052311 Ed Arn Veterans Roundtable panelists to discuss the liberation of Nazi concentration camps
By Sharon Haught
May 18, 2011
266
Summary: Three men who experienced the liberation of Nazi concentration camps from very different perspectives will comprise the panel of this years Ed Arn Veterans Roundtable on May 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Wayne County Historical Society.
One man who lived behind the barbed wire fences of Nazi concentration camps and two American soldiers who helped liberate those camps will bring their wartime experiences to life when the Wayne County Historical Society presents the seventh annual Ed Arn Veterans Roundtable on May 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the societys one-room schoolhouse.
Moderating a panel comprised of local veterans Joe Deluca and Albert Spector and concentration camp survivor Leo Silberman will be local historian Jeff Musselman and Marine Corp veteran Mark Sheppard, who will be assisted by students from Jolene Dyers Holocaust class at Wooster High School.
As Musselman discovered in preparing for the event, each mans story is unique and compelling.
Deluca and Spector saw the atrocities of war first hand as two of the thousands of U.S. soldiers who liberated concentration camps at the end of the war.
Spector, who grew up in Mt. Eaton and served a medic, was among the soldiers who liberated Obrdruf, the first concentration camp liberated by American forces.
As an American of Jewish ancestry Spectors ability to speak Yiddish was an invaluable resource to the concentration camp survivors as they struggled to communicate with their liberators.
Nearby Deluca, a Wooster native who served in the war as an infantryman, helped liberate one of the satellite camps at Buchenwald and had many of the same experiences depicted in the HBO series Band of Brothers.
According to Musselman, the day before Delucas unit entered Buchenwald, the third panelist – concentration camp survivor Leo Silberman – was moved by the Nazis to Terezin in Czechoslovakia, which was eventually liberated by Soviet forces.
Silberman, who was born in a small village outside of Krakow, Poland, was first sent to a forced labor camp at the age of 14 and spent the next five years in Nazi concentration camps. With the exception of one brother, Silbermans entire family was killed by the Nazis.
Musselman described Silbermans story as moving and poignant.
The stories of the soldiers who ended the war and liberated the camps are also incredibly powerful.
Its hard stuff to hear firsthand, said Musselman adding its powerful to have somebody sit here and say this wasnt a movie or a book this was your life experience.
You cant understate the impact of what they did in the liberation of these camps at the time they liberated them. Millions had died but think of the millions more who would have continued to die had the war not ended in 1945, said Musselman.
Its a time to reflect on what they did 65 or 70 years ago, said Musselman.
We call them the greatest generation for a reason, said Musselman adding I want to give that generation one more thank you for their service.
While you have this resource available to talk about that experience I think its important, Musselman added.
Musselman noted that the format of the roundtable is meant to allow the opportunity for panelists and audience members to share their own personal experiences liberating or living in Nazi concentration camps.
The Ed Arn Veterans Roundtable, which is held each year in the days leading up to Memorial Day, originated during the Historical Societys Viet Nam exhibit when military historians and veterans gathered to discuss their personal experiences during the war. That event was so successful that the Historical Society made it an annual event and named it in honor of well-known local WWII veteran and author Ed Arn.
This years annual roundtable is co-sponsored by Steve Shapiro, Taggart Law Firm, Service First Title.
For more information call the Wayne County Historical Society at 330-264-8856.
