George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. During World War II, Stevens joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and headed a film unit from 1943 to 1946 under General Eisenhower. His unit shot footage documenting D-Day — including the only Allied European Front color film of the war — the liberation of Paris and the meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River, as well as horrific scenes from the Duben labor camp and the Dachau concentration camp. Stevens also helped prepare the Duben and Dachau footage and other material for presentation during the Nuremberg Trials. In 2008, his footage was entered into the U.S. National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress as an"essential visual recor" of World War II. The Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) was placed under the control of the Supreme Headquarters' Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). The SPECOU consists of 45 people: writers like Ivan Moffat, William Saroyan and Irwin Shaw; cameramen like Dick Hoar, Ken Marthey, William Mellor, Jack Muth; sound operators as Bill Hamilton, who comes from Columbia, assistant directors, as Holly Morse, who has worked with Hal Roach.
Additional documentation reporting Rabbi David Max Eichhorn's depiction of this religious service at Dachau located in USHMM departmental files.
Courtyard with series of buildings, Dachau concentration camp. One building has SS sign on it (possibly SS barracks). VS of camp at Dachau, including inmates sitting by fires cooking. Steam in FG. Shot of liberated inmates pans to bodies, stacked like cork wood. A sequence of shots of corpses. Inmates in striped uniforms unloading bread from truck. Cleaning out large cabin. Carrying corpse. VS of liberated inmates being deloused. Considerable coverage of this activity. Two young inmates in striped suits strolling through camp. Inmates pulling food truck. Shot of crematorium, flame is visible. Clothing stacked in piles. VS of stacked, naked corpses. Corpses of murdered SS guards. Followed by a sequence of moving shots of inmates huddled in blankets being loaded onto flatbed truck. Corpse is visible in FG. Germans standing with hands up in front of armed GIs. It appears they are trying to determine whether some people in inmates uniforms might be German soldiers in disguise. One inmate going down line of people, seems to be identifying his captors. American major prominent in these shots. CUs of Germans in striped uniforms with their hands up. One has been beaten and is bandaged. Survivors talking to Germans with their hands raised. May 6, 1945. Ceremony at camp with many flags in concentration camp courtyard. Blue and white flags blowing in the wind. Flag that reads:"Espano" and French flag. Shot of three flags on top of camp blowing in the wind--Russian, British, American. Ceremony taking place in camp courtyard. Cameras are evident. VS of inmates. American chaplain of the 10th corps performing service, followed by an American Jewish army man, Rabbi David Max Eichhorn, wearing prayer shawl and yarmulke (skull cap). This was the first Jewish religious service honoring the Jews who died as a result of Nazi persecution in Dachau.
Dachau at liberation; delousing; identifying German captors; religious ceremony