Gardelegen Massacre **Graphic Images**

Gardelegen barn where 1016 persons were herded inside and burned to death or shot while trying to escape by German SS Troops. April 13, 1945. Signal Corps Photo.

An American soldier stands guard as mayors and citizens of local towns view the corpses of inmates of the Rottleberode subcamp, who were killed when the SS locked them in a barn and set it on fire. Gardelegen, Germany, April 18, 1945. Photo from the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.

Photo courtesy of the Robert J. Arendt family.

Photo shows prominent members of the nearby communities who were forced not only to see the atrocity perpetrated by the SS troops but also to dig up all the bodies and dig individual graves for them. Each of these citizens was tasked to provide perpetual care for the grave for the life of the citizen and in the event that they could no longer provide said service, the town leader would assign a new person to perform the task. Photo courtesy of the Robert J. Arendt family.

Photo courtesy of the Robert J. Arendt family.

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