On the north side of the road.

The site includes a monument at the point of departure for a recon detachment which was one of the first U.S. units to discover and enter Buchenwald Concentration Camp at the end of World War II. Monument comprises an engraved glass plate mounted between two rough-hewn concrete slabs, and a brass plaque of the 6th Armored Division patch mounted on a third slab.

For this mission on 11 April 1945, Captain Frederic Keffer commanded the crew of an M8 light armored car from the 9th Armored Infantry Battalion (Combat Team 9), 6th Armored Division, Third U.S. Army. Crew included interpreter/interrogator Technical Sergeant Herbert Gottschalk, Sergeant Harry Ward, and driver Private First Class James Hoyt. The day before, the detachment restrained and interrogated Soviet prisoners who had escaped from Buchenwald and attempted to attack German SS prisoners under detachment control -- these Soviets guided them back to Buchenwald.

The detachment arrived at Buchenwald on 11 April 1945 at 3:15 p.m. (now the permanent time on the clock at the Camp entrance gate). The soldiers were given a heros welcome, with the emaciated survivors finding the strength to toss some liberators into the air in celebration. There was no sign of SS guards who had abandoned their posts as Allied forces moved east. Keefer notified his commanding officer of the discovery, reporting thousands of inmates in desperate need of medical care and food.

The 6th Armored Division elements were not able to stay long at the Camp, as the Division was racing eastward to secure vital bridges. Security of the Camp was turned over to the U.S. Armys 80th Infantry Division.

Source of information: www.buchenwald.de, edition.cnn.com, www.facebook.com/walkamongheroe, de.wikipedia.org, warfarehistorynetwork.com

Source of photo: www.strijdbewijs.nl/kamp/bu114.jpg

Am 11. April 1945 war die Ortschaft Hottelstedt

der Ausgangspunkt einer Patrouille der

Kampfeinheit 9, 6. Panzerdivision,

3. U.S. Armee,

die das Konzentrationslager Buchenwald

entdeckte.

******************************************************

Captain Frederic Keffer

Technical Sergeant Herbert Gottschalk

Sergeant Harry Ward

Private First Class James Hoyt

******************************************************

On April 11, 1945, the village Hottelstedt was

the point of departure of the patrol of

Combat Team 9, 6th Armored Division,

U.S. Third Army

which discovered the concentration camp of

Buchenwald.