``liberating unit''; and
Whereas commemoration of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp will
instill in all people of the United States a greater awareness of the
unspeakable tragedies of the Holocaust: Now, therefore, be it
Whereas the Dachau concentration camp, established in March 1933--
(1) was the first concentration camp established by the German National
Socialist, or ``Nazi'', government;
(2) served as a model for all subsequent Nazi concentration camps;
(3) was a training center for the notoriously brutal SS concentration
camp guards; and
(4) operated continuously until the end of World War II in 1945;
Whereas the Dachau concentration camp housed Germans who were deemed political,
racial, or social threats by the Nazi regime, including Communists,
Social Democrats, Jews, Roma, members of the clergy, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and other religious and cultural minorities;
Whereas, in addition to Germans, prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp
included Poles, Hungarians, Austrians, Italians, Lithuanians, Czechs,
Slovenes, Belgians, and other foreign nationals from countries occupied
or invaded by Germany;
Whereas the Nazis imprisoned more than 200,000 civilians in the Dachau
concentration camp and the more than 100 subcamps of the Dachau
concentration camp;
Whereas the Nazis murdered tens of thousands of innocent civilians, and allowed
countless others to die from disease, starvation, malnutrition, and
exhaustion, at the Dachau concentration camp, one of many camps where
the Nazis brutally killed millions of people, including 6,000,000 Jews
during the Holocaust;
Whereas the Nazis tortured, and conducted medical experiments that led to the
death or permanent disabling of, hundreds of civilian prisoners at the
Dachau concentration camp, including by--
(1) subjecting the prisoners to pressure extremes;
(2) submersing the prisoners in freezing water;
(3) forcing the prisoners to drink salt water; and
(4) infecting the prisoners with malaria;
Whereas the Nazis subjected civilian prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp
to forced labor--
(1) first for the initial construction and expansion of the camp; and
(2) later primarily for armaments production to supply the German
military;
Whereas, following the advance of Allied Forces, the Nazi regime began the
systematic transfer of prisoners from evacuated concentration camps to
the Dachau concentration camp for continued imprisonment, resulting in
the deaths of thousands of weakened and malnourished prisoners and
leading to the discovery of the infamous ``Dachau death train'',
consisting of nearly 40 railroad cars containing the bodies of
approximately 2,310 prisoners;
Whereas, in December 1943, Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed as Supreme
Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and led the formal
coordination of the Allied Forces, with the mission to liberate Europe;
Whereas the main Dachau concentration camp was liberated on April 29, 1945;
Whereas that liberation was led by--
(1) the 45th Infantry ``Thunderbird'' Division of the Seventh Army of
the United States (referred to in this preamble as the ``45th Infantry
Division''), under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Felix Sparks,
member of the Colorado Army National Guard and Commander of the Third
Battalion of the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division;
(2) the 42nd Infantry ``Rainbow'' Division of the Seventh Army of the
United States (referred to in this preamble as the ``42nd Infantry
Division''), under the leadership of Brigadier General Henning Linden; and
(3) the 20th Armored Division of the Seventh Army of the United States
(referred to in this preamble as the ``20th Armored Division'');
Whereas the 45th Infantry Division--
(1) was composed of National Guard units from Colorado, Oklahoma,
Arizona, and New Mexico; and
(2) deployed in June 1943 in support of the Allied Forces during World
War II;
Whereas the 42nd Infantry Division--
(1) was composed of personnel from every State of the United States;
and
(2) deployed in December 1944 in support of the Allied Forces during
World War II;
Whereas the 20th Armored Division--
(1) was activated at Fort Campbell and, until October of 1944, trained
soldiers and qualified those soldiers for overseas shipment as replacement
soldiers for armored units; and
(2) deployed in February 1945 in support of the Allied Forces during
World War II;
Whereas, in the European theater of operation, the 45th Infantry Division
suffered--
(1) 1,831 deaths in battle; and
(2) 7,791 battle casualties;
Whereas, in the European theater of operation, the 42nd Infantry Division
suffered--
(1) 655 deaths in battle; and
(2) 3,971 battle casualties;
Whereas, in the European theater of operation, the 20th Armored Division
suffered--
(1) 59 deaths in battle; and
(2) 186 battle casualties;
Whereas, in 1985, the United States Army Center of Military History and the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum honored the 45th Infantry
Division, the 42nd Infantry Division, and the 20th Armored Division with
recognition as ``liberating units''; and
Whereas commemoration of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp will
instill in all people of the United States a greater awareness of the
unspeakable tragedies of the Holocaust: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
<DELETED> (1) commemorates April 29, 2020, as the 75th
anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp
during World War II;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) condemns the crimes against humanity committed
by the Nazi regime; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) recognizes the valorous efforts of the 45th
Infantry Division, the 42nd Infantry Division, and the 20th
Armored Division of the Seventh Army of the United States in
the liberation of the thousands of individuals imprisoned at
the Dachau concentration camp.</DELETED>
That the Senate--
(1) commemorates April 29, 2020, as the 75th anniversary of
the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp during World
War II;
(2) calls on all people of the United States to remember
the tens of thousands of innocent victims murdered at the
Dachau concentration camp as part of the Holocaust, the
6,000,000 Jews killed throughout the Holocaust, and all of the
victims of the Nazi reign of terror; and
(3) recognizes the valorous efforts of the 45th Infantry
Division, the 42nd Infantry Division, and the 20th Armored
Division of the Seventh Army of the United States in the
liberation of the thousands of individuals imprisoned at the
Dachau concentration camp.
Calendar No. 473
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 542
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau
concentration camp during World War II.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 3, 2020
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble