posted 09-04- 05:11 PM
by Col. Jim Moncrief, from his book As You Were, Soldier
The events of history become a lie when a prestigious writer or producer establishes an objective, his "cause"; disregards honesty and integrity, ignores existing scholarly and professional research; twists the facts of the past so that it will support his preconceived goal; and then pens his saga.
The lie is assured an audience when a nationwide television network (PBS), with apparent disregard for its commitment of protecting public interest, without making any real investigation of the tale's accuracy, broadcasts the fabrications to millions of unsuspecting American citizens. The lie gains further momentum when it is published in book form and distributed to school libraries as "history."
At this point, let me interject a little background into the scene.
Going back to April 1945 during the combat in Europe, I was G-1 (Personnel Officer of the General Staff) of the Sixth Armored Division. On the 11th of April, a message was received in the Division Headquarters that a concentration camp at Buchenwald had been discovered by a reconnaissance patrol of the 9th Armored Infantry Battalion (an organic unit of the division).
Under the command of the late Capt. Fredrick Keffer, who subsequently became Chairman of the Department of Physics at the University of Pittsburgh, the patrol did not have a tank in the operation. That fact was confirmed by Col. (Retired) Robert J. Bennett, who as a Captain in 1945 commanded the Task Force from which Keffer's patrol was deployed.
Keffer and his patrol was led to the camp by a Russian who had escaped from Buchenwald immediately following the German guards, who abandoned the camp upon hearing the noise and rumbling gunfire of the approaching American forces.
After making a cursory report of the discovery to Patton's Third Army Headquarters, and knowing of the destitute and deplorable conditions at the camp, it was determined at my Division Headquarters that a visit to the camp was essential. Fifty years later, I do not remember if I was ordered to go to the campsite, or whether I voluntarily departed for Buchenwald.
Arriving at the camp within a few hours after it had been discovered by Keffer and his patrol, I was given a conducted, but abbreviated, tour of the camp by an inmate "doctor" (actually a young medical student from Austria, as I later determined.) My tour guide was in far better physical shape than any of his unfortunate contemporaries. I thought at the time that he had been much better fed than the others. I thought that he had perhaps obtained food clandestinely.
My hasty trek through a portion of the area of the camp was by no means a detailed inspection. There was but a handful of inmates around the main entrance. I went into only one barracks. Most inmates were lying in their respective bunk, too weak and lacking in energy to show any interest or even make an observation of a stranger in their midst. The bunks were stacked with barely enough room for a man to turn over. There were no mattresses, only wooden slabs. I saw many dead bodies lying about. My escort showed me the crematory where bodies were burned. Along the wall I saw deep fingernail marks where some of the victims had clawed in one last effort to escape.
Contacting Division Headquarters by radio, I was able to confirm the previous report of the incredible brutality, and to expedite the immediate, but limited, medical assistance and other support from within the resources of my division. I was also able to report to Corps and Army the critical and dire necessity of immediate action to save lives. I can attest to the fact that there were no allied black troops at Buchenwald at that time. I was at the camp approximately two to three hours.
The division's detailed report of the deplorable conditions at the camp to Third Army (Gen. Patton) was based, to a large extent, on my personal observations. In short order, Gen. Patton ordered troops to OCCUPY (administer, feed, clothe, doctor, etc.) the camp. I do not know what unit or units were given the mission of occupying. The combat mission of the Sixth Armored of pursuing the fleeing German Army precluded our remaining on the scene for very long.
Now, let us get back to the subject - "How History Becomes a Lie."
On Veterans Day 1992, PBS aired on nationwide TV the "documentary," Liberators: Fighting On Two Fronts In WWII. The producers/directors of this "historically accurate" film were William Miles, "an award-winning documentary filmmaker," and Nina Rosenblum. It was produced by Miles Educational Film Production in New York City. A book by the same name, by Lou Potter with Miles and Rosenblum, was published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ), a recognized giant in the publishing industry, in late 1992.
Presumably, because of the prestigious reputation of the authors and producers, PBS and HBJ accepted the script of the "documentary" without conducting any investigation as to its historical accuracy.
The obvious objective of the Creators (authors, producers, directors, researchers (if any), editors, screenwriters, publishers, et. al.) was to relate the sad plight of the Jews under Hitler to that of the African-Americans in the South during the first forty years of this century; and to arrange the script to portray African-American soldiers as the saviors of the European Jews from the infamous horror camps of the Nazis. The Creators visualized that this theme of one deprived race bringing freedom to another persecuted race would have great potential, social and political impact as well as commercial value.
The Creators selected the 761st Tank Battalion, a segregated "separate" battalion (as contrasted to an organic tank battalion within an armored division), which was composed of African-American troops, as their tool. The 761st had a distinguished record in combat for which it was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (albeit, 30 years later during Mr. Carter's administration), the most coveted recognition which can be achieved by a unit in combat. The 761st did, indeed, have a role in the liberation of a German Concentration Camp at Gunskirchen, where over 15,000 Hungarian Jews were liberated.
But the ambitious, over-zealous, and unprincipled Creators apparently were not satisfied with the true record of the 761st. Gunskirchen had not become well known. They needed a better known horror camp with a much higher public profile in order for their script to be more marketable. So they arbitrarily switched the scene from Gunskirchen to Buchenwald and Dachau, both of which were far better known.
Claiming that the official records pertaining to the 761st were "non-existent," "incomplete," "untold," and heretofore "unknown," the Creators relied on eyewitness testimony, unsupported by contemporary documents, to "place" the 761st at Buchenwald and Dachau.
In order for that eyewitness testimony to give some semblance of truth to their story, the Creators needed soldiers who were in the 761st to "describe" their experiences at Buchenwald and Dachau. With some inducements, including a trip to Europe, several veterans of that tank battalion played film roles which were designed by very able screenwriters to convince the unsuspecting audience that the 761st had, indeed, liberated Buchenwald and Dachau. This script testimony, "heretofore untold," constituted the backbone of the movie's (and book's) "placement" of the 761st at Buchenwald and Dachau.
The Creators have hinged much of their "proof" of their Buchenwald caper on testimony of former Sgt. Johnnie Stevens of the 761st. Stevens' tank platoon, although "hundreds of miles removed from the main elements in the southÉ", was credited with breaking "through the Buchenwald gates and, with accompanying infantrymen, quickly ended the resistance from the SS guards." (Note: In a letter to me dated 23 December, Miles and Rosenblum give a conflicting statement, agreeing with me that there was "no armed resistance at Buchenwald.")
Neither Stevens nor the Creators bothered to inform the reader or viewer how his tanks were resupplied with gasoline and ammunition during this bit of marvelous, meandering, magnificently and magically managed maneuver. Their base of supply, the parent unit (761st) was admittedly "hundreds of miles" away. Sgt. Stevens' actions defied not only German geography, but common military sense and logistics.
On 11 April 1945 - the date Buchenwald was overrun by troops of the Sixth Armored Division - official Army records indicate that the 761st was attached to the 71st Infantry Division, under the XII Army Corps, which was engaged in combat in the vicinity of Coburg. Since Buchenwald was in the area of the XX Corps, Stevens' questionable maneuvers were being conducted across the front (operational zones) of two Army Corps which were racing eastward. As fluid as the tactical situation was in the spring of 1945, with the German Army in disarray, there is no way that a U. S. platoon or platoons (the Creators were a bit inconsistent) could have operated outside the boundaries of the division to which it was attached. Based on such flimsy, unsupported and irrational wild assertions, the Creators have made their case for the 761st being in Buchenwald.
In describing the alleged activity of the 761st at Hitler's death camps, the Creators made no reference to the book Come Out Fighting: The Epic Tale of the 761st Tank Battalion, written in 1945 with the memories of combat fresh in his mind, by Trezzvant W. Anderson, a distinguished journalist who was with the 761st. Buchenwald and Dachau were not mentioned in the book. The book obviously did not support the pre-established goal of the Creators. The Creators claim that the record of the 761st was unknown and underdocumented; when in fact, Anderson's book relates its combat history in some detail.
After a thorough study conducted over several months by the Department of the Army, the 761st was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Neither Buchenwald nor Dachau were mentioned in the citation. If, indeed, the camps at Buchenwald and Dachau had been liberated by the 761st, the officers who recommended the unit for the Presidential Unit Citation would have most assuredly included that significant information as the highlight of the citation.
As the division staff officer having responsibility for decorations and awards, and having had some experience in a vain attempt to obtain the Presidential Unit Citation for my division, I know something of the detailed explanation of the action and the mass of documentation required in the process of making application for the award.
Claiming that there was no written record available to describe the heroic exploits of the 761st, the Creators chose to ignore the abundant existing documentation at the National Archives, the U. S. Army Military History Institute, and at the Holocaust Memorial Museum since these historical records failed to support that which the Creators wanted to portray.
Claiming "exhaustive research" was conducted, the Creators have failed to name specific documents or present recorded proof of their script. I have a letter from the Department of the Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C. which states that "the producers did not seek the cooperation of the U. S. Army, either Public Affairs or the Center of Military History." I have a similar communication from the Army's Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. These two agencies are charged with the responsibility of writing, acquiring, preserving, and making available for historical research the records (history) of all units of the U. S. Army.
It is inconceivable that the Creators, in writing about the exploits of an Army unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, would completely ignore the most likely sources of documentary description of the history of that unit. Reflecting total disdain for the viewer or reader as well as the facts, it was much easier for the Creators to claim "underdocumentation." Also, by claiming insufficient written records, the Creators visualized that the "oral testimony" from the script soldiers would become much more significant and acceptable to the unsuspecting public.
The Creators failed to consult the officers of the 761st who had responsibility for its operations, including administration and logistics. The film lists "Philip Latimer" as a consultant; however, Lt. Col. (Ret) Philip Latimer, then the Battalion Supply Officer (S-4) states he was never consulted. As the current President of the 761st Tank Battalion Association, Latimer speaks for the majority of the veterans of the 761st in denying the presence of any segment of the 761st at Buchenwald or Dachau. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Gates, who was Company Commander Of "C" Company states emphatically that no tanks of the 761st could have been involved in the liberation of either Buchenwald or Dachau.
Most of the veterans of the 761st resent the exploitation of their battalion to depict the lie of being at Buchenwald or Dachau. They consider that such a lie jeopardizes the factual accomplishments of their unit. The members desire to be known for what their battalion did rather than what it did not do.
At least two people who were used by the Creators to play significant roles in the evolution and development of Liberators have now disavowed such role, and have asked the Creators to cease using their names to confirm the historical accuracy of Liberators.
Dr. Robert H. Abzug, who the authors claim was the "film's historical advisor," has stated that he "had no role at all in the actual research, scripting, or making of the film and did not see any of it until its public airing." As a scholarly researcher and historian, particularly with relation to Hitler's horror camps, Dr. Abzug (author of Inside the Vicious Heart, an account of the liberations of Hitler's concentration camps) points out "that some of the pictures used for depictions of Buchenwald and Dachau actually came from other camps." Subsequently, Dr. Abzug wrote one of the producers and requested in strong terms that his name be dropped from the credits.
Mr. E. G. McConnell, a veteran and Purple Heart hero of the 761st, who appears as one of the script soldiers in the scene showing "returning" soldiers to Buchenwald, and frequently quoted in the book, states that he tried in vain to correct deviations from the facts during the filming of the documentary. He has publicly stated that he was never at Buchenwald until the PBS film was shot. In late 1994, McConnell brought legal action against Miles and Rosenblum, Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich and PBS.
It is indeed disturbing to know that the Creators had knowledge of the concerns of the above gentlemen long before the airing of the documentary or publication of the book. It is even more appalling to know that the Creators chose to ignore such knowledgeable advice, and proceed to produce and promote their lie based on their "undocumented" and "heretofore untold evidence" to support their preconceived cause; and thus deceive the American public.
Keffer's detailed description of his patrol's discovery of the infamous camp is contained in a letter and a dissertation entitled, "Buchenwald Liberation Reunion," are available in the Army's Institute of Military History at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. These documents were written in 1975, following Keffer's visit to Leige, Belgium as a guest of the Belgian Amicale de Buchenwald. Such documentation augmented by personal interviews of participants, along with primary sources from the National Archives provided the basis of the history of the liberation of Buchenwald which appeared in The Super Sixth (1975), a history of the Sixth Armored Division in WWII, written by Dr. George F. Hofmann Professor of History at the University of Cincinnati.
The above mentioned book is yet another well researched and documented source of information which the creators of Liberators chose to ignore.
While I do not have personal knowledge of the events concerning the liberation of Dachau, the official records of the Department of the Army credits the 45th Infantry Division and 42nd Infantry Division with that distinction.
It is interesting to note that the 71st Infantry Division, not the 761st Tank Battalion which was attached to the 71st, is credited with liberating Gunskirchen. In keeping with the standards established by the Department of the Army, only divisional sized units are labeled as "liberators." Thus, neither the 9th Armored Infantry Battalion, in the case of Buchenwald, nor the 761st Tank Battalion, in the case of Gunskirchen, are officially listed as "liberators."
Several Jewish organizations and publications have voiced objections to the documentary. They see that the lie being perpetuated concerning Buchenwald and Dachau can, predictably, add momentum to those neo-Nazi elements who also rewrite history and deny the Holocaust.
There is a move afoot which would place the book, Liberators: Fighting On Two Fronts In WWII, in all school libraries. I believe there are millions of Americans who would consider the teaching of false history to our unsuspecting youth as a shameful act.
In February 1993, Station Thirteen/WNET, the PBS-member New York City based station which "manufactured" and initiated Liberators, and "The American Experience," the TV Program Series sponsoring the alleged documentary, "made the decision jointly to withdraw the film temporarily." At the same time the two agencies initiated an "internal investigation" so that a "full review of all the issues raised" could be made, and "so that any ambiguities can be clarified."
In the meantime, the film was still being shown all over the world as evidenced at the University of Denver in April, and on a Belgium network in June 1993.
Harcourt Brace and Company has issued a nebulous disclaimer "slip" which was inserted in all books shipped from the printer after 1 June 1993. The thousands of books which were already in the hands of libraries, retailers or readers continue to be represented as "true history."
Following the conclusion of the internal investigation, WNET/13 the PBS affiliated station in New York City which originated the film, has issued a press release in which "inaccuracies" in the film was admitted. The film was withdrawn from circulation. PBS has not made a public admission nor apology for its role in airing the film nationwide. They "continue to hang on to the coattails of WNET."
Critics are continuing to bring pressure on PBS to explain its use of federal funds to broadcast falsified military history over its nationwide facilities. A speech was made on the floor of the House of Representatives demanding a public apology from PBS to the American public.
As exemplified by members of the audiences of the several Civic Clubs to which I have spoken on the subject, the average American citizen is not only awestricken that HISTORY CAN BECOME A LIE so easily, but he is sick with disappointment and bitterness that such can happen in our American society.
The veterans who experienced the events of those war years consider that to be OUR history. Those of us who survive cannot, and will not, stand idle and permit the memory of our friends who gave their lives in the effort to preserve honesty and integrity among all men to be desecrated. We resent OUR history being distorted, rewritten, or falsified for any purpose, and particularly to suit someone's social, political, or commercial agenda.
***************
As early as 31 October 1992, and again on 7 November 1992, I directed letters to the Manager of Station WNET/13 in New York City, advising him that the proposed documentary crediting the 761st with liberating Buchenwald and Dachau was false. At that time, I understood that the movie was to be shown exclusively in New York City.
Following the nationwide showing of the film, I wrote letters to PBS and to Harcourt Brace & Company, with information copies to WNET, sponsoring agencies, Department of Army authorities, members of Congress, and many others having an interest, severely criticizing the so-called documentary. The replies from PBS, WNET, and the authors merely irritated me more. My specific questions were never answered.
The specific allegations, as well as others, mentioned in the preceding summarized "How History Becomes A Lie" were leveled at PBS. PBS has refused to take a position of responsibility for the film, but has relied upon its affiliate and subordinate, WNET, to bear the burden.
For two years I continued my bombardment of letters voicing my complaints of the insincerity, deceit, and betrayal of the public trust displayed by PBS. Since late 1994 PBS has "stonewalled."
During that period, in my efforts to identify the facts, and to gain additional support, I made contact with many people and institutions who were involved in the Liberators fiasco. An interchange of communications, letters and telephone calls, soon developed.
I learned that Dr. Robert Abzug, History Department at the University of Texas (see above), seeing the inaccuracies of the book and film, had disassociated himself from both.
Gail Frey Borden, a lawyer living in Alexandria, Virginia, wrote a novel in 1987 using the 761st Tank Battalion as his base material. He did a lot of research about the combat record of the 761st. When he saw the film, he was "flabbergasted" because nothing that he had found in the records of the battalion reflected what was shown in the film or depicted in the book.
Communications were exchanged with Federal Communication Commission and Corporation for Public Broadcasting, both of which denied any responsibility for programming public radio or television productions. However, both of these agencies exercise some control over PBS: FCC issues licenses, and CPB distributes federal funds to public radio and television. Accuracy In Media, a non-profit organization in Washington agreed that the film misrepresented the truth.
I established contact with many members of the press: Jim Dingeman, WBAI Radio Station in NYC; Chris Ruddy, who was the first newspaperman to report the falsehoods of Liberators in the New York Guardian; Jeffrey Goldberg of The New Republic; The New York Post; The New York Times; and Karen Bedford of CURRENT, the house organ of public radio and television. Several newspapers had critical editorials concerning the film. COMINT, "A Journal About Public Media," published quarterly in Washington, had an article by Larry Jarvik, the magazine's Associate Editor, entitled "True Liberators." Jarvik's article was based on his interview with me.
On the occasion of my visit to Washington in the spring of 1995, I had the opportunity of visiting the offices of several Congressmen, including that of Senator Larry Pressler. All were concerned about PBS's expenditure of Public Funds.
Senator Larry Pressler, Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, sent a rather lengthy query to Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as well as other public communication agencies on 27 January 1995. Covering a multitude of subjects with many appendices and annexes, the questionnaire requested a fairly prompt reply concerning the operations and administration of those agencies, all of which receive federal funds.
To say the least, the questionnaire put the communication agencies on the defensive, asking them for a detailed explanation of many facets and factors concerning their respective operations.
Included among the questions was this one: "How did PBS executives respond to complaints from Colonel James Moncrief about false and misleading material in Liberators? Were their responses satisfactory? If so, why is he not satisfied? Why do the 6th Armored Division newsletters say PBS is 'stonewalling?'"
Since I had the opportunity to see the replies from CPB, PBS and WGBH, and since I did not agree that those responses were correct, complete, or thorough, I directed a rather lengthy letter to Senator Pressler, attempting to give him "my side of the story." Copies of my letter were sent to my two State Senators (Helms and Faircloth), my Congressman (Hefner), and to Representatives Hefley (Colorado), Crane (Illinois) and Laughlin (Texas).
Several scholarly-researched papers emphasizing the inaccuracies of Liberators have received wide distribution to the various agencies of the Creators as well as to the press.
The first is a fifteen-page analysis entitled, "Liberators, A Background Report," by Kenneth S. Stern, representing the American Jewish Committee, Institute of Human Relations in NYC, in which he referred to the PBS production as "Docudrama, not History." The second is a very learned dissertation by Gail Frey Borden, the Washington lawyer. Borden's central theme is the questionable reliability of personal recollection as opposed to the written record in so important an issue as the liberation of Hitler's horror camps; and in the assertion by the Creators that the record of the 761st has been suppressed, when the written record of the battalion is, in fact, quite generous. The third is a masterpiece written by Dr. George Hofmann, History Department of the University of Cincinnati. Hofmann, in preparing the manuscript for his book, The Super Sixth, did much research concerning the history of the Sixth Armored Division, including interviews of hundreds of veterans of that division in preparation for its publication of the book in 1975. His paper concerning the PBS-Buchenwald fiasco was entitled, Jaded History, by Dysfunctional Historians. I have been in constant contact with the latter two of these gentlemen.
I have submitted a formal statement to a Sub-Committee of the House of Representatives which was investigating the expenditure of public funds by PBS. I have been interviewed by the Associated Press for a story which emanated from Weimar, Germany on the fiftieth anniversary of V-E Day. The story received wide circulation in the United States. My description of the true history of Buchenwald Liberation appears in a film which is used at the Holocaust Museum in Washington.
Since the renouncement by WNET of the documentary, the National Holocaust Museum in Washington has continued to endorse one Dr. Leon Bass, a "script soldier" who appeared in the movie; and who has gained fame as a public speaker concerning the liberation of Buchenwald. I have strongly urged the Holocaust Museum to consider OUR "Military History" just as significant to the U. S. Veteran as "Holocaust History" is to the Jewish people.
Many individuals as well as groups have participated in the efforts to have our history remembered as true history. Among the veterans of the Sixth Armored Division who have been actively involved are: Ed Reed, Mel Rappaport, Ben Goodin, Milt Harrison, Frank Kotoski, George Hofmann, Pat McEnroe, Bob Bennett, Charlie Barbour, Charlie Marshall, George Haas, Alexander Dankin, Charles Mullinix, Paul Brewer, Bill Byrd, Vince Gish, and Charles Barnes.
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