The Kaddish and Men's Club enjoyed a recent talk by our own Dr. Bernard Metrick, an exemplary representative of that "greatest generation" that endured the hardships of WWII as a fighting soldier. He was a liaison officer for the Eighth Armored Tank Division, and in that capacity was responsible for setting up clearing stations to separate the most seriously injured from those in a less parlous condition. While in the performance of these duties, he was asked by his general to drive him to a nearby concentration camp, which turned out to be the Langenstein-Zweiberge Concentration Camp, a subcamp of Buchenwald.

The Nazis had abandoned the camp, forcing all inmates who could walk to go on an 80-mile death march. Inmates who could not walk were left without food or water. Although he was aware of Nazi mistreatment of Jews, Dr. Metrick was not prepared for what he saw: walking skeletons, the horrible smell of decaying bodies, and the stench of fecal material all over walls and floors. Choking with emotion, Dr. Metrick related his encounter with a man who lay in bed alongside a dead man for two days, because he did not have the strength to get out of the bed.

Almost 60 years later, in Florida, Dr. Metrick was contacted by a Frenchman, Roger LeRoyer, a survivor of the camp. LeRoyer told Dr. Metrick that for the past ten years survivors of Langenstein-Zweiberge had been meeting once a year on the anniversary of their liberation to remember their friends who did not survive, but they never located anyone from the Eighth Armored Division. Until now.

Not long after their meeting, Dr. Metrick received an invitation to participate in the ceremonies to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp. Dr. Metrick was an honored guest, and had the opportunity to address children in the local school.

The enclosed documents are the speeches he gave at that event, and reflect his heartfelt desire to educate the young both here and abroad about the atrocities that occurred during those years. With everlasting vigilence we will make sure they will never be repeated. Our thanks for a great and moving retrospective.