What American Soldiers Did to SS Guards When They Found Dachau
What American Soldiers Did to SS Guards When They Found Dachau
On April 29, 1945, soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division reached a complex outside Munich they believed was a supply depot.
It was Dachau Concentration Camp.
What they found there shattered discipline, law, and the idea that war could still be governed by rules.
This is not a myth.
It is one of the most disturbing—and human—episodes of the war.
1. The Death Train
Before the gates, the soldiers reached a rail siding.
Thirty-nine cattle cars sat motionless.
Inside were over 2,300 corpses:
Starved
Dehydrated
Stacked so tightly some had bite marks—evidence the living had tried to survive by eating the dead
Veterans who had fought in Italy and France broke down:
Men vomited
One hardened teenage soldier sat in the snow and sobbed
Shock lasted seconds.
What followed was rage.
2. The Camp and the SS Surrender
Inside Dachau were 30,000 living skeletons—prisoners who rushed the fences screaming “Americans!”
The SS commandant had fled.
Left behind were roughly 500 SS guards, led by a young officer who attempted a formal surrender.
Clean uniform.
Polished boots.
White flag.
One American officer spat in his face.
From that moment on, order disintegrated.
3. The Coal Yard Executions
Near a coal storage yard, dozens of SS guards raised their hands and shouted:
“Hitler kaputt!”
They expected mercy.
Instead, an American lieutenant—widely identified as Jack Bushyhead—gave a silent hand signal.
The SS were lined up against a wall.
A .30-caliber machine gun was set up.
When one German shouted “Geneva Convention!”, the gun opened fire.
The burst lasted seconds.
When it stopped, roughly 50 SS guards lay dead in the snow.
4. More Killings Across the Camp
The coal yard was not isolated.
SS guards climbing down watchtowers were shot off ladders
Bodies were emptied into the moat and fired upon again
In multiple locations, surrendering guards were executed
One GI later wrote:
“It wasn’t war. It was an execution. And I didn’t feel a thing.”
5. When the Prisoners Took Revenge
The Americans were not the only ones killing.
Former prisoners—barely able to walk—dragged SS guards from hiding places.
They had no guns.
They used:
Shovels
Clubs
Bare hands
American soldiers stood aside, smoking, watching.
One SS guard was beaten to death.
A notorious German prisoner-collaborator (kapo) was drowned in a latrine.
For roughly one hour, Dachau ceased to be governed by any authority.
6. The Investigation That Went Nowhere
Photos were taken.
An official investigation led by Joseph Whitaker concluded:
International law had been violated
Court-martials were recommended
The report went up the chain of command.
It landed on the desk of George S. Patton.
7. Patton’s Decision
Patton reviewed:
Photos of executed SS guards
Photos of the death train
He exploded.
He reportedly called the report “garbage” and said:
“You see 2,000 dead bodies and expect my boys to follow the rule book?”
Patton refused to approve charges.
The investigation was buried.
Dwight D. Eisenhower concurred.
No American soldier was court-martialed.
8. How History Judges It
The Dachau reprisals remain controversial.
They were:
Illegal under international law
Not ordered by high command
Not systematic
Not hidden from history
They were a human breaking point.
Even historians who condemn the killings acknowledge the context:
soldiers confronted with industrialized murder on a scale no one had imagined.
The SS guards executed at Dachau have no memorial.
The victims do.
